五指歌 (Wǔ zhǐ gē): Five Fingers Song
Lyrics:
Yī èr sān sì wǔ,
一 二 三 四 五，
One, two, three, four, five,
shàng shān dǎ lǎohǔ.
上 山 打 老虎。
hunt for a tiger alive.
Lǎohǔ méi dǎ dào,
老虎 没 打 到,
We didn’t find a tiger,
dǎ dào xiǎo sōngshǔ.
打 到 小 松鼠。
but we got little squirrels.
Sōngshǔ yǒu jǐ gè?
松鼠 有 几 个？
How many squirrels?
Ràng wǒ shǔ yi shǔ.
让 我 数 一 数。
Let’s count.
Shǔ lái yòu shǔ qù,
数 来 又 数 去，
Count again and again,
yī èr sān sì wǔ.
一 二 三 四 五。
one, two, three, four, five.
This nursery rhyme is well-liked by kids in China, partly because of its rhymes. As you can see from the pinyin, almost every sentence ends with the letter “u.” This makes the song fun for children to sing. Let’s learn some of words that end with the letter “u” in this nursery rhyme.
Chinese words:
wǔ
1. 五：five
Examples:
Wǒ yǒu wǔge píngguǒ.
我 有 五个 苹果。
I have five apples.
Zhèr yǒu wǔ zhī māo.
这儿 有 五 只 猫。
There are five cats here.
lǎohǔ
2. 老虎：tiger
Examples:
Lǎohǔ shì rénlèi de péngyou.
老虎 是 人类 的 朋友。
Tigers are friends of humans.
Xiǎo lǎohǔ zài wánshuǎ.
小 老虎 在 玩耍。
The little tiger is playing.
sōngshǔ
3. 松鼠: squirrel
Examples:
Wǒ xǐhuan sōngshǔ.
我 喜欢 松鼠。
I like squirrels.
Shùshang yǒu yì zhī sōngshǔ.
树上 有 一 只 松鼠。
There is a squirrel in the tree.
shǔ
4. 数: to count
Examples:
Wǒ zài shǔ shānyáng.
我 在 数 山羊。
I’m counting goats.
Cóng yī shǔ dào shí.
从 一 数 到 十。
Count from one to ten.
Can you read the above words correctly? Follow along with the above video and you’ll be able to recite 五指歌 (wǔzhǐgē)!
Exercise:
1. Please choose the answer that has an underlined portion of different pronunciation than the other three. _____
A. 五 (wǔ)
B. 我 (wǒ)
C. 数 (shǔ)
D. 虎 (hǔ)
2. What does 松鼠 (sōngshǔ) mean in Chinese?_____
A. tiger
B. squirrel
C. tree