The name of the Christmas song “Jingle Bells” is 圣诞铃声 (something like “Christmas Bells”) in Chinese. But the famous English refrain “jingle bells, jingle bells” in Chinese is the onomatopoeic “叮叮当, 叮叮当,” which sounds like “ding ding dong, ding ding dong” to Western ears. It doesn’t sound at all like sleigh bells ringing to us, it just sounds really funny (or maybe like doorbells). In my experience, every Westerner who learns these Chinese lyrics busts out laughing.
I tried to find a Mandarin Chinese version of “Jingle Bells” using Baidu MP3 Search. All I turned up was a version which I originally thought was Cantonese, but two Cantonese-speaking friends say it isn’t. The refrain definitely sounds like “ding ding dong” though. My guess is it’s Vietnamese. Can anyone identify the language?
I was disappointed because I can’t understand the lyrics, but I think the song may sound even funnier this way. I’m not one to mock any language, but this song — like the Chinese version — just sounds really funny, for cultural reasons, I guess. Give it a listen:
I was able to find the Mandarin “Jingle Bells” lyrics, but they obviously don’t match up to this MP3. If you’re interested in the Mandarin version, continue reading below.
Merry Christmas!
《圣诞铃声》
白雪迎风飘飘
大地美丽如画
圣诞老人驾着鹿车
铃儿响叮当圣诞歌声飞扬
人人欢欢喜喜呀！
普天同庆放声歌唱
圣诞快乐！叮叮当！叮叮当！铃儿响叮当
带给你好运道
快乐又逍遥叮叮当！叮叮当！铃儿响叮当
带给你好运道
快乐又逍遥
祝你圣诞节快乐！
Update: The song is in Hakka. Thanks to Aline and Simon for identifying it.
are you it’s not cantonese? it sounds like cantonese to me.
December 22nd, 2004 at 3:35 amIt really does sound like Cantonese doesn’t it! I’m going to send it to my Chinese friend who is a linguist to see if she knows…
(My whole office had a good laugh over this one:-)
December 22nd, 2004 at 5:55 amDefinitely not Cantonese… at least not the kind they speak in Canton or Hong Kong.
December 22nd, 2004 at 6:41 amHoly crap, that has to be Cantonese… though I can’t confirm. Maybe it’s a dialect of Cantonese? Toisan maybe?
December 22nd, 2004 at 6:41 amNo, it’s not Cantonese, I’m 100% sure. It’s not Toisanese, either, I’m also 100% sure of that. I’d go with the Vietnamese guess, but there are elements that do sound like Chinese village dialects I’ve heard.
December 22nd, 2004 at 7:26 amOMG, I can’t stop laughing listening to this mp3. It is definitely not Cantonese. Does Cantonese sound this strange to non-Cantonese speakers. It is actually Vietnamese. Ask any Cantonese, they will tell you a lot of Vietnamese words sound like foul language to the Cantonese. However, I believe Cantonese, Taishanhua and Vietnamese are somewhat related in the way the words sound, they are all very loud and annoying.
December 22nd, 2004 at 7:32 amI’m with Canton on this one. I think it’s Vietnamese. I remember hearing Christmas carols in Vietnamese back home (Mississippi’s Gulf Coast) a lot. It’s definitely close to the songs I remember.
December 22nd, 2004 at 10:24 amHello I’m native Vietnamese. This is not definitely Vietnamese o__O
December 22nd, 2004 at 12:30 pmCanton,
Yes, that is exactly how crazy Cantonese sounds to us. :)
Hmmm, it appears my Vietnamese guess is being shot down now as well. Can anyone else confirm that it’s not Vietnamese? What language is this??
December 22nd, 2004 at 12:46 pmI never imagined I’d be linking to it in this blog, but it’s amazingly relevant. For an equally hilarious but very different kind of “ding ding dong” song, check out GUNTHER! (check out the video)
December 22nd, 2004 at 12:57 pmRelated to this is how my wife, who is Chinese, first started singing Jingle Bells in English: “Jingle bong, Jingle bong…”
December 22nd, 2004 at 3:17 pmshould be “ding ding dang” instead of “ding ding dong”. it’s DANG, not DONG :)
December 22nd, 2004 at 4:24 pmbingfeng,
No, sorry. “Ding dong” is English.
