“Have a nice day” in Chinese: how to say it and how to write it
Have a nice day
"Have a nice day" in Chinese is 祝你今天愉快, zhù nǐ jīntiān yúkuài. Word for word: "wish you today happy". The shorter and more common form is 祝你愉快, "have a nice time", which works for a good day and a good evening alike.
How to pronounce 祝你今天愉快
- 祝你今天愉快zhùnǐjīntiānyúkuàihave a nice day
- 祝你愉快zhùnǐyúkuàihave a nice timeshorter, more common
zhù has the fourth tone, a sharp drop; zh is like the j in "judge" with the tip of the tongue curled back. nǐ is the third tone, low. jīn and tiān are two first tones in a row: the voice stays high and level. yú has the second tone, rising, and its vowel is ü: say "ee" with your lips rounded, as in French "tu" or German "über". kuài is a fourth tone again. Put together, it's a wave: down, low, level, level, up, down. More in the article "Chinese tones".
How to write 祝你今天愉快
- 祝zhùto wish (someone well)
- 你nǐyou
- 今天jīntiāntoday
- 愉快yúkuàihappy, pleasant
Six characters, four words. Almost every Chinese wish starts with 祝: the same verb opens "Happy birthday". 今天 is "today", literally "the present day". Both characters of 愉快 carry the "heart" radical 忄 on the left: the word is about a state of mind. And there is no "nice" or "good" in the phrase at all: you wish someone a happy day, not a good one. You can practice the characters stroke by stroke in the writing worksheets.
When people say it
In English "Have a nice day!" comes almost automatically, at every checkout and the end of every call. Chinese has no such habit. 祝你今天愉快 sounds polite and a little formal: it closes an email, a conversation with a client, a message from customer support. You'll see it in writing far more than you'll hear it between friends. To people you know, you would usually just say 再见, or wish them something specific, depending on where they're going.
Have a nice weekend, have a safe trip and other wishes
- 周末愉快zhōumòyúkuàihave a nice weekend
- 玩得开心wándekāixīnhave fun
- 一路顺风yílùshùnfēnghave a good trip
- 一路平安yílùpíng’ānhave a safe trip
They all follow one pattern: what the wish is about, plus how it should go. 周末愉快 is what you tell colleagues on Friday: 周末 is "weekend". 玩得开心 is for someone heading out, to a party or on vacation: literally "play happily". Put 祝你 in front of any of them and it sounds fuller and more heartfelt:
For a journey there are two wishes. 一路顺风 is "a following wind all the way", 一路平安 is "safe all the way". Some people avoid the first one for someone about to fly, since a tailwind isn't what you wish a plane at takeoff, and choose 一路平安 instead; it's more a superstition than a rule. And if what lies ahead isn't a trip but an exam or a job interview, the phrases on the page "Good luck in Chinese" fit better.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “have a nice day” in Chinese?
“Have a nice day” in Chinese is 祝你今天愉快, in pinyin zhù nǐ jīntiān yúkuài.
How do you pronounce 祝你今天愉快?
祝你今天愉快 is read zhù nǐ jīntiān yúkuài. 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 “have a nice day” in Chinese characters?
祝你今天愉快 is 6 characters. What each one means and how the phrase is put together is explained on this page.
What does 祝你今天愉快 mean?
祝你今天愉快 (zhù nǐ jīntiān yúkuài) means “have a nice day”.
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