18th-century Jiangsu folk song

茉莉花

Mòlìhuā · Jasmine Flower

Probably the best-known Chinese melody in the world, and a gentle first song: the vocabulary is everyday and the lines are short. It sings the reluctance to pick a flower so lovely you would rather leave it on the branch.

Watch performances on YouTubeMany recordings exist for this one — pick the voice you like and sing along with the lyrics below.

Lyrics, line by line

Characters, pinyin, and a translation of the sense — not a word-for-word gloss.

  1. 好一朵美丽的茉莉花

    hǎo yì duǒ měi lì de mò lì huā

    What a beautiful jasmine flower

  2. 好一朵美丽的茉莉花

    hǎo yì duǒ měi lì de mò lì huā

    What a beautiful jasmine flower

  3. 芬芳美丽满枝桠

    fēn fāng měi lì mǎn zhī yā

    Fragrant and lovely, filling every branch

  4. 又香又白人人夸

    yòu xiāng yòu bái rén rén kuā

    So sweet, so white — everyone praises it

  5. 让我来将你摘下

    ràng wǒ lái jiāng nǐ zhāi xià

    Let me pick you

  6. 送给别人家

    sòng gěi bié rén jiā

    and give you to someone

  7. 茉莉花呀茉莉花

    mò lì huā ya mò lì huā

    Oh jasmine, jasmine flower

Words worth keeping

Tap any word for its dictionary page — meaning, example sentences, and audio.

美丽měi lìbeautiful芬芳fēn fāngfragrant香xiāngsweet-smelling摘zhāito pick; to pluck

On copyright: A folk song with no known author, sung since the Qing dynasty. Long in the public domain — Puccini borrowed its melody for Turandot in 1926.