Go BackIn the old days, children in the Baba Nyonya families in Penang were taught at home by private tutors until such time that they are old enough to be sent to English or mission schools. This nursery rhyme, told in question and answers, is used by the tutor to introduce biology to children. The tutor provides a statement, while the children ask the subsequent question.
I learned this Hokkien rhyme from an elderly nanny who taught me when I saw small. It is just one of many Hokkien rhymes. Unfortunately, I have forgotten the majority of them before it dawned on me that I should write them down. I created the video file below so that you can follow this nursery rhyme. I am reading out the nursery rhyme slowly for the video, so that you can follow along.
- Chau1 Maek1 Kong1, gau3 chie3 gu2
- Gu2 ta1lok1?
Gu2 beh33 gin2. - Gin2 ta1lok1?
Gin2 chua33 bor4 - Bor4 ta1lok1?
Bor4 snaeh3 knia4. - Knia4 ta1lok1?
Knia4 snaeh3 soon1. - Soon1 ta1lok1?
Soon1 knua1 ah3. - Ah3 ta1lok1?
Ah3 snaeh3 nui3. - Nui3 ta1lok1?
Nui3 chnia1 lang3kheh3 - Lang3kheh3 ta1lok1?
Lang3kheh3 pang1sai4. - Sai4 ta1lok1?
Sai4 ark1 chye3. - Chye3 ta1lok1
Chye3 kiat1chee4. - Chee4 ta1lok1?
Chee4 cnua3 iu2. - Iu2 ta1lok1?
Iu2 tiam1 hoay4. - Hoay4 ta1lok1?
Hoay4 Chau1 Maek1 Kong1 pun2 sit3!
The Translation
- The dear Grasshopper, is fed to the cow,
- Where's the cow?
It's sold for money. - Where's the money?
It's used to get a wife. - Where's the wife?
She's giving birth. - Where's the child?
She's giving birth. - Where's the grandchild?
He's herding the ducks. - Where're the ducks?
They're laying eggs. - Where're the eggs?
They're being served to the guests. - Where're the guests?
They've gone to the toilet. - Where's their stool?
It's fertilizing the vegetables. - Where're the vegetables?
They're forming seeds. - Where're the seeds?
They're being milled for oil. - Where's the oil?
It's being lit. - Where's the fire?
Extinguished, by the dear Grasshopper.
Vocabulary
- ah3 [aʔ]: (noun) duck
- ark3 [ak]: (verb) to water, to sprinkle on
- bor4 [bɔ]: (noun) wife
- chau1mek3 [tshau-mɛk]: (noun) grasshopper, the suffix kong1 is often attached as a term of endearment
- chnia4 [tshiã]: (verb) to invite, to treat
- cnua3 yiu2 [tsuã-iu]: (verb) to boil oil, usually part of oil refinement, to extract oil from seeds
- gin2 [gin]: (noun) money
- gu2 [gu]: (noun) cow, bull
- hoay4 [hoe]: (noun) fire
- kiat1chee4 [kiɛt-tsi]: (verb) to form seeds
- knia4 [kiã]: (noun) child, offspring
- knua4 [kuã]: (verb) to herd, to drive, to hurry
- lang3kheh3 [laŋ-khɛʔ]: (noun) guest, customer, visitor
- pang1sai4 [paŋ-sai]: (verb) to defecate, to experience a bowel movement
- poon2 sit3 [pun-sit]: (verb) to blow out, to extinguish
- nui3RW [nui]: (noun) egg
- sai4 [sai]: (noun) shit, stool, faeces, excrement
- soon1 [sun]: (noun) grandchild
- tiam4 [tiam]: (verb) to light, to ignite
About this website
Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.
While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.
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