How do you say Happy New Year in Chinese?
The most common way to say “happy new year” in Chinese is 新年快乐！. Here are the main options, when to use each, and how to pronounce them.
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新年快乐！
xīnnián kuàilè
Literally “new year happy”. Used for 1 January and for Lunar New Year.
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新年好！
xīnnián hǎo
A greeting when you see someone around the new year.
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春节快乐！
Chūnjié kuàilè
“Happy Spring Festival” — Lunar New Year only.
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恭喜发财！
gōngxǐ fācái
“Wishing you prosperity” — the classic Lunar New Year greeting. In Cantonese: gung hei fat choy.
Use it in a sentence
- Happy New Year, everyone!大家新年快乐！Dàjiā xīnnián kuàilè!
- Wishing you good health in the new year!祝你新年身体健康！Zhù nǐ xīnnián shēntǐ jiànkāng!
- Happy New Year, and may everything go your way!新年快乐，万事如意！Xīnnián kuàilè, wànshì rúyì!
- When is Chinese New Year this year?今年春节是哪天？Jīnnián Chūnjié shì nǎ tiān?
Good to know
These are Simplified characters, used in mainland China and Singapore. In Traditional characters (Taiwan, Hong Kong) they are written 新年快樂 and 恭喜發財.
Lunar New Year (春节, Chūnjié) moves with the lunar calendar and falls between late January and mid-February.
Children and younger relatives receive 红包 (hóngbāo), red envelopes of money.