Updated on December 27, 2022
How many Chinese tongue twisters (绕口令, ràokǒulìng) do you know?
![Learn Chinese tongue twisters.](https://i0.wp.com/mingmandarin.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Learn-Chinese-tongue-twisters_.jpg?resize=599%2C450&ssl=1)
Welcome to Ming Mandarin’s free online Mandarin Chinese lessons. In this lesson, I will introduce you a few very famous Chinese tongue twisters.
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If you know Chinese abbreviations, it would be relatively easier to understand the tongue twisters.
Chinese Tongue Twister
- 三山撑四水,四水绕三山,三山四水春常在,四水三山四时春
- Sānshān chēng sì shuǐ, sì shuǐ rào sānshān, sānshān sì shuǐ chūn cháng zài, sì shuǐ sānshān sì shí chūn
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Tongue Twister Simplified
If you find this tongue twister difficult to pronounce, here is a simple breakup:
- Sān shān chēng sì shuǐ (三山撑四水),
- Sì shuǐ rào sān shān (四水绕三山),
- Sān shān sì shuǐ chūn cháng zài (三山四水春常在), and
- Sì shuǐ sān shān sì shí chūn (四水三山四时春).
- Lesson 1 (Level 1): Common Mandarin Chinese Verbs with Examples
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- Lesson 1 (Level 4): 2 Must Know Famous Ancient Chinese Poems
- Lesson 1 (Level 5): Chinese Reading Practice with Pinyin & English
Chinese Tongue Twister Interpretation
In this tongue twister, three mountains (三山, Sān shān) refer to the three mountains in Hunan (湖南, Húnán) province of China:
- Hupingshan (壶瓶山, Hú píngshān): located in the northwestern part of Shimen County (石门县, Shímén xiàn),
- Jiashan (夹山, Jiā shān) : south of Shimen County, and
- Langshan (崀山, Làng shān): Xinning County (新宁县, Xīnníng xiàn)
The four rivers (四水, sì shuǐ) are the four major river systems (四大水系, Sì dà shuǐxì) of Hunan:
- Xinag (湘, Xiāng),
- Zi (资, zī),
- Yuan (沅, yuán), and
- Li (澧, lǐ).
![Chinese tongue twisters.](https://i0.wp.com/mingmandarin.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Chinese-tongue-twisters.jpg?resize=700%2C639&ssl=1)
Now let’s look at the following explanations:
- 三山 (sān shān; three mountains) 撑 (chēng, support) 四水 (sì shuǐ, four rivers)
- 四水 (sì shuǐ, four rivers) 绕 (rào, twine around) 三山 (sān shān, three mountains)
- 三山 (sān shān, three mountains), 四水 (sì shuǐ, four rivers) 春常在 chūn cháng zài (found in spring)
- 四水 (sì shuǐ, four rivers) 三山 (sān shān, three mountains) 四时春 (sì shí chūn, four seasons are always like spring)
I hope now you are comfortable with this tongue twister. Let’s give a try once more:
- 三山撑四水,四水绕三山,三山四水春常在,四水三山四时春
- Sānshān chēng sì shuǐ, sì shuǐ rào sānshān, sānshān sì shuǐ chūn cháng zài, sì shuǐ sānshān sì shí chūn
How about new tongue twisters? Let’s try?
![Another tongue twister.](https://i0.wp.com/mingmandarin.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Another-tongue-twister.jpg?resize=694%2C391&ssl=1)
How do you feel about the Chinese tongue twisters?
Let me know. 🙂
– Jia Ming