恭喜
gōngxǐ
Congratulations in Chinese is 恭喜 (gōngxǐ). Wiktionary also lists 恭喜恭喜 (gōngxǐ gōngxǐ).
Meaning: expressing approbation (intj)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 恭喜 | gōngxǐ |
| 恭喜恭喜 | gōngxǐ gōngxǐ |
恭喜 is the most common and universally used word for congratulations in Chinese. For more formal contexts, you can use 祝贺, which means 'to congratulate' or 贺喜, which is commonly used for formal occasions such as weddings or special events.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 恭喜 literally means 'respectfully congratulate', where 恭 means respectful or polite and 喜 means happiness or joy.
How do you pronounce it?
gōngxǐ
Did you know?
- In traditional Chinese culture, the character 喜 is often written twice as 囍 on wedding decorations to symbolize 'double happiness'.
- The word 恭 in 恭喜 shares a root with the term for 'reverence', reflecting a cultural history where congratulating a superior required an expression of submission.
- During the Lunar New Year, 恭喜 is often paired with 发财, creating the phrase 恭喜发财 which specifically wishes the recipient wealth and prosperity.
Examples in context
- 恭喜成為本店第一千位顧客！Congratulations! You are our thousandth visitor!This example shows 恭喜 used to congratulate a customer.Tatoeba #13996452 by LeviHighway, translation #3167678 by Theocracy
- 恭喜！Congratulations!This example is a simple way to say congratulations using 恭喜.Tatoeba #4990053 by boanw, translation #1437 by CK
- 恭喜你的臉。Congratulations on your face.This example shows how to use 恭喜 regarding a person's face.Tatoeba #1108438 by Arraroak, translation #1099156 by Arraroak
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Wei tells Zihan that she won a singing competition.
- 伟 Wei梓涵，恭喜你得獎了！Zǐhán, gōngxǐ nǐ déjiǎng le!Zihan, congratulations on winning the prize!
- 梓涵 Zihan謝謝你，偉。Xièxiè nǐ, Wěi.Thank you, Wei.
- 伟 Wei你真的表現得很好。Nǐ zhēnde biǎoxiàn de hěn hǎo.You really performed very well.
- 梓涵 Zihan我真的很開心。Wǒ zhēnde hěn kāixīn.I am really happy.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “congratulations” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
