Our free Mandarin Chinese course continues now with lesson 5 click here for a link to today’s video: Lesson 5 – 金木水火土. Alternatively you can click the copy link button on the page below and paste it into a new browser so you can still access this page.
Based on Chinese primary school textbook this lesson includes an examination of the Chinese characters 金，木，水，火，土. Do you recognise any of these characters? Do you know which tone to pronounce them in? Are you able to look away and write any of them? Our class today covers pages 7 and 8 of 一年级语文上册，the year one Chinese primary school texbook. If you have a copy of this book you can read along，here is a link to a page which shares the content of the book: 一年级语文. If not this stands alone as a class that you can follow without any extra material.
By the end of today’s class you will have commited these characters to memory, thanks to a range of mnemonic techniques, repetition and seeing the characters in context. This class will also show you how to write these characters including using the strokes in their correct order.
What are the 5 Chinese elements?
These characters are the five Chinese elements: 金 meaning metal, 木 meaning wood, 水 meaning water, 火 meaning fire, and 土 meaning earth. The five traditional elements have traditionally played a big role in a Chinese people’s understanding of the world. Many Chinese today continue to believe that we can apply our learning about the interactions between these 5 elements to the relationships between people, the ebbs and flows of society. Many older Chinese people still place great faith in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is underpinned by knowledge about the interactions of these 5 elements. In addition these 5 characters play an important role in ancient Chinese philosophy and are a foundational concept in Taoism and the I Ching (Book of Changes).
Chinese Primary Schol Textbook – lesson 5
5.1 – A new Teacher
Without further ado, let’s continue our examination of the Chinese Primary school textbook. This time me meet a new teacher called 刘安逸.
00.00 – 亲爱的同学们大家好。我是北京市海淀区翠微小学的老师刘安逸。今天很高兴和大家一起学习。这课我们将走进有趣的汉字王国. 学习识字啊: 金木水火土。
Qīnàide tóngxuémen dàjiāhǎo. Wǒshì Běijīng Shì Hǎidiàn qū cuìwēi xiǎo xué de lǎoshī LiúAn1 yì 。 Jīntiān hěngāoxīng hé dàjiā yīqǐ xuéxí zhè jiè kè wǒmen jiāng zǒujìn yǒuqù de hànzì wángguó. Xuéxí shízì a: 金木 水火土
Hello dear students. I am Teacher LiuAnYi from Cuiwei school in Beijing. In today’s class we will enter the interesting Kingdom of characters together. We will learn the characters for metal, wood, water, fire and earth.
5.2 Open books to page 7 and look at today’s Characters: 金木水火土
In today’s Chinese class our teacher wants us to to be able to read, write and understand the use of the characters for metal 金，wood 木，water 水，fire 火 and 土 meaning earth. When she asks us to open the book and turn to page 7 the books she is referring to is the official year one language textbook that is used in primary schools the length and breadth of China. In Chinese the name of this book is: 小学语文一年级上册.
00.25 – 请你轻轻翻开语文书第七页, 要开始读书了。身坐直脚放平双手拿书向外倾。
Qǐng nǐ qīngqīng fānkāi yǔwén shū dìqī yè， yāo kāishǐ dúshū le. Shēn zuò zhí jiǎo fàngpíng shuāngshǒu ná shū xiàngwài qīng.
Please carefully open your books and turn to page 7, you are about to start reading. Keep your body still and feet flat, and hold the book with both hands.
00.36 – 老师读一句请你跟着读一句。
Lǎoshī dú yījù qǐng nǐ gēnzhe dú yījù。
Teacher will read a sentence and you follow.
We are now introduced to the characters 金木水火土. Pay special attention to their pronunciation: jīn mù shuǐ huǒ tǔ. Note that although the poem below may appear simple or even meaningless at first glance, a closer inspection reveals a much deeper meaning. First we have the traditional 5 Chinese elements: 金木水火土, metal, wood, water, fire and earth, followed by the chinese characters for 1-5.
00.42 – 二。金木水火土。
一二三四五。
金木水火土。
天地分上下，
日月照金古。
jīn mù shuǐ huǒ tǔ
yī èr sān sì wǔ 。
jīn mù shuǐ huǒ tǔ 。
tiān dì fēn shàng xià ，
rì yuè zhào jīn gǔ 。Metal, wood, water, fire, earth
One Two Three Four Five
Heaven and earth are divided into upper and lower
The sun and the moon shine on the past and the present.
