Chinese, Yue or Cantonese Tongue Twisters
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| Original: | 白石白又滑 搬來白石搭白塔 白石塔白石搭 白石搭白塔 搭好白石塔 白塔白又滑 |
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| Transcription: | baak6 sek6 baak6 jau6 waat6 bun1 loi4 baak6 sek6 daap2 baak6 t'aap2 baak6 sek6 t'aap2 baak6 sek6 daap2 baak6 sek6 daap2 baak6 t'aap2 daap2 hou5 baak6 sek6 t'aap2 baak6 t'aap3 baak6 jau6 waat6 |
| English: | White rock is white and smooth. Bring a white rock to build a white pagoda. The white pagoda is built of white rock. Build the white pagoda with white rock. When the building of the white rock pagoda is completed, the white pagoda is white and smooth. |
| Original: | 入實驗室 噤緊急制 |
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| Transcription: | jap6 sat6 jim6 sat1, kam6 gan5 gap1 zai2 |
| English: | Enter the laboratory to press the emergency button |
| Original: | 掘金掘吉掘雞骨 |
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| Transcription: | gwat3 gum1 gwat3 gat1 gwat3 gai1 gwat1 |
| English: | Dig the gold, dig the bones, dig the bones of the chicken. |
| Original: | 入食物實驗室噤十個緊急掣。 |
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| Transcription: | jap6 sik6 mat6 sat6 jim6 sat1 gam6 gan2 sap6 go3 gam6 gap1 zai3 |
| English: | Get into the food laboratory and press ten emergency buttons. Literally: enter (1st character) / food laboratory (2nd-5th) / pressing (6-7th) / ten (8th) / [quantitative word] (9th) / emergency button (10-12th) |
| Original: | 床腳撞牆腳， 牆腳撞床腳， 你話床腳撞牆腳定牆腳撞床腳。 |
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| Transcription: | cong4 goek3 zong6 coeng4 gok3 coeng4 gok3 zong6 cong4 goek3 nei5 waa6 cong4 goek3 zong6 coeng4 gok3 ding6 coeng4 gok3 zong6 cong4 goek3 |
| English: | A leg of bed hits a corner of wall, and the other way round happens. Does the leg of bed hit the corner of wall, or the corner of wall hit the leg of bed? Literally: leg of bed (1-2) / hit (3) / corner of wall (4-5) / corner of wall (6-7) / hit (8) / leg of bed (9-10) / you (11) / say, reckon, think (12) / leg of bed (13-14) / hit (15) / corner of wall (16-17) / or (18) / corner of wall (19-20) / hit (21) / leg of bed (22) |
| Original: | 人地話︰東門董家個冬瓜大過西門施家個西瓜又大過東門東家個冬瓜0的。 |
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| Transcription: | jan4 dei6 waa6 / dung1 mun4 dung2 gaa1 go3 dung1 gwaa1 daai6 gwo3 sai1 mun4 si1 gaa1 go3 sai1 gwaa1 jau6 daai6 gwo3 dung1 mun4 dung1 gaa1 go3 dung1 gwaa1 di |
| English: | The Dung's in the east of the town has a gourd bigger than the watermelon of the Si's in the west of the town. On the other hand, the gourd of the Dung's is a little bit bigger than that of the Dung's [N.B. another Dung] in the east of the town. Literally: someone (1-2) / say, rumour (3) / east of the town [the east gate] (4-5) / Dung's [the family of Dung] (6-7) / [genitive word] (8) / gourd ['winter gourd'] (9-10) / bigger than (11-12) / west of the town [the west gate] (13-14) / Si's [the family of Si] (15-16) / [genitive word] (17) / water melon (18-19) / as well, also (20) / bigger than (21-22) / east of the town [the east gate] (23-24) / Dung's [the family of Dung, N.B. another Dung] (25-26) / [genitive word] (27) / gourd ['winter gourd'] (28-29) / [interjection, meaning scantily, a little bit] |
| Original: | 雙層牛肉巨無霸， 醬汁洋蔥夾青瓜， 芝士生菜加芝麻， 人人食過笑哈哈。 |
