Chinese Christmas Songs: 12 Carols and Pop Songs in Mandarin (With Lyrics Help)

沉浸 TeamSeptember 11, 20266 min read

Chinese Christmas songs come in two kinds: Mandarin versions of the carols you already know, like 铃儿响叮当 (Jingle Bells) and 平安夜 (Silent Night), and a handful of Chinese pop songs written for the season. Because you already know the tunes, the carols are some of the easiest Chinese songs to learn from: you can guess half the words before you look them up. Here are 12 Christmas songs in Mandarin, with the title in characters and pinyin, the opening lyrics, and the words worth learning from each.

A little context: Christmas isn't a public holiday in China, but the songs are everywhere in malls and cafés from late November, and Mandarin carols are standard fare in churches across the Chinese-speaking world. If you're curious how the holiday works there, read does China celebrate Christmas? first, and learn to say Merry Christmas in Chinese (圣诞快乐, shèngdàn kuàilè), which turns up in almost every song below.

Classic carols in Mandarin

1. 铃儿响叮当 (Líng'er xiǎng dīngdāng) Jingle Bells

The title means "the bells ring ding-dong." The Mandarin chorus goes: 叮叮当，叮叮当，铃儿响叮当 (dīng dīng dāng, dīng dīng dāng, líng'er xiǎng dīngdāng), then 我们滑雪多快乐，我们坐在雪橇上 (wǒmen huáxuě duō kuàilè, wǒmen zuò zài xuěqiāo shàng: "how happy we are sledding, sitting on the sleigh"). Words to keep: 铃 (líng, bell), 快乐 (kuàilè, happy), 雪 (xuě, snow). Teresa Teng (邓丽君) recorded a famous Mandarin version.

2. 平安夜 (Píng'ān yè) Silent Night

The most-sung carol in Chinese. The title means "peaceful night," and 平安夜 is also simply the Chinese name for Christmas Eve. The first line: 平安夜，圣善夜，万暗中，光华射 (píng'ān yè, shèng shàn yè, wàn àn zhōng, guānghuá shè: "silent night, holy night, in all the darkness, light shines"). Words to keep: 平安 (píng'ān, peace and safety), 夜 (yè, night). The apple-giving custom on Christmas Eve comes from this word: 平安 sounds like 苹果 (píngguǒ, apple).

3. 我们祝你圣诞快乐 (Wǒmen zhù nǐ shèngdàn kuàilè) We Wish You a Merry Christmas

The easiest song in this list because it's one sentence repeated: 我们祝你圣诞快乐 three times, then 祝你新年快乐 (zhù nǐ xīnnián kuàilè, "wishing you a happy new year"). You'll learn 祝 (zhù, to wish), the verb behind every Chinese greeting.

4. 普世欢腾 (Pǔshì huānténg) Joy to the World

"The whole world rejoices." The opening: 普世欢腾，救主下降 (pǔshì huānténg, jiùzhǔ xiàjiàng). The vocabulary is churchy and literary, so it's better for advanced learners. Keep 世界 (shìjiè, world) and 欢腾 (huānténg, to rejoice).

5. 齐来崇拜 (Qí lái chóngbài) O Come, All Ye Faithful

"Come together and worship." The Chinese hymnal version is sung in churches every December. Its refrain, 齐来崇拜 repeated, is easy to pick up even if the verses are hard.

6. 听啊，天使高声唱 (Tīng a, tiānshǐ gāoshēng chàng) Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

"Listen, the angels sing loudly." A good one for hearing the imperative 听 (tīng, listen) and the word 天使 (tiānshǐ, angel), which also shows up in everyday Chinese as a compliment.

7. 天使歌唱在高天 (Tiānshǐ gēchàng zài gāo tiān) Angels We Have Heard on High

The "Gloria" carol. The Latin refrain is kept as-is in most Chinese versions, so you only have to learn the verses. 唱 (chàng, sing) and 歌 (gē, song) are the two words to keep.