December 22nd, 2004 at 4:34 pm闽南话？或者客家话？台湾的朋友回答一下？
December 23rd, 2004 at 3:01 amthe chinese title I am most familiar with is:铃儿响丁当. you can download it here:
December 23rd, 2004 at 3:08 amlast 2 posts were by me
I have no idea why the link I found is denied by your server. nothing wrong with that link. anyway, you can google it, there are plenty
December 23rd, 2004 at 3:12 amAfter listening to the MP3 file several times, I think the language is one of Chinese dialects. As a Taiwanese and I speak Hakka which was spoken only 20% of all Taiwanese, I can understand some lyrics, but not all. Also about the “Ding Ding Dong” sound, it is how we learned this song when we were kids. Nothing is funny to me until my American friends laughed at when I sang. Another example of “sound culture difference” is the bark of a dog. For me, it’s “Won-Won”. For other people, how should it sound??
December 23rd, 2004 at 10:01 amThis is the dialect from Zhejiang Province, and I believe it comes from south Zhejiang, but I cannot define the exact part. Because I can understand most of the lyrics–I’m from Xiaoshan, now a district of Hangzhou but has got her cultural origin from Shaoxin.
December 23rd, 2004 at 10:14 amDefinitely it’s not Cantonese ,cuz I am from guangdong,but I am wondering whether it’s Hakka.I have a relative who comes from Meizhou(people there speak Hakka as their native language ),his dialect sounds somehow like this mp3.If it is like what Agnes says–a dialect from zhejiang,maybe ,Wenzhou ? I now study in hangzhou,quite a lot of my classmate are zhejiangese.They speak different dialects ,but most of them sound alike except Wenzhounese.Also IMO wenzhouese is the most difficult to understand. and the following is a present 4 everyone’s X’mas and Newyear~ http://www.hanqi.net/chuan/newyear2.htm (It has the jingle bell as the background muzik )
December 23rd, 2004 at 11:12 ami’m from hangzhou. i can understand the most of the lyrics. i also think it’s a dialect of zhejiang province. but not dialect of wenzhou. i think it’s the dialect of south zhejiang.
December 23rd, 2004 at 5:24 pmNot that I am fully fluent in Vietnamese. But I know enough to know that this isn’t Vietnamese. My first guess was Cantonese but since there’s been so many people saying no. Guess, we’ll just have to wait for someone who does know for sure.
December 24th, 2004 at 10:46 amA Chinese dialect version of Jingle Bells
John over at SinoSplice dug up a really interesting Chinese version of Jingle Bells.
December 24th, 2004 at 10:49 amThis song is definitely not from Zhejiang. There is no voiced consonants in the song. Zhejiang dialects (Wu) all have voiced consonants.
It is most likely a Hakka/Gan dialect. So somewhat similar to Cantonese in feel and somewhat comprehensible for Mandarin speakers.
December 25th, 2004 at 5:20 pmAfter listening to it for the 3rd time, I am convinced it is 客家话 Hakka. The pronunciation of 朋友 and 在 are dead giveaways.
Definitely not Wu (Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai).
December 25th, 2004 at 5:27 pmHere is a Southern Zhejiang (Wenzhouhua) song: http://www.zanhe.com/laoshu.wma Some parts of the song is in Mandarin, but the main male singer is speaking Southern Wu.
Notice the voiced consonants (English b,d,g,z, etc) in the song.
The dingdong song has no voiced consonants, and cannot be a Wu dialect and thus cannot be from Zhejiang, Jiangsu or Shanghai.
December 25th, 2004 at 5:53 pmIt’s definately not Vietnamese.
I think it might be Thai! :)
December 26th, 2004 at 7:38 pmThat song is in hakka…. It sure sounds like the hakka I speak.. OMG i have to send that song to my mum. She’ll be pleased! It’s the first time i hear a hakka song.
December 26th, 2004 at 11:25 pmDefinitely not Thai — no rolled r.
Probably not Gan — a Northern Gan speaker (my wife) thought it was Cantonese.
A Hakka speaker who translated a little bit or summarised would be a very cool person.
