15 Ways to Wish Someone “Happy New Year” in Chinese
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Want to know how to say “Happy New Year” in Mandarin Chinese?
Start with 新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè), then choose a greeting that fits the person and the occasion.
新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè) is a straightforward way to say “Happy New Year”. You’ll also hear greetings that wish someone peace, good fortune or prosperity.
Here are 15 Mandarin phrases for Chinese New Year, with notes on what each one means and when to use it.
First, a quick note on terminology. “Chinese New Year” usually refers to the Spring Festival celebrated in China. In Mandarin, common names include 春节 (chūnjié, “Spring Festival”) and 农历新年 (nónglì xīnnián, “Lunar New Year”). “Lunar New Year” is also a broader English term for new-year festivals celebrated in several cultures, so their customs and greetings are not interchangeable.
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When is Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year falls on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar. Its date on the Gregorian calendar changes from year to year.
Preparations begin before New Year’s Day, and customs continue after it. The traditional festival cycle commonly culminates in the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Official holiday schedules and the customs people observe vary by place, year and family. Check the dates for the country or region you’re visiting rather than relying on one fixed holiday length.
In mainland China, 春节 (chūnjié, “Spring Festival”) is the standard name for the holiday. The name is traditional; it does not mean the weather will already feel like spring everywhere.
The Chinese Zodiac and New Year Traditions
Each year in the Chinese zodiac is associated with an animal sign.
The cycle has cultural and folkloric meanings, but people relate to it in different ways.
There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Stories and popular descriptions associate each sign with particular qualities.
You may see the year’s animal on decorations and hear it mentioned in greetings. Treat personality predictions as part of popular tradition, not as a belief held by every Chinese person.
How to Say “Happy New Year” in Mandarin
Chinese New Year greetings often wish the other person happiness, peace, health or prosperity.
You can use a simple greeting on its own or add an appropriate blessing. More elaborate is not always better, especially in a formal setting.
You can add 祝你 (zhù nǐ, “I wish you”) to many of the blessing-style expressions below, such as 祝你万事如意 (zhù nǐ wànshì rúyì, “May everything go as you wish”). Don’t add it to fixed greetings that already have their own structure, such as 恭喜发财 or 给您拜年了.
Here’s how to write and say each phrase:
1. 新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè) – “Happy New Year”
This is a common, versatile greeting for the New Year period.
新年 (xīnnián) means “New Year”, and 快乐 (kuàilè) means “happy” or “joyful”.
快乐 (kuàilè) can also be translated as “joyful” or “cheerful”. It can describe your own happiness too, as in 我很快乐 (wǒ hěn kuàilè, “I’m very happy”). 高兴 (gāoxìng, “happy, glad”) is another common word for feeling happy or pleased.
That makes 新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè) a useful first phrase to learn.
The next expressions let you make the greeting more specific.
2. 春节快乐 (chūnjié kuàilè) – “Happy Spring Festival”
春节 (chūnjié) is the usual name for the Spring Festival in mainland China.
Add 快乐 (kuàilè, “happy”) to get 春节快乐: “Happy Spring Festival”.
This is a natural alternative to 新年快乐 during the festival. Naming conventions vary across Chinese-speaking communities, so follow the term the people around you use.
3. 新年好 (xīnnián hǎo) – “Happy New Year”, “Good New Year”
新年好 (xīnnián hǎo) is another seasonal greeting meaning “Happy New Year”.
好 (hǎo) means “good” and appears in several greetings. You may already know it from 你好 (nǐ hǎo, “hello”).
You can say 新年好 when greeting someone during the New Year period, then carry on with your conversation.
It works as a seasonal greeting rather than a word-for-word translation of an English sentence.
4. 恭喜发财 (gōngxǐ fācái) – “Congratulations and Prosperity