Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is one of the most well-known nursery rhymes and lullabies of all times.
It has been translated into many languages. There are a few versions each in Cantonese and Mandarin but these seem to be the more popular versions:
| English | Cantonese | Mandarin |
| Twinkle Twinkle Little Star | 小星星 | 小星星 |
| Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! |
一閃一閃小星星 一顆一顆亮晶晶 高高掛在天空上 閃閃散佈似鑽石 一閃一閃小星星 一顆一顆亮晶晶 |
一閃一閃亮晶晶 滿天都是小星星 掛在天上放光明 好像許多小眼睛 一閃一閃亮晶晶 滿天都是小星星 |
Cantonese version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – 小星星
There is another Cantonese version where the Cantonese tones in the lyrics fit the tune better – 給我找顆小星星. And of course it comes with a cute video.
The tune has been around for centuries, the earliest publication found being a French song Ah! vous dirai-je, maman, in 1761. The English lyrics are over a 100 years old, written by a 23 year-old Jane Taylor and published in 1806. Today, a few popular nursery rhymes use the same tune including Baa Baa Black Sheep and the Alphabet song.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star itself has been translated to many languages all over the world. This makes it easy to learn new languages with the same tune. I’m pleased to see that it has also been translated to Australian Aboriginal languages too.
Available are the printables for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Cantonese Lyrics and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Mandarin Lyrics. (Note: We are including Mandarin lyrics for this song as it is very close to the Cantonese version, and may be useful for those also teaching Mandarin. )
There is also Christian version of Twinkle Twinkle 一閃一閃亮晶晶 in Mandarin by Stream of Praise.
Please check out other nursery rhyme and song lyrics. Each one has a printable. We will be slowly adding to the collection.