How to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle” in Mandarin.

You like singing, don’t you? I do. It’s part of why children are fun. You get to sing without feeling all self-conscious about it.

Here’s a song you know, although you might not recognize it at first – this is how you sing it in Mandarin. With your kids, if they’ll settle down long enough to do it!

…One by one, glittering bright,
Yi shan yi shan, liang jing jing,

‘EE shan EE shan, lee-ang jing jing (the “jing” is said almost like “cheeung” only very quickly at the back of the throat.)
—————-
…all the sky is filled with little stars.
man tian dou shi xiao xing xing.

mahn chee-un dow shirr hsee-ow hsing hsing.
—————-
…Hugging the sky, hanging and shining,
Gua zai tian kong fang guang ming,

Gwah tz-eye chee-un kong fung goo-ang ming, (like “jing,” fast and at back of throat.)
—————-
…resembling many little eyes.
hao xiang xu duo xiao yan jing.

how hsee-ang hsoo doo-oh hsee-ow yun jing.
—————–
…One by one, glittering bright,
Yi shan yi shan, liang jing jing,

‘EE shan EE shan, lee-ang jing jing
—————-
…all the sky is filled with little stars.
man tian dou shi xiao xing xing

Mahn chee-un dow shirr hsee-ow hsing hsing.
—————–
Here’s one version online, at the Xue Xue Putonghua language school, part of the Hong Kong International School. The songs are scanned so they are hard to read, but it does have the first verse of “Twinkle, Twinkle…” in pinyin and Chinese characters.

If you want to hear a Hong Kong pop version, there’s one up here, but you have to register (and it’s not really the same song, just one that shares a few words).

Listen carefully, practice often, and soon you’ll be ready to tackle “Ba Bai Biao Bing” (Eight Hundred Spearmen), a Mandarin tongue twister.

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