Gong Xi Gong Xi
Celebrate Chinese New Year with one of its most famous songs: Gong Xi Gong Xi.
Here you will find:
Background information
YouTube videos
Lyrics
Downloadable teaching resources including scores and MP3 files
Other resources on YouTube
About Gong Xi
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"Gong Xi Gong Xi" (恭喜恭喜) is a popular Chinese celebratory song whose title translates roughly as "Congratulations, Congratulations." It is strongly associated with Chinese New Year festivities and has become one of the most recognizable festive tunes across Mandarin-speaking communities.
"Gong xi" (恭喜) means "to congratulate" or "best wishes." Repeating it—"Gong xi gong xi"—emphasizes the greeting, similar to saying "congratulations, congratulations" or "best wishes" repeatedly.
The song expresses joy and good wishes for the coming year. Lyrics celebrate the arrival of spring, good fortune, new beginnings, and the desire for happiness and prosperity for friends and family. The repeated chorus functions as a call-and-response of goodwill, making it easy to sing along in group settings. The song is frequently used in variety shows, commercials, and New Year TV specials. Its recognizable melody makes it useful for setting a festive atmosphere.
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"Gong Xi Gong Xi" was composed in 1945 in Shanghai. The lyrics were written by Chen Gexin (also known as Ah Sen), and the melody is usually credited to the composer duo Chen Gexin and Nie Er in some accounts, though authorship details sometimes vary in secondary sources. The song was created near the end of World War II and around the time of Japan's surrender. The song was associated with the celebration of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the broader relief at the war’s end. Its theme of congratulations and the arrival of better times resonated strongly with a population emerging from years of conflict. After its release, the song quickly gained popularity through radio broadcasts, live performances, and recordings. During the 20th century it became firmly linked to Lunar New Year celebrations and was regularly included in holiday programming.
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While Gong Xi has many verses, the first verse is often the most sung and recognizable. Teach students the first verse using this video, with the verse repeating three times.
Videos
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After singing and being familiar with verse 1, have students play along with the melody with this play along video. Note that it requires C# and Bb.
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Expand the song with your students by singing verses 2 and 3 in this lyric video.
Lyrics
Mandarin Script
每条大街小巷
每个人的嘴里
见面第一句话
就是恭喜恭喜
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀
恭喜恭喜恭喜你
冬天已到尽头
真是好的消息
温暖的春风
吹醒了大地
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀
恭喜恭喜恭喜你
皓皓冰雪溶解
眼看梅花吐蕊
漫漫长夜过去
听到一声鸡啼
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀
恭喜恭喜恭喜你
Pinyin
Měi tiáo dà jiē xiǎo xiàng,
měi ge rén de zuǐ lǐ,
jiàn miàn dì yī jù huà,
jiù shì gōng xǐ gōng xǐ
Gōng xǐ gōng xǐ gōng xǐ nǐ ya,
Gōng xǐ gōng xǐ gōng xǐ nǐ
Dōng tiān yǐ dào jìn tóu
zhēn shì hǎo de xiāo xī
wēn nuǎn de chūn fēng
jiù yào chuī xǐng dà dì
Gōng xǐ gōng xǐ gōng xǐ nǐ ya
Gōng xǐ gōng xǐ gōng xǐ nǐ
Hào hào bīng xuĕ róng jiĕ
yăn kàn méi huā tŭ ruĭ
Mànmàn cháng yè guò qù,
tīng dào yì shēng jī tí
Gōng xǐgōng xǐgōng xǐnǐya
Gōng xǐgōng xǐgōng xǐnǐ
Pinyin is the Romanized phonetic system used to represent Mandarin Chinese pronunciation using the Latin alphabet, tone marks, and standardized spelling rules. Tones are not used when singing.
English Translation
On every street and pathway,
On everyone's lips,
The first thing we say is,
"Good wishes, good wishes."
Good wishes, good wishes to you, yeah!
Good wishes, good wishes to you!
Winter has come to an end,
That is really good news,
A warm spring breeze is
Blowing to wake up the earth.
Good wishes, good wishes to you, yeah!
Good wishes, good wishes to you!
The icy snow has melted,
See the plum tree blossom!
The long night is past,
I heard the cock crow.
Good wishes, good wishes to you, yeah!
Good wishes, good wishes to you!