01.00 – 把书方平在桌面上。看，标红的字是我们今天要认识的生子。我们一起来认识他们吧。老师读一遍请你跟着读一遍。
Bǎ shū fāng píng zài zhuō miàn shàng 。 Kàn ， biāo hóng de zì shì wǒ mén jīn tiān yào rèn shí de shēng zǐ , wǒ mén yī qǐ lái rèn shí tā mén bā 。 Lǎo shī dú yī biàn qǐng nǐ gēn zhuó dú yī biàn。
Put the book on the table. Look, the words that are in red are the ones that we need to know today, let’s learn them together. I will say the words and you repeat them.
5.3 How to pronounce the Chinese characters for 1,2,3,4,5 and above, below
Next our teacher homes in on the characters for 1-5 in Chinese. We learn how to recognise these characters and pronounce them correctly.
01.13 – 一二三四五，上，下。同学们注意读三四十要把舌尖神平. 顶着牙齿再读一遍三四。
Yī èr sān sì wǔ ， shàng ， xià 。 Tóng xué mén zhù yì dú sān sì shí yào bǎ shé jiān shén píng. Dǐng zhé yáchǐ zài dú yībiàn: sān sì.
One two three four five, above, under. Students, remember to keep the tip of your tongue flat and keep your teeth close together when when pronouncing 3 and 4. Let’s read it again: three, four.
01.33 – 我们先来看一二三四五。伸出你的小手数一数：一二三四五。
5.4 – Five Elements
At this point, and without scrolling up, can you remember the materials that make up the traditional 5 Chinese elements？Watch the next segment of the video for a reminder.
01.44– 看有五个小伙伴来和大家一起学习了。一起叫叫他们的名字吧。他们就是金木水火土。同学们在生活中遇到过他们吗？听听这两位同学是怎么说的
Kàn yǒu wǔgè xiǎohuǒ bàn lái hé dàjiā yīqǐ xuéxí le. Yīqǐ jiào tāmende míngzi ba. Tāmen jiùshì jīn, mù, shuǐ, huǒ, tǔ tóngxuémen zài shēnghuó zhōng yùdào guò tāmen ma? Tīng Tīng zhè liǎng wèi tóngxué shì zěnme shuō de.
Look here are 5 friends, they have come here to study with you. Let’s say their names together: Gold（metal), Wood, water, fire and earth. Students have you ever come across these elements in your life? Listen to what these two students have to say.
02.03 – 我在生活中看到过妈妈带的项链是黄金的。我手里的铅笔杆是木头的。
Wǒ zàishēnghuózhōng kàndào guò māma dài de xiàngliàn shì huángjīn de. Wǒ shǒulǐ de qiānbǐ gān shì mùtou de.
In my life I have seen my mother wearing a gold necklace. And in my hand there is a pencil with a wooden shaft.
02.14 – 我来补充我们每天都要喝水。做饭会用到火。大树小草生长在土里。
Wǒlái bǔchōng wǒmen měitiāndōu yào hēshuǐ。 Zuòfàn huì yòng dào huǒ 。 Dàshù xiǎo cǎo shēngzhǎng zài tǔ lǐ。Let me add, we need to drink water every day. We use fire to do our cooking, and tall trees and short grass grow in the ground.02.25 – 是啊。老师也想来补充。你们知道吗金不仅指黄金，还包括其他的金属呢。比如我们做手工用的小剪刀，开门用的钥匙，都是金属做成的。Shì a lǎoshī yě xiǎnglái bǔchōng。Nǐmen zhīdào mǎ jīn bùjǐn zhǐ huángjīn hái bāokuò qítāde jīnshǔ ne。 Bǐrú wǒmen zuòshǒu gōng yòng de xiǎo jiǎndāo kāimén yòng ， yàoshi dōu shì jīnshǔ zuòchéng de.Yes, teacher would like to add something too. Do you know that here the character 金 does not just include gold, it also includes other metals. For example, the scissors used in handicrafts and the key to open the door, they are also made of metals.02.40 – 所以啊金木水火土就在我们身边随处可见。一起来读一读吧。一 二 三 四 五，金 木 水 火 土。Suǒyǐ a jīn mù shuǐhuǒ tǔ jiù zài wǒmen shēnbiān suíchù kějiàn. Yìqǐlái dú yī dú ba:
yī èr sān sì wǔ
jīn mù shuǐhuǒ tǔ。So, we can find the elements metal, wood, water, fire and earth all around use, everywhere. Let’s read together:one, two, three, four, five.metal, wood, water, fire, earth.02.57 – 我们继续学习，跟老师读：天 地 分 上 下日 月 照 金 古。wǒmen jì xù xué xí gēn lǎoshī dòu/dú
tiān dì fēn shàng xià
rì yuè zhào jīn gǔLets continue our study, follow teacher:sky and earth are divided into up and aboveand the sun and moon shine on both past and present
5.4 How the earth and the sky came to seperate
Next our teacher introduces a Chinese folktale and creation story called the legend of Pangu. This story, one familiar to Chinese students, tells us how the earth and sky came to seperate.
