How to say “celebrate the New Year” in Chinese

过年

guònián

celebrate the New Year

verb · HSK 2 · topic “Leisure and health”

“Celebrate the New Year” in Chinese is 过年, guò nián: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

过年 is read guò nián: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

guò — 4th tonesharply falling, like “Stop!”

nián — 2nd tonerising, like a surprised “huh?”

How to write it

过

guò — pass

On the left, 辶 “walk”. As a particle of experience it is read with the neutral tone: guo.

年

nián — year

Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “过年”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 过年. Tap the sound icon to listen.

快要过年了。kuàiyàoguòniánleNew Year is coming soon.
你回家过年吗？nǐhuíjiāguòniánmaAre you going home for New Year?
过年的时候我最想念亲人guòniándeshíhou,wǒzuìxiǎngniànqīnrénAt Chinese New Year I miss my family the most.
过年的时候亲朋好友都来了guòniándeshíhou,qīnpénghǎoyǒudōuláileAt Chinese New Year, all our family and friends came.
在中国，元旦没有过年热闹。zàiZhōngguó,yuándànméiyǒuguòniánrènaoIn China, New Year's Day on January 1 isn't as lively as the Spring Festival.
过年吃饺子是北方的传统。guòniánchījiǎozishìběifāngdechuántǒngEating dumplings at New Year is a northern tradition.

More words from the lesson “Weather and New Year”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “celebrate the New Year” in Chinese?

“Celebrate the New Year” in Chinese is 过年, pinyin guònián.

What does 过年 mean?

过年 (guònián) means “celebrate the New Year”.

How do you write 过年?

过年 is 2 characters: 过 (guò) — pass; 年 (nián) — year. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 过年?

过年 is read guònián. Tones: guò — fourth tone, nián — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“celebrate the New Year” in the lesson “Weather and New Year”

This word is from the topic “Leisure and health” of HSK 2. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.

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