8. 小伯利恒 (Xiǎo Bólìhéng) O Little Town of Bethlehem

Slow and gentle, which makes the words easy to catch. A nice example of how place names are transliterated syllable by syllable: 伯利恒 for Bethlehem.

Fun Christmas songs in Chinese

9. 圣诞老人进城来 (Shèngdàn lǎorén jìn chéng lái) Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

The title gives you 圣诞老人 (shèngdàn lǎorén, "Christmas old man," Santa) and 进城 (jìn chéng, to come into town). The Mandarin version is a kids' favorite and turns up on every children's Christmas album.

10. 红鼻子驯鹿 (Hóng bízi xúnlù) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Often titled 红鼻子驯鹿鲁道夫 with the name added. Great animal and body vocabulary: 鼻子 (bízi, nose), 红 (hóng, red), 驯鹿 (xúnlù, reindeer).

11. 宝宝巴士圣诞歌 (BabyBus Christmas songs)

The BabyBus (宝宝巴士) channel, one of the biggest Chinese kids' channels on YouTube, has a whole set of original Mandarin Christmas songs and nursery rhymes with animated videos. Simple lines, repeated slowly, with the characters on screen. If you're a beginner, start here rather than with the hymns. See our guide to Chinese cartoons for learning for more of the same.

A Chinese pop Christmas song

12. 圣诞结 (Shèngdàn jié) by Eason Chan (陈奕迅)

The title is a pun: 圣诞节 (shèngdàn jié) means Christmas, but the last character is swapped for 结 (jié, a knot, and in the phrase 心结 an unresolved feeling). So the song is "Christmas Knot," a sad ballad about spending Christmas alone after a breakup. Eason Chan recorded it in both Cantonese and Mandarin in the early 2000s, and the Mandarin version is still the Chinese Christmas song, played in every mall in December. The lyrics are natural, modern Mandarin, which makes it the best song here for intermediate learners. Words to keep: 孤单 (gūdān, lonely), 想念 (xiǎngniàn, to miss someone).

Christmas vocabulary from the songs

圣诞节 (shèngdàn jié) Christmas. Literally "holy birth festival."
平安夜 (píng'ān yè) Christmas Eve.
圣诞树 (shèngdàn shù) Christmas tree.
礼物 (lǐwù) gift.
雪花 (xuěhuā) snowflake.
歌曲 (gēqǔ) song; 歌词 (gēcí) lyrics.
圣诞快乐 (shèngdàn kuàilè) Merry Christmas.

How to learn Chinese from a song

Find the lyrics in characters. Search the Chinese title plus 歌词 (gēcí). Lyrics sites will show characters; paste them into our free Chinese to pinyin converter to get pinyin over every line.
Sing along with pinyin first, then characters. Tunes fix pronunciation in memory better than drills do, though note that singing flattens tones, so check the spoken tones separately.
Keep 5 words per song. Not 50. The ones marked "words to keep" above are a good start.
Use the video. On YouTube, Chenjin's Video Study makes each subtitle word tappable, so a carol video becomes a vocabulary lesson with the clip saved on the flashcard. A free account gives you the dictionary and flashcards to start with.

FAQ

What is Jingle Bells in Chinese?

铃儿响叮当 (líng'er xiǎng dīngdāng), "the bells ring ding-dong." The chorus starts 叮叮当，叮叮当，铃儿响叮当.

What is Silent Night in Chinese?

平安夜 (píng'ān yè), which also means Christmas Eve. The first line is 平安夜，圣善夜.

Do Chinese people sing Christmas songs?

Yes, though mostly as background music in shops and at parties rather than as a family tradition. Churches sing the hymns; kids learn the fun ones at school and from cartoons; and Eason Chan's 圣诞结 plays everywhere in December.

Are Christmas songs good for learning Chinese?

The carols are, because you know the melody and can guess words from context. Just remember that singing bends tones, so learn the spoken pronunciation of the words too, ideally from the audio on their dictionary pages.