3.06 – 一说到天地分上下呀， 刘老师班的故事大王，给大家带来了一个有趣的神话故事。一起来听：
Yī shuō dào tiān dì fēn shàng xià ya， liú lǎo shī bān de gù shì dà wáng， gěi dà jiā dài lái le yī gè yǒu qù de shén huà gù shi。 Yī qǐ lái tīng：
Speaking of the division of heaven and earth, the story of today’s class is an interesting fairy tale. Listen together:
3.18 – 传说在很久很久以前天和地还没有分开，宇宙像个打鸡蛋，漆黑一片。一个叫盘古的巨人，在黑暗中一直睡了18，000年。有一天他突然醒了发现周围一片漆黑，就抡起把神符猛的一批。混沌一片的东西渐渐分开了。轻的东西上升变成了天，中的东西下沉变成了地。这样天和地就分开了。
Chuán shuō zài hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐ qián tiān hé di huán méi yǒu fēn kāi yǔ zhòu xiàng gè dá jī dàn qī hēi yī piān yī gè jiào pán gǔ de jù rén zài hēi àn zhōng yī zhí shuì le nián yǒu yī tiān tā tū rán xǐng le fā xiàn zhōu wéi yī piān qī hēi jiù lūn qǐ bǎ shén fú měng de yī pī hùn dùn yī piān de dōng xī jiàn jiàn fēn kāi le qīng de dōng xī shàng shēng biàn chéng le tiān zhòng dì dōng xī xià chén biàn chéng le de zhè yàng tiān hé de jiù fēn kāi le。
It is said that long, long ago the sky and the earth were not seperate, and the universe was like one big dark egg. A giant called PanGu had been sleeping in the dark for 18,000 years when one day he woke suddenly. Discovering the surrounding darkness he picked up his ax and struck fiercely. The chaos gradually seperated. The light rose to become the sky and the heavy sank to form the ground. So heaven and earth had become seperate.
4.08 – 天地分开。天在上地在下，孕育着万事万物。你看天地间有郁郁葱葱的小草。一颗大树扎根地下，还吸引来一群可爱的小鸟呢。
Tiān dì fēn kāi 。 Tiān zài shàng dì zài xià ， yùn yù zhuó wàn shì wàn wù 。 Nǐ kàn tiān dì jiān yǒu yù yù cōng cōng de xiǎo cǎo 。 Yī kē dà shù zā gēn dì xià ， huán xī yǐn lái yī qún kě ài de xiǎo niǎo ne。
Heaven and earth seperated: all the conceivable parts of heaven up and earth down. Look at the luscious grass in the world, a big tree rooted in the ground. It has attracted a group of cute birds.
5.5 – 天地分上下 up and down in Chinese
Do you know the characters for up and down in Chinese? If so are you able to write them? In this part of the class we learn to recognise the chracters 上 and 下 – using some mnemonic techniques -，the strokes used to form them and the order of those strokes.
4.26 – 同学们仔细看这幅图，哪些在地面之上？哪些在地面之下呢？用你的小手指一指说一说。
Tóng xué mén zī xì kàn zhè fú tú ， nǎ xiē zài dì miàn zhī shàng ？ nǎ xiē zài dì miàn zhī xià ne ？ Yòng nǐ de xiǎo shǒu zhǐ yī zhǐ shuō yī shuō.
Students examine this picture carefully. Point with your little finger and say which things are above the ground and which below?
