Mandarin House Student Wins Award in Tongue Twister Contest

Mandarin House student Philipp Haas from Switzerland has won the Excellence Award in the Global Times Tongue Twister Contest. 

After 20 years of working in the Swiss government, Philipp came to China to spend time at Mandarin House focusing on learning Chinese language. “There is so much going on here, it just feels like the place to be.”

Due to his strong background in Chinese and coaching from his teachers at Mandarin House, Philipp was able to prepare his winning performance in just a few days. “The key was to practice slowly to get the tones right and also color-coordinate each line to keep them in order”, advises Philipp. “I’m also grateful to the patience of the recording staff at Mandarin House. Around the fifth take, I finally got it right.” For learning Chinese - practice and persistence makes perfect. 

Watch his performance below!

Transcript

1.  板凳宽，扁担长。
 bǎn dèng kuān ，biǎn dān cháng 。

扁担没有板凳宽，
 biǎn dān méi yǒu bǎn dèng kuān ，

板凳没有扁担长。
 bǎn dèng méi yǒu biǎn dān cháng 。

扁担要绑在板凳上，
 biǎn dān yào bǎng zài bǎn dèng shàng ，

板凳不让扁担绑在板凳上，
 bǎn dèng bú ràng biǎn dān bǎng zài bǎn dèng shàng ，

扁担偏要扁担绑在板凳上。 
biǎn dān piān yào biǎn dān bǎng zài bǎn dèng shàng 。

2.老齐欲想去卖鱼，
 lǎo qí yù xiǎng qù mài yú ，

巧遇老吕去牵驴，
 qiǎo yù lǎo lǚ qù qiān lǘ ，

老齐要用老吕的驴去驮鱼，
 lǎo qí yào yòng lǎo lǚ de lǘ qù tuó yú ，

老吕说老齐要用我老吕的驴驮鱼就得给我鱼，
 lǎo lǚ shuō lǎo qí yào yòng wǒ lǎo lǚ de lǘ tuó yú jiù dé gěi wǒ yú ，

要不给我鱼就别用我老吕的驴去驮鱼，
 yào bú gěi wǒ yú jiù bié yòng wǒ lǎo lǚ de lǘ qù tuó yú ，

二人争来争去都误了去赶集。
 èr rén zhēng lái zhēng qù dōu wù le qù gǎn jí 。