Chinese Children’s Song: 鱼儿水中游 Fish, Fish, Swim in the Water

By Ling-Ling Lisa Shih
From Ling-LingChinese.com

Video 1: 鱼儿水中游 (in simplified Chinese characters)

Video 2 (in traditional Chinese characters)

Lyrics for Fish Fish, Swim in the Water:

鱼儿鱼儿水中游,看见前面一线钩,钩上食味美,看得唾涎流,小鱼儿,别上钩,贪图享受失自由。
鱼儿鱼儿水中游,游来游去乐悠悠,倦了卧水草,饿了觅小虫,乐悠悠,乐悠悠,水晶世界任自由。

Lyrics for 鱼儿水中游 Fish, Fish, Swim in the Water (with Pinyin and simplified Chinese Characters)

ér ér shuĭ zhōng yóu kàn jiàn qián miàn xiàn gōu
线
gōu shàng shí wèi mĕi kàn tuò xián liú xiăo
ér bié shàng gōu tān xiăng shòu shī yóu
ér ér shuĭ zhōng yóu yóu lái yóu yōu yōu
juàn le shuĭ căo è le xiăo chóng yōu
饿
yōu yōu yōu shuĭ jīng shì jiè rèn yóu

Title: 鱼儿鱼儿水中游 (With English Translation)

(simplified chinese version)

鱼儿鱼儿水中游

Fishy, Fishy, swimming in the water

游來游去乐悠悠

Swim to and fro happily and leisurely

倦了卧水草

When they are tired, they lie down on the water plants

饿了覓小虫

When they are hungry, they look for little worms.

乐悠悠  乐悠悠

Happily and leisurely (or happy and free   Happy and free)

水晶世界任自由

The crystal world allows them to be free

鱼儿鱼儿水中游,

Fishy, Fishy, Swimming in the water

看见前面一线钩,

You see a [fish]line with a hook ahead

钩上食味美,看得唾涎流,

The food on the hook is delicious, making your mouth water just looking at it!

小鱼儿,别上钩,

Fishy, Don’t take the bait (or Don’t get hooked)

贪图享受失自由。

You will lose your freedom by seeking instant gratification

鱼儿水中游 Fish, Fish, Swim in the Water (in PDF) (including Chinese characters and pinyin)

 Vocabulary 生词

ID Chinese Trad. Pinyin English Definition
ID Chinese Trad. Pinyin English Definition
1 鱼儿 魚兒 ér  fish
2 shuǐ surname Shui; water; river; liquid; beverage; additional charges or income; (of clothes) classifier for number of washes
3

4

zhōng

yóu

in the middle of

To swim

5 看见 看見 kàn jiàn to see; to catch sight of
6 前面 qián miàn ahead; in front; preceding; above
7 一线 一線 xiàn front line; referring to a fishline
8 鈎, 鉤 gōu variant of ; to hook; to sew; to crochet; hook; check mark or tick; window catch
9 shàng on top; upon; above; upper; previous; first (of multiple parts); to climb; to get onto; to go up; to attend (class or university);
10 shí to eat; food; animal feed; eclipse
11 wèi taste; smell; classifier for drugs (in TCM)
12 měi the Americas; abbr. for 美洲 ; beautiful; very satisfactory; good; to beautify; to be pleased with oneself
13 kàn to see; to look at; to read; to watch; to visit; to call on; to consider; to regard as; to look after; to treat (an illness); to depend on; to feel (that); (after verb) to give it a try; Watch out! (for a danger)
14 de a sentence particle used after a verb to show effect; degree or possibility
14 tuò saliva; to spit
15 xián variant of ; saliva
16 liú to flow; to disseminate; to circulate or spread; to move or drift; to degenerate; to banish or send into exile; stream of water or sth resembling one; class, rate or grade
17 xiǎo small; tiny; few; young
18 bié surname Bie; to leave; to depart; to separate; to distinguish; to classify; other; another; do not; must not; to pin; to stick (sth) in
19 上钩 上鉤 shàng gōu to take the bait
20 贪图 貪圖 tān to covet; to seek (riches, fame)
21 享受 xiǎng shòu to enjoy; to live it up; pleasure; Classifiers:
22 shī to lose; to miss; to fail
23 自由 yóu freedom; free; liberty; Classifiers:
24 游来游 游來游 yóu lái yóu  To swim to and fro
25 to go; to go to (a place); to cause to go or send (sb); to remove; to get rid of; (when used either before or after a verb) to go in order to do sth; to be apart from in space or time; (after a verb of motion indicates movement away from the speaker); (used after certain verbs to indicate detachment or separation); (of a time or an event etc) just
26 surname Le; happy; cheerful; to laugh
27 悠悠 yōu yōu lasting for ages; long drawn out; remote in time or space; unhurried; a great number (of events); preposterous; pensive
28 juàn tired; old variant of
29 le (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (completed action marker)
30 to lie; to crouch
31 水草 shuǐ cǎo water plants; habitat with water source and grass
32 饿 è to be hungry; hungry
33 覓, 覔 to seek; to find; old variant of
34 chóng lower form of animal life, including insects, insect larvae, worms and similar creatures; Classifiers: ; person with a particular undesirable characteristic
35 水晶 shuǐ jīng crystal
36 世界 shì jiè world; Classifiers:
37 rèn surname Ren; to assign; to appoint; to take up a post; office; responsibility; to let; to allow; to give free rein to; no matter (how, what etc); classifier for the number of terms served in office, post, or rank

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By Ling-Ling Shih
From Ling-LingChinese.com

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