Fun Tongue Twisters In Mandarin Chinese To Practice

In Mandarin Chinese, there are a total of 5 tones – 4 basic pitch tones and 1 neutral tone. These tones are vital because they differentiate meanings. Take the word “ma,” for example. Without tone marks, you wouldn’t know if it means mother, horse, or something else entirely!

One of the best ways to practice these tones is by learning Mandarin Chinese tongue twisters, or 绕口令 (rào kǒu lìng). It’s a simple, fun, and effective exercise. Start practicing with these classics:

• 绕口令 (rào kǒu lìng): 妈妈骑马, 马慢, 妈妈骂马
  Pin Yin: mā ma qí mǎ, mǎ màn, mā ma mà mǎ
  English translation: Mother rides a horse, the horse is slow, mother scolds the horse.
• 绕口令 (rào kǒu lìng): 四 是 四 ， 十 是 十 ， 十 四 是 十 四 ， 四 十 是 四 十
  Pin Yin: sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shí sì shì shí sì, sì shí shì sì shí
  English translation: Four is four, ten is ten, fourteen is fourteen, forty is forty.
• 绕口令 (rào kǒu lìng): 老师是不是四十四岁
  Pin Yin: lǎo shī shì bú shì sì shí sì suì
  English translation: Is the teacher 44 years old?
• 绕口令 (rào kǒu lìng): 红凤凰，粉凤凰，粉红凤凰 花凤凰
  Pin Yin: hóng fèng huáng, fěn fèng huáng, fěn hóng fèng huáng huā fèng huáng
  English translation: Red phoenix, pink phoenix, pink-red phoenix, flowery phoenix.
• 绕口令 (rào kǒu lìng): 吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮，不吃葡萄倒吐葡萄皮
  Pin Yin: chī pú táo bù tǔ pú táo pí, bù chī pú táo dào tǔ pú táo pí
  English translation: When eating grapes don’t spit out the grape skin, when not eating grapes spit out the grape skin.
• 绕口令 (rào kǒu lìng): 老头端汤上塔，塔滑汤洒汤烫塔
  Pinyin: lǎo tóu duān tāng shàng tǎ, tǎ huá tāng sǎ tāng tàng tǎ
  English translation: The old man served the soup and went up the tower; the tower is slippery, the soup spilled and burned the tower.
• 绕口令 (rào kǒu lìng): 知道就说知道, 不知道就说不知道, 不要知道说不知道, 也不要不知道说知道, 你知道不知道
  Pinyin: zhī dào jiù shuō zhī dào, bù zhī dào jiù shuō bu zhī dào, bú yào zhī dào shuō bu zhī dào, yě bú yào bù zhī dào shuō zhī dào, nǐ zhīdào bù zhīdào
  English translation: If you know, say you know; if you don’t know, say you don’t know. Don't say you don't know when you know, and don't say you know when you don't. Do you know?