December 28th, 2004 at 7:49 amThis song is singed in Hakka. I have been a long time no speak and talk in Hakka. I will try to write down the lyric.
January 2nd, 2005 at 3:25 pmI found the lyrics. http://www.mzcn.net/luwan/bbs//dispbbs.asp?boardID=11&ID=269&page=2
More Hakka music in http://www.mzcn.net/luwan/bbs//list.asp?boardid=6
January 3rd, 2005 at 3:14 pmthis is NOT CANTONESE…i’v spoken canto all my life and this is NOT canto!…i thot it was Shanghainese, but since simon says it’s hakka im guessing it is then…and for a sec there i thot it sounded like those ‘ tsai ’ (that’s canto by the way…and i can’t write that middle word, but it’s just those prayer-songs that some ppl have to sing/pray at ppl’s funerals (buddhists))…if that didnt make sense then just ignore it haha
January 23rd, 2005 at 9:28 amDefintly nog Vietnamese. Vietnamese sounds alot more nasal.
February 18th, 2005 at 8:11 amI am vietnamese and this is not diefintely not vietnamese.
November 14th, 2005 at 9:18 amThis song is not in Vietnamese. I know it because I am Vietnamese.
December 8th, 2005 at 11:23 amthat is either hakka or northern taiwanese. northern taiwanese is not hakka.
December 8th, 2005 at 11:55 amI don’t care what dialect it is as long as it’s Chinese. My first graders are singing it at at our Christmas Program, The school theme this year is “Christmas Around the World” and my class has China. Whoever posted this song- thanks and Happy Holidays! M
December 16th, 2005 at 5:39 pmthe song is sung in Hakka. i speak hakka n understand the lyrics, well.. 40% at least
December 28th, 2005 at 3:14 amdefinelty hakka!! so much for the ding dong from hakka guy
January 28th, 2006 at 10:19 amHi, It’s of course Hakka. I’m 100% sure. Because I am Hakka. It’s so interesting. I love it. Thank you.
April 9th, 2006 at 11:27 amThis Hakka in the song is a little different from mine, so I’m not 100% understand what he’s singing. But the general idea is as below in mandarin, for your reference. So interesting~ 叮叮当 离开了家乡，来到外面闯一闯 在家靠父母，出门朋友帮 工作好紧张，时间真是长 等到月底发工资，一身。。。。
叮叮当 叮叮当 发。。。 餐餐咸菜，面黄肌瘦真是没营养 叮叮当 叮叮当 。。。。 打工心酸回到家里真是不敢讲
发梦想家乡，眼泪水汪汪 想。。。。，心中正在亮 为了理想，为了事业 我相信自己。。勤俭迟早会发财
叮叮当，叮叮当 日夜工作忙，乐乐力力。。。 叮叮当，叮叮当 人生一阵。， 辛辛苦苦，认认真真，事业会成
April 9th, 2006 at 11:47 amsome Chinese dialect. Sounds like Cantonese. Definitely not Vietnamese since I know the language inside and out.
notice how the guy sang it . Ting Ting Tong (not Ding Ding Dong). The “D” sound is not native to Chinese language. So is “r” and “tr” sound.
Vietnamese has no problem with, D, R, and TR.
June 15th, 2006 at 6:49 amThis song has all different versions across all China, my hometown has compeletely different lyrics too. But this has brought lots of memory back to me.
Thanks!
September 2nd, 2006 at 4:56 pmThis is actually a dialect from rural southern Idaho.
September 15th, 2006 at 3:24 pmThank you for posting that song. I always wanted to know what Hakka sounds like. I wish there would be more material online.
March 20th, 2007 at 7:18 pmNot Vietnamese.
One thing to tell about Vietnamese songs is that you can listen to the song from the beginning to the end and you hear not a single /j/ sound. Of course the /j/ sound does exist in Vietnamese language (Southern and Central Vietnamese, not Northern Vietnamese), but when Vietnamese singers sing, they tend to change the y- sound to z- sound like the way Northern Vietnamese people do when they speak.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:00 pmHuh ?
No /j/ ? Why not ? /j/ sound in English is no different from /ch/ in Vietnamese.
Also, for singers (especially w Northern accent), it’s the /r/ sound that’s mutated into the /y/ sound as used for letter “d”. But of course, for foreigners who don’t know Vietnamese, all this is a moot point.
