Shíèr shēngxiāo gē
十二 生肖 歌
The Chinese Zodiac Song
Xiǎolǎoshǔ dǎtóur lái,
小老鼠 打头儿 来，
The little rat is the first to come.
Niú bǎ tír tái,
牛 把 蹄儿 抬，
The ox lifts up its hoof.
Lǎohǔ huítóu yìshēng hǒu,
老虎 回头 一声 吼，
The tiger turns around with a roar.
Tùzi tiàode kuài,
兔子 跳得 快，
The rabbit jumps quickly.
Lóng hé shé wěiba shuǎi,
龙 和 蛇 尾巴 甩，
The dragon and the snake swing their tails.
Mǎ yáng bùr mài,
马 羊 步儿 迈，
The horse and sheep step in stride.
Xiǎohóu jīling bèng yòu tiào,
小猴 机灵 蹦 又 跳，
The little monkey is clever, and jumping around.
Jī chàng tiānxià bái,
鸡 唱 天下 白，
The rooster crows at dawn.
Jī chàng tiānxià bái,
鸡 唱 天下 白，
The rooster crows at dawn.
Gǒur tiào zhūr jiào,
狗儿 跳 猪儿 叫，
The dog jumps and the pig snorts.
Lǎoshǔ yòu gēnlái,
老鼠 又 跟来，
The rat comes again.
Shíèr dòngwu zhuànquān pǎo,
十二 动物 转圈 跑，
These twelve animals run in a circle.
Qǐng bǎ shùnxu pái,
请 把 顺序 排，
Please place them in order.
Qǐng bǎ shùnxu pái.
请 把 顺序 排。
Please place them in order.
Vocabulary:
shēngxiāo
1. 生肖: Chinese zodiac
Lǎoshǔ zài shíèr shēngxiāo zhōng pái dìjǐ?
老鼠 在 十二 生肖 中 排 第几？
What’s the rank of rat in the Chinese zodiac?
Wǒ shǔ gǒu.
我 属 狗。
My Chinese zodiac is dog.
dǎtóur
2. 打头儿: be the first
Dǎtóur de shì Zhāng Lì.
打头儿 的 是 张 丽。
Zhang Li is the head (of the group).
Exercises:
1. How many animals are there in 生肖(shēngxiāo)?
A. 10
B. 15
C. 12
2. Which one of the following means “the first one to do something?”
A. 打头儿(dǎtóur)
B. 生肖(shēngxiāo)
C. 狗(gǒu)
Chinese for Kids
HSK Test
General Chinese (Beginner Level)
General Chinese (Intermediate Level)