How to Say “Congratulations” in Chinese
Greetings and politeness · HSK 2
"Congratulations" in Chinese is 恭喜 (Gōngxǐ). 恭喜 is the everyday congratulations; for promotions, weddings, babies, anything good. The doubled form 恭喜恭喜 is warmer and very common; Chinese often doubles words for friendliness (想想, 看看, 谢谢).
Primary translation
恭喜
Gōngxǐ
Variants by register
Formal
祝贺你
Zhùhè nǐ
Casual
恭喜恭喜
Gōngxǐ gōngxǐ
When to use it
恭喜 is the everyday congratulations; for promotions, weddings, babies, anything good. The doubled form 恭喜恭喜 is warmer and very common; Chinese often doubles words for friendliness (想想, 看看, 谢谢). During Chinese New Year, 恭喜发财 (gōngxǐ fācái, 'congratulations, get rich') is THE greeting; in Cantonese it's 'gung hei fat choy.' 祝贺 is more formal and used in written congratulations or speeches. Don't confuse 恭喜 with 庆祝 (qìngzhù, to celebrate); 恭喜 is what you say to someone, 庆祝 is the act of celebrating.
Example sentences
恭喜你升职了！
Gōngxǐ nǐ shēngzhí le!
Congratulations on your promotion!
恭喜恭喜，祝你们新婚快乐。
Gōngxǐ gōngxǐ, zhù nǐmen xīnhūn kuàilè.
Congratulations, wishing you a happy marriage.
听说你考上大学了，恭喜！
Tīngshuō nǐ kǎo shàng dàxué le, gōngxǐ!
I heard you got into university, congrats!