May 3rd, 2007 at 6:44 amdaheck, probably the same reason many British and Australian singers sing with American vowel sounds… songs are just meant to sound that way.
May 3rd, 2007 at 1:00 pmThe song is sung in Hakka. I’m Hakka from SHENZHEN. The singer is called Lu Wan, nickename Chief of School. He’s from He Yuan. (in chinese characters: 河源) I cant 100% understand his accent yet I have friends from He Yuan. And my friend told me Lu Wan the singer. I search for the lyrics and translate it into English. Here’s the link I got the lyrics: http://www.hakkaonline.com/forum/thread.php?tid=14753 (It’s a Hakka forum.) Here is the lyrics: 歌名：叮叮当 Title: Ding Ding Dang 歌手：校长 （卢顽） Artist: Chief of School ( Lu Wan)
离开了家乡 Apart from hometown 涯到外边去闯一闯 I go out to make a fortune 在家靠父母，出门朋友帮 At home we supported by parents, going out we have to seek help from friends 工作好紧张，时间真系长 Workload is so heavy and tight, working hours are so long 等到月底发工资，一算冇几多张 Until it reaches payday end of the month, not many bills/notes to count 叮叮当，叮叮当 Ding ding dang, ding ding dang 饭碗敲到当当响 Like the sound knocking at my rice bowl 餐餐咸菜面黄肌瘦真系冇营养 Each meal I have salted vegetable which contains no nutrition and makes me skinny 叮叮当，叮叮当 Ding ding dang, ding ding dang 冇事上眠床 Nothing to do then I would go to bed 打工辛酸归到屋卡真系唔敢讲 Dare not to tell what a hard living I am fighting for when I home 发梦想家乡，眼泪水汪汪 Dreaming of my hometown, can’t help tears rolling in my eyes 想稳涯老口，心中真凄凉 Working for mouth, dismal of my heart 为了理想，为了希望 There is goal and there is hope 涯相信自家系块真金迟早会发光 I believe I am a piece of gold, which will be shine finally 叮叮当，叮叮当 Ding ding dang, ding ding dang 日夜工作忙 Busy working days and nights 落落力力，醒醒目目，奈只去得尝 Working hard and working smart, everyone has to try 叮叮当，叮叮当，人生一阵闯 Ding ding dang, ding ding dang, life is an adventure 辛辛苦苦认认真真，事业要开创 Working hard and working earnest, for my career path
May 3rd, 2007 at 8:05 pm@Daheck: In IPA code, /j/ = y (y as in yes). I was not talking about j as in juice. If you know IPA code used by linguists, you’ll know what I’m talking about. There is no y sound in Northern Vietnamese accent. No r sound either.
I’m not a foreigner. I am a native Vietnamese speaker and I know what I’m talking about.
May 10th, 2007 at 10:42 amBy the way, you cannot use the / / symbol unless you use IPA code. You make lots of people think the ch- in Vietnamese sounds like y- as in “yes”.
May 10th, 2007 at 10:44 amI’m not a native speaker but I can definitely tell that this is not Vietnamese. Vietnamese sounds like dog barking.
June 9th, 2007 at 4:55 amThanks for posting this song. I’ve been looking for the Jingle Bell song in different languages.
I was about to ignore it but I think I should say something to the last comment. Vietnamese is one of my three favorite languages, Mandarin and French are the other two. I’ve been working with several Vietnamese colleagues for years and I think Vietnamese language does sound beautiful. To me, it does not sound like a usual tonal language like Cantonese; it has this musical quality to it that makes it sound very delighting to my ears. I guess it all depends on the speaker. Vietnamese language spoken by my colleagues does sound very pleasant and delighting.
June 28th, 2007 at 12:48 pmthats rude to all the people making fun of the vietnamese language. mandarin and cantonese doesnt soudn that better eater, its like their talking while riding a rollar coaster, damn.
August 12th, 2007 at 4:46 pmsend John. vietnamese is not dog bark. cantonese is dogtalking.
November 24th, 2007 at 12:19 amwhy that ding dong song of Christmas didn’t come it is different song not like that.
December 11th, 2007 at 3:27 am