Some of our linguistically inclined Cantonese friends wouldn’t let us publish China Simplified: Language Empowerment without including this beloved Cantonese tongue twister.

The Cantonese recording (courtesy of George Lau) and English translation are provided below. We hope you enjoy it!

一蚊一斤龜, 七蚊一斤雞,
佢話龜貴過雞, 我話雞貴過龜,
咁究竟龜貴過雞定係雞貴過龜?

 Cantonese recording
Yat man yat kan kwai, chat man yat kan kai,
kui wa kwai kwai kwo kai, ngo wa kai kwai kwo kwai,
kam kau king kwai kwai kwo kai ting hai kai kwai kwo kwai?

Translation:
One dollar for a tortoise, seven dollars for a chicken.
He said the tortoise is more expensive than the chicken.
I said the chicken is more expensive than the tortoise.
So is the tortoise more expensive than the chicken,
or the chicken is more expensive than the tortoise?

English translation

Already read the book? Now HEAR the book!

China Simplified: Language Empowerment is available now on Audible. This entertaining, fast-paced recording, read by the book’s authors Katie Lu and Stewart Lee Beck, will help jump-start your Chinese language & cultural awareness, all in under 2 1/2 hours!

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