Our teacher now gives us some further information on how to write the characters 上 and 下。
4.38 – 小草大树小鸟在上，舌根和草根在地面之下。同学们来看这两个字。你看上和下的长横多像这片平坦的地呀。上字的竖和短横在这横之上。下字的竖和点在横之下。这样上和下我们就区分开了。
Xiǎo cǎo dà shù xiǎo niǎo zài shàng ， shé gēn hé cǎo gēn zài dì miàn zhī xià 。 Tóng xué mén lái kàn zhè liǎng gè zì 。 nǐ kàn shàng hé xià de cháng héng duō xiàng zhè piàn píng tǎn de dì yā 。 shàng zì de shù hé duǎn héng zài zhè héng zhī shàng 。 xià zì de shù hé diǎn zài héng zhī xià 。 zhè yàng shàng hé xià wǒ mén jiù qū fēn kāi liǎo。
The small grass and big tree are at the top. The tree and grass roots are under the ground. Students look at these two words. The upper and lower horizontal strokes (横） are much like the flat ground. The upper character then has a vertical stroke and a horizontal stroke above the horizontal one. The vertical vodnward stroke and the dot of the next character are below the ground. This way we can distinguish between up and down.
5.08 – 一起读读吧：上，下。这两个字又回到句中了。一起来读： 天地分上下。
Yī qǐ dú dú bā ： shàng ， xià 。 Zhè liǎng gè zì yòu huí dào jù zhōng liǎo 。 Yī qǐ lái dú ： tiān dì fēn shàng xià。
Let’s read together: up, down. These two characters can go back in the sentence. let’s read together: heaven and earth divide up and down.
5.6 – 日月照金古 day and night
Our deep dive into the lyrics of today’s poem continue with the lines 日月照金古。
5.20 继续学习日月照金古。太阳和月亮总是这样一个白天一个夜晚照耀着我们从古今。
jì xù xué xí rì yuè zhào jīn gǔ 。 tài yáng hé yuè liàng zǒng shì zhè yàng yī gè bái tiān yī gè yè wǎn zhào yào zhuó wǒ mén cóng gǔ jīn
Lets continue with the line the sun, moon, shine, past, present. The sun and the moon shine from morning to night every day, brightening the past and the present.
5.35 – 在一起读读这一句：日月照今古。
Zài yī qǐ dú dú zhè yī jù rì yuè zhào jīn gǔ
Let’s read this sentence together: sun, moon, shine, past and present.
5.41 – 这首小儿哥呀，还朗朗上口。我们可以边拍手边读。伸出你的小手跟老师拍手读儿歌吧。
Zhè shǒu xiǎo ér gē ya hái lǎn glǎngshàngkǒu。 Wǒmen kěyǐ biān pāishǒu biān dú。 Shēnchū nǐde xiǎo shǒu gēn lǎoshī pāishǒu dú érgē ba。
This song is very catchy. Let’s sing it together while clapping our hands. Hold out your little hands and clap and sing.
5.52 – 二。金木水火土。
一二三四五，
金木水火土。
天地分上下，
日月照今古。
jīn mù shuǐ huǒ tǔ
yī èr sān sì wǔ 。
jīn mù shuǐ huǒ tǔ 。tiān dì fēn shàng xià
rì yuè zhào jīn gǔMetal, wood, water, fire, earth
One Two Three Four Five
Heaven and earth are divided into upper and lower
The sun and the moon shine on the past and the present.
Our teacher now gives us a test to see if we have been able to commit any of our new rhyme to memory.
6.06 – 这样就能读出儿歌的节奏了。看儿歌里的一些生字 躲起来了，你还能读对吗？试一试吧。
Zhè yàng jiù néng dú chū ér gē de jié zòu le. Kān ér gē lǐ de yī xiē shēng zì duǒ qǐ lai le nǐ huán néng dú duì mǎ? Shì yī shì bā.
By reading in this way we will be able to capture the tune of the nursery rhyme. Look at the song, some of the characters are hiding, can you still read it? Have a try.
By hiding our teacher means some of the words have been removed. This is a technique that language teachers across the globe call a gap-fill exercise. You can, of course create your own gap fill exercises, by simple writing out a text of Word, then remove some of the characters. Come back to it later and see if you are able to put the characters back without looking. Check your answers by looking at the original text as you first found it. Gap-fill exercises are a great way for you to practice your grammar as well as to see if you have commited a piece of vocabulary to memory.
