世上只有妈妈好 (Shìshàng Zhǐyǒu Māma Hǎo): "Mother Is the Best in the World"

Quick answer: 世上只有妈妈好 (Shìshàng Zhǐyǒu Māma Hǎo, "Only Mother Is Good in This World") is one of the most iconic songs about a mother's love anywhere in the Chinese-speaking world, closely tied to the 1989 Taiwanese film 妈妈再爱我一次 (Mom, Please Love Me Once Again). Nearly everyone who grew up with Mandarin knows at least its opening line.

The lyrics

Chinese	Pinyin	English
世上只有妈妈好，	Shìshàng zhǐyǒu māma hǎo,	In this world, only mother is good,
有妈的孩子像块宝，	yǒu mā de háizi xiàng kuài bǎo,	A child with a mother is like a treasure,
投进妈妈的怀抱，	tóu jìn māma de huáibào,	Run into mother's embrace,
幸福享不了。	xìngfú xiǎng bù liǎo.	And happiness never runs out.
没妈的孩子像根草，	Méi mā de háizi xiàng gēn cǎo,	A child without a mother is like a blade of grass,
离开妈妈的怀抱，	líkāi māma de huáibào,	Leave mother's embrace,
幸福哪里找。	xìngfú nǎlǐ zhǎo.	And where can happiness be found?

Where it comes from

世上只有妈妈好 is closely associated with the 1989 Taiwanese film 妈妈再爱我一次 (Mom, Please Love Me Once Again), an enormously popular melodrama about a mother and the son she's separated from. The song plays a prominent role in the film, and it's largely responsible for the song reaching the level of nationwide, generational fame it still has today — decades later, it's one of the first songs many people think of when asked to name a Chinese song about a mother's love. Its lyrics are built on a stark, deliberately emotional contrast: a child with a mother is like a treasure, cared for and safe; a child without one is like a blade of grass, exposed with nowhere to find comfort. That contrast is exactly why the song has stayed so powerful across generations.

How to sing it with your baby

• Newborn–6 months: The melody itself is gentle and slow enough to hum quietly during a feed or a wind-down routine — at this age it functions purely as soothing sound, well before any of the meaning is relevant.
• 6–18 months: Sing the first four lines while holding your baby close and rocking on "投进妈妈的怀抱" (tóu jìn māma de huáibào, "run into mother's embrace") — the physical closeness of the song pairs naturally with actually holding your baby during this line.
• 18 months+: This is a song better introduced with some context than sung purely for melody — when your toddler is old enough to ask what a song means, it's a natural opening to talk simply about how much a parent loves them, rather than dwelling on the sadder second half.

Continue building your song list

This is one of the individual lullaby and nursery-rhyme posts on Twiglet Tales — see the full collection of Chinese lullabies and nursery rhymes for more songs at every stage, or continue with the Growth Roadmap for a staged plan beyond songs alone.