“Kaeru no Uta” or “Frog’s Song” is a Japanese song about a little frog and the sound he makes. I introduced this song to preschoolers when they were learning a bit about Japan and I was impressed by how much they took to this song. Students loved it and even the youngest children join in by making the frog sounds at the end. The song is super simple and so is the Japanese. Don’t shy away from this song because it’s in a foreign language. From my experience, children generally enjoy and get excited about singing in a foreign language. I’m no expert in Japanese, but I’m good with foreign languages and the pronunciation in the video is pretty close. Use it as a guide, and you’ll be just fine.

I’ve also introduced this song to elementary students. What’s fun about singing it with older kids is that it can also be sung as a round, with different groups starting at different times.

All in all, it’s an easy song, it can be learned quickly, and kids love it.

Here are the lyrics:

Kaeru no uta ga,

Kikoete kuru yo,

Gwa, gwa, gwa, gwa

Gero gero gero gero,

Gwa gwa gwa.

And here’s a translation:

The frog’s song,

Come hear it,

Croak, croak, croak, croak,

ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbit,

Croak, croak, croak.