Just overheard a grandmother teaching her grandchildren some nursery rhymes and it brought back some memories of ditties and rhymes I sang as a child... maybe some of you have also heard these before? Please correct where appropriate, since my memory is failing me...

凼凼轉，菊花圓，炒米餅，糯米團。阿媽叫我睇龍船，我唔睇，睇雞仔，雞仔大，拎去賣。賣得几多錢？賣得兩個錢，得來買糕又買鹽

tam4 tam4 zyun3, guk1 faa1 jyun4, caau2 mai5 beng2, no6 mai5 tyun4, a3 ma1 giu3 ngo5 tai2 lung4 syun4, ngo5 m4 tai2, tai2 gai1 zai2, gai1 zai2 daai6 ling1 heoi3 maai6 dak1 gei2 do1 cin4, maai6 dak1 leong3 go3 cin4, dak1 loi4 maai5 gou1 jau6 maai5 jim4

Go round and round; chrysanthemum garden; fried rice cakes; glutinous rice rolls; mother asked me to go watch the dragon boats, I didn't go, I went to look at little chicks, the little chicks were big, let's go sell them, how much can we sell them for? We can sell them for two qian and use that to buy cakes and salt.

月光光，照地塘；年卅晚，摘檳榔；檳榔香，摘子薑；子薑辣，買蘿蔔；蘿蔔苦，買豬肚； 豬肚肥，買牛皮；牛皮薄，買菱角；菱角尖，買馬鞭；馬鞭長，起屋樑；屋樑高， 買張刀；刀切菜，買籮蓋；籮蓋圓，買隻船；船沉底，浸死兩個番鬼仔

jyut gwong gwong, ziu dei tong, nin sa maan, zaak ban long, ban long hoeng, zaak zi goeng, zi goeng laat, maai lo baak, lo baak fu, maai zyu tou, zyu tou fei, maai ngau pei, ngau pei bok, maai ling gok, ling gok zim, maai ma bin, ma bin coeng, hei uk loeng, uk leong gou, maai zoeng dou, dou cit coi, maai lo goi, lo goi jyun, maai zek syun, syun cam dai, zam sei loeng go faan gwai zai.

Moon-lightlight, shining on the ground; The night before New Year, go pick betel nuts; Betel nuts are fragrant, go pick ginger shoots; Ginger shoots are spicy, go buy some radishes; Radishes are bitter, go buy some pig stomach; Pig stomachs are fat, go buy some cowhide; Cowhide is thin, go buy some ling gok (water caltrop); Ling gok is sharp, go buy horse penis. Horse penis is long, use it as a support beam for the house; Support beam is tall, buy a cleaver; Cleaver cuts veggies, buy a basket cover; Basket cover is round, buy a boat; Boat sank to the bottom, drowning two foreign devil boys.

Edit: Only going to do two of the most popular ones... it's taking longer than I thought!
Edit2: Corrected typo caught by sylvester

Only two!?

I was enjoying reading those.

Maybe someone else would like to contribute ditties from their childhood memories.

Glad you liked them. I'll post some more when time permits, probably w/o the romanization because that's what takes up most of the time

Yes I've heard these rhymes before too, but that was so long ago.. glad that you post them up again, did bring back some fond memories..

then it should be 糕.
thanks for that qoute, i hear that so many years ago, and i already forgotten them

should be 把

you're right, sorry for the typo.

i've made the correction on the original post. thanks!

actually, the way i remember it, 張 was specifically used instead of 把, even though in regular conversational speech it is 一把刀

i was waiting for people to comment on this one. could be just a variation based on the person teaching the rhyme

It should be 張. we use it to describe thin things, like a piece of paper. The 刀 should be very thin to be good, so it is 張.
There are two more lines at the end: 一個蒲頭,‧一個沉底

There's another one that begins with:

排排坐 食粉果


My late grandma used to sing this to us, but today after decades, I really have forgotten the rest of this childhood Cantonese rhyme...

Anyone?

This is the version I remember...

排排坐，食果果。豬拉柴，狗燒火。貓依擔凳姑婆坐，坐爛屎窟咪賴我， 賴番隔離個二叔婆