6.18 – 听听这位同学读对了吗？
tīng tīng zhè wèi tóng xuédú duì le mǎ
Listen to this student, does he read it correctly?
6.19 – 我来读; 儿。金木水火土，一二三四五，金木水火土。天地分上下，日月照今古。
Wǒ lái dú； ér。 Jīn mù shuǐ huǒ tǔ， yī èr sān sì wǔ， jīn mù shuǐ huǒ tǔ。 Tiān dì fēn shàng xià rì yuè zhào jīn gǔ。
I will read. Two; Metal wood, water fire earth, one two three four five metal wood water fire earth. Heaven and earth are divided into upper and lower. The sun and the moon shine on the past and the present.
6.36 – 读的很准确，这刺呀难度加大了。试着背一背吧。如果你不会背也没关系，下课可以继续联习。
Dúde hěn zhǔn què, zhè cī ya nán dù jiā dà le. Shì zhe bēi yī bēi bā. Rú guǒ nǐ bú huì bēi yě méi guān xi xià kè kě yǐ jì xù lián xí
You read it very accurately. This time it is going to be more difficult. Recite it. Don’t worry if you can’t remember it you can continue practicing after class.
5.7 – Today’s Focus Words
In the next section of our class our teacher guides us on how to write today’s focus characters: 一二三四五上下. After some pronunciation practice we to see how the characters are written in the correct stroke order. Read on to find out how to write 1,2,3,4 and 5 correctly in Chinese.
6.50 – 课文后面蓝色线中的字是我们这节课要认识的生子。我们做个小游戏检查一下你是不是记住了。
Kèwén hòumiàn lán sè xiàn zhòng de zì shì wǒ men zhè jiē kè yāo rèn shi de shēng zǐ. Wǒ men zuò gè xiǎo yóuxì jiǎnchá yī xià nǐ shì bú shì jìzhu le.
By the end of today’s class I want you to know the words in blue words. let’s play a game to find out if you have remembered them.
07.00 – 老师来转动汉字魔方，转到那个字你就大声的读出来吧。准备好了吗？
Lǎoshī lái zhuǎndòng hànzì mófāng. Zhuǎndào nàge zì nǐ jiù dàshēng de dú chūlái ba. Zhǔnbèi hǎo le ma？
Teacher is going to spin this Rubiks Cube with Chinese characters on in. Read the character it lands on aloud. Are you ready?
07.09 – 游戏开始 yóuxì kāishǐ begin the game。第一个字五- dìyīge zì wǔ- the first is 5 ，继续 jìxù continue，又是五 yòushì wǔ, also 5 。继续 jìxù continue，这是上 zhè shì shǎng。速度加快了 sùdù jiākuài le, let’s speed up，下 xià down 。三, sān, three. 最后一次了，二 zuìhòu yīcì le： èr，the last one is: two.
7.35 – 同学们你都读对了吗？如果你还想到做这个游戏，也可以像老师一样制作一个汉字魔方。和你的家人玩起来吧。
Tóngxuémen nǐ dú duìle ma? Rúguǒ nǐ hái xiǎngdào zuò zhège yóuxì, yě kěyǐ xiàng lǎoshī yīyàng zhìzuò yīgè hànzì mófāng. Hé nǐde jiārén wán qǐlai ba.
Students, did you read it correctly? If you would like to play this game again you can make a rubiks cube and play it with your family.
5.8 – writing the characters 1,2, and 3 in Chinese
In the next part of the class our teacher gives a simple and accessible guide to how to write the characters 1,2, and three in Chinese. These easy to replicate characters are ideal starting points for those of you who haven’t done any writing in Chinese before. As a bonus our teacher also explains to use how to write the characters for up and down in Chinese, using the correct stroke order. In order for us to do this efficiently we are introduced to the squares that Chinese people use to help them learn to write: 田字格。
7.49- 这节课呀，我们还有一个新的挑战呢。就是要学习写字了。
Zhè jié kè ya， wǒmen háiyǒu yīgè xīn de tiǎozhàn ne。 Jiùshì yāo xuéxí xiězì le。
In this class we have another task. It is to learn to write the characters
7.54 – 先跟生子宝宝打声招呼吧。一，二，三，上。