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| Transcription: | soeng1 cang4 ngau4 juk6 geoi6 mou4 baa3 zoeng3 zap1 joeng4 cung1 gaap3 ceng1 gwaa1 zi1 si6 sang1 coi3 gaa1 zi1 maa4 jan4 jan4 sik6 gwo3 siu3 haa1 haa1 |
| English: | Within the Quarter Pounder with Cheese, you'll find sauce, onion, cucumber, also cheese, lettuce, and sesame - everyone who has tried this will be jolly! Literally: Quarter Pounder with Cheese (1-7) / sauce (8-9) / onion (10-11) / hold in between (12) / cucumber (14) / cheese (15-16) / lettuce (17-18) / plus, add (19) / sesame (20-21) / everybody (22-23) / have tried, have eaten (24-25) / laugh (26) / [interjection, sounding HAHA] (27) |
| Original: | 一蚊一斤龜，七蚊一斤雞。你話雞貴過龜，定係龜貴過雞﹖咁究竟雞貴定龜貴﹖ |
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| Transcription: | jat1 man1 jat1 gan1 gwai1 / cat1 man1 jat1 gan1 gai1 / nei5 waa6 gai1 gwai3 gwo3 gwai1 / ding6 hai6 gwai1 gwai3 gwo3 gai1 / gam2 gau3 ging2 gai1 gwai3 ding6 gwai1 gwai3 |
| English: | A 0.5kg tortoise costs a dollar. A 0.5kg chicken costs seven dollars. Does chicken cost more than tortoise, or tortoise than chicken? Afterall, which is more expensive? Literally: one (1) / dollar (2) / one (3) / half kilogram [approximately] (4) / tortoise (5) / seven (6) / dollar (7) / one (8) / half kilogram (9) / chicken (10) / you (11) / say, reckon, think (12) / chicken (13) / more expensive than (14-15) / tortoise (16) / or (17) / tortoise (18) / more expensive than (19-20) / chicken (21) / [interjection, meaning so, then, how about] (22) / whether (23-24) / chicken (25) / more expensive (26) / or (27) / tortoise (28) / more expensive (29) |
| Original: | 郵差叔叔 送信純屬 迅速送出 |
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| Transcription: | jau4 tsai1 song3 sun3 sun4 sok6 sun3 tsok1 song3 tsoet1 |
| English: | When the postman delivers a letter, he simply delivers it swiftly. |
| Original: | 酩酊兵丁停定聽 |
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| English: | (A) drunk soldier stopped to listen. |
| Original: | 富婦扶夫赴傅府 |
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| English: | (A) rich woman carried her husband to the Fu's residence. |
| Original: | 狗狗狗，狗狗又狗狗 |
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| English: | Dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs and more dogs |
| Original: | 三只松鼠，偷偷摘摘杏 |
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| English: | Three squirrels secretly pick apricots |
| Original: | 黑白黑，白黑白，黑白黑白黑白 |
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| English: | Black white black, white black white, black white black white black white |
| Original: | 六和六六大顺，六和六六六和六 |
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| English: | Six plus six equals twelve smoothly, six plus six equals twelve plus six |
| Original: | 九个鸡蛋，加上九个鸡蛋，是九十九个鸡蛋 |
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| English: | Nine eggs plus nine eggs are ninety-nine eggs |
| Original: | 十個手指指十個手，十個手指指十個手指 |
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| English: | Ten fingers point to ten hands, ten fingers point to ten fingers |
| Original: | 雞公雞婆，雞公雞婆和雞婆雞公 |
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| English: | Cock and hen, cock and hen and hen and cock |
| Original: | 九個蛋，加上九個蛋，是十八個蛋 |
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| English: | Nine eggs plus nine eggs are eighteen eggs |