“Happy New Year” in Chinese: how to say it and how to write it
Happy New Year!
“Happy New Year!” in Chinese is 新年快乐！, xīnnián kuàilè — roughly “shin-nyen kwai-luh”. Word for word it is “new year happy”.
What “xin nian kuai le” means
- 新年xīnniánNew Year
- 快乐kuàilèhappy, joyful
新年 is “new year”, and 快乐 is the same word as in “happy birthday”, 生日快乐. Any holiday works the same way: the name of the holiday plus 快乐. The x in xīn is between English “s” and “sh”; nián is one quick syllable, “nyen”, not “nee-an”.
Two New Years: January 1 and Lunar New Year
China celebrates January 1 too, and 新年快乐 fits it best. But the big holiday is Chinese New Year — Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, 春节 (Chūnjié). Its date moves every year with the lunar calendar: in 2027 it falls on February 6. How it is celebrated is in “Chinese New Year”. For the Spring Festival people say:
- 新年快乐xīnniánkuàilèHappy New Year
- 春节快乐chūnjiékuàilèHappy Spring Festival
- 过年好guòniánhǎohappy holidays! (casual)
- 恭喜发财gōngxǐfācáiwishing you prosperity
恭喜发财 is the best-known New Year wish: literally “congratulations, get rich”. You may know it from Chinatown as “Gung Hay Fat Choy” — that is the same phrase in Cantonese. Kids answer it with a joke: 红包拿来, “hand over the red envelope”. Red envelopes, 红包 (hóngbāo), with money inside are the traditional New Year gift.
Talking about New Year
- 你们怎么过新年？nǐmenzěnmeguòxīnniánhow do you celebrate New Year?
- 新年是我最喜欢的节日。xīnniánshìwǒzuìxǐhuandejiérìNew Year is my favorite holiday
- 今天晚上学校有新年晚会。jīntiānwǎnshangxuéxiàoyǒuxīnniánwǎnhuìthere’s a New Year party at school tonight
过 in 过新年 and 过年 means “to spend, to celebrate”: it is used for any holiday and for birthdays too.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “happy New Year” in Chinese?
“Happy New Year” in Chinese is 新年快乐, in pinyin xīnnián kuàilè.
How do you pronounce 新年快乐?
新年快乐 is read xīnnián kuàilè. The marks over the vowels are the tones: each syllable has its own melody, so listen to the recording on this page and repeat it.
How do you write “happy New Year” in Chinese characters?
新年快乐 is 4 characters. What each one means and how the phrase is put together is explained on this page.
What does 新年快乐 mean?
新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè) means “happy New Year”.
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