Learn Poem “Jing Ye Si” by Li Bai

Let’s learn a very famous Chinese poem called Jing Ye Si (静夜思) with pinyin and English translation.

Check out the books to learn more Chinese Poems

• Ancient Chinese Poems
• Li Bai’s Selected Poems

The poem was written by the Tang Dynasty (唐朝) poet Li Bai (李白) in the year 726. Li Bai was travelling far away from his hometown. He wrote this poem while staying in a hostel in Yangzhou, a city in the modern Jiangsu province. The poem depicts Li Bai’s feelings of missing his hometown.

The title of the poem, Jing Ye Si, literally means “Quiet Night Thoughts” or “Thoughts in a Quiet Night.”

If you know the three characters in the title, you will easily understand the title of the poem:

1. 静 (jìng): Silent
2. 夜 (yè): Night
3. 思 (sī): Think; thoughts

Poem – Jing Ye Si

Here is the translation of the poem Jing Ye Si in English with pinyin Romanization.

Thoughts in a Quiet Night

静夜思

朝代：唐

李白

床前明月光，

Chuáng qián míng yuè guāng,

There is a shining moon in front of my bed,

疑是地上霜。

Yí shì dì shàng shuāng.

It seems there are frosts on the ground.

举头望明月，

Jǔ tóu wàng míng yuè

When I raise my head, I gaze at the moon,

低头思故乡。

Dī tóu sī gù xiāng.

When I lower my head, I think of (miss) my hometown.

Chinese Words

1. 床 (chuáng): Bed
2. 月光 (yuè guāng): Moonlight
3. 疑 (yí): Doubt; suspect
4. 霜 (shuāng): Frost
5. 举头 (jǔ tóu): Raise the head
6. 故乡 (gù xiāng): Native place; hometown