拔萝卜 (Bá Luóbo): The Chinese "Pulling Up the Turnip" Song

Quick answer: 拔萝卜 (Bá Luóbo, "Pulling Up the Turnip") is a short, high-energy Chinese children's chant about a turnip so big that no one can pull it out of the ground alone — everyone has to help. It's less a song to sing quietly and more a song to do, which makes it one of the best options once your child is mobile enough to actually pretend-pull.

The lyrics

Chinese	Pinyin	English
拔萝卜，拔萝卜	Bá luóbo, bá luóbo	Pulling the turnip, pulling the turnip,
嘿哟嘿哟拔萝卜	Hēiyō hēiyō bá luóbo	Heave-ho, heave-ho, pulling the turnip,
拔呀拔呀拔不动	Bá ya bá ya bá bú dòng	Pull and pull, but it won't budge,
快来帮忙拔萝卜	Kuài lái bāngmáng bá luóbo	Come quick and help pull the turnip!
你也拔，我也拔	Nǐ yě bá, wǒ yě bá	You pull too, I pull too,
嘿哟嘿哟拔起来	Hēiyō hēiyō bá qǐlái	Heave-ho, heave-ho, up it comes!

Where it comes from

拔萝卜 is a traditional Chinese children's chant rather than a song with a single known composer — like a lot of the songs in this collection, it's been passed around Chinese kindergartens and family living rooms for generations, with the exact wording shifting slightly from region to region and songbook to songbook. What stays constant is the story: a turnip grows so large that one person can't pull it free, so more and more helpers join in until, together, they manage it.

That premise will be instantly familiar if you know the Russian folk tale Repka ("The Turnip"), in which a grandfather calls in his grandmother, granddaughter, dog, cat, and finally a mouse to help free a giant turnip. The Chinese song isn't a direct translation of that tale, but it grew out of the same simple, universal idea — a turnip too big for one — and Chinese picture books and preschool storytelling sessions often pair the song with a very similar cast of family helpers, told in Mandarin.

How to sing it with your baby

• Newborn – 6 months: Sing it while doing a gentle pulling or rocking motion with baby's hands in yours — the exaggerated "嘿哟" (hēiyō, "heave-ho") is a fun, expressive sound to hear at close range, even if the game itself doesn't mean anything to baby yet.
• 6–18 months: Turn it into a physical game. Hold both of baby's hands and gently mimic pulling on "拔呀拔呀拔不动" (bá ya bá ya bá bú dòng, "pull and pull, but it won't budge"), then cheer and lean back together on "拔起来" (bá qǐlái, "up it comes!"). The payoff at the end of the chant is genuinely satisfying at this age.
• 18 months+: Recruit stuffed animals or other family members as the extra helpers, calling each one in by name before the final big pull — this mirrors the "call in more helpers" structure of the original turnip story and lets your toddler direct the game themselves.

Continue building your song list

This is one of the songs in the collection of Chinese lullabies and nursery rhymes on Twiglet Tales — browse the full set for more songs at every stage, or see the Growth Roadmap for a staged plan beyond songs alone.