Today I'll go over how to sing Jingle Bells (ジンガルベル) in Japanese. There are actually a few versions of this song, but we will be going over one of the most popular ones, penned by Shouji Miyazawa.
Since it helps if there is actually audio to go along with the lyrics, listen to a bouncy Hatsune Miku version of the song below:
The maker of that video helpfully included a karaoke version, which might be fun to practice with.
Lyrics
走れそりよ 風のように
雪の中を 軽く早く
笑い声を 雪にまけば
明るいひかりの 花になるよ
Chorus:
ジングルベル ジングルベル 鈴が鳴る
鈴のリズムに ひかりの輪が舞う
ジングルベル ジングルベル 鈴が鳴る
森に林に 響きながら
走れそりよ 丘の上は
雪も白く 風も白く
歌う声は 飛んで行くよ
輝きはじめた 星の空へ
(Repeat chorus) Romaji
Hashire sori yo kaze no you ni
yuki no naka wo karuku hayaku
waraigoe wo yuki ni makeba
akarui hikari no hana ni naru yo
Chorus:
Jinguru beru jinguru beru
suzu ga naru
suzu no rizumu ni hikari no wa ga mau
jinguru beru jinguru beru
suzu ga naru
mori ni hayashi ni hibikinagara
Hashire sori yo oka no ue wa
Yuki mo shiroku kaze mo shiroku
Utau koe wa tonde yuku yo
Kagayaki hajimeta hoshi no sora e
(Repeat chorus)
Breaking it down
走れそりよ 風のように
Hashire sori yo kaze no you ni
Dash, O sleigh, like the wind!
Vocabulary:
走る（hashiru) = Run
そり（sori) = sleigh
風（kaze) = wind
[x]のように = like [x]
Note:
[x]よ = In this case, it has a similar effect to the old style "O [x]" in English.
Most of the time it's like a spoken exclamation mark.
雪の中を 軽く早く
yuki no naka wo karuku hayaku
Through the snow lightly, quickly
Vocabulary:
雪（yuki) = snow
中（naka) = in, through
軽い（karui) = light (as in not heavy)
早い（harui) = quick
Note:
If you mentally place karuku hayaku first it might be easier to understand.
笑い声を 雪にまけば
waraigoe wo yuki ni makeba
If we sow our laughter into the snow
Vocabulary:
笑い声 (waraigoe) = laughter
まく(maku) = to sow, sprinkle
明るい光の 花になるよ
akarui hikari no hana ni naru yo
It will become flowers of bright light
Vocabulary:
明るい(akarui) = bright
光（hikari) = light (as in not dark)
花（haha) = flower
なる = to become
ジングルベル ジングルベル 鈴が鳴る
Jinguru beru jinguru beru suzu ga naru
Jingle Bell Jingle Bell The bells ring
Vocabulary:
鈴(suzu) = little bell
鳴る(naru) = ring
鈴のリズムに 光の輪が舞う
suzu no rizumu ni hikari no wa ga mau
Wheels of light dance to the rhythm of the bells
Vocabulary:
リズム = rhythm
輪（wa) = wheel
舞う(mau) = to dance
森に林に 響きながら
mori ni hayashi ni hibikinagara
Echoing in the forest and grove
Vocabulary:
森（mori) = forest
林（hayashi) = grove
響く（hibiku) = to echo
[x]ながら = while [x]ing
走れそりよ 丘の上は
Hashire sori yo oka no ue wa
Dash, O sleigh, on top of the hill
Vocabulary:
丘（oka) = hill
上（ue) = top, up
雪も白く 風も白く
Yuki mo shiroku kaze mo shiroku
The snow is white, the wind is white
Vocabulary:
白い(shiroi) = white
歌う声は 飛んで行くよ
Utau koe wa tonde yuku yo
Singing voices soar
Vocabulary:
歌う(utau) = to sing
声(koe) = voice
飛ぶ（tobu) = to fly, to jump
行く（yuku/iku) = to go
So there you have it, a way to sing a Christmas carol while practicing Japanese. I will be posting more Christmas carol articles soon. To see all of them, look for posts with the Christmas carols tag. If you have any questions or thoughts you would like to share, leave a comment below!
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