十个小朋友 – Ten Little Friends Song

This song is a favourite because the kids know the tune and hence the meaning very easily.  When the kids know it well, it can be used in their Mandarin learning journey over and over, replacing the noun friend with whatever noun you want!  The beauty is that the measure word will change.  After the kids have heard the song with several different nouns throughout their journey, they will notice the change of the measure word too.  This is just one little piece of their learning which will make measure words not such a bizarre concept for them when they get older!

You can watch a video on the Confucius for Kids website.  Of course explore the other fun stuff on the Confucius for Kids site too!  The lyrics below are to this particular version.

Ten little friends (Indians)

十个印第安小朋友 

yí gè liǎng gè sān gè
xiǎo péng yǒu

一个两个三个小朋友

sì gè wǔ gè liù gè
xiǎo péng yǒu

四个五个六个小朋友

qī gè bā gè jiǔ gè
xiǎo péng yǒu

七个八个九个小朋友

shí gè yìn dì’ān xiǎo péng yǒu

十个印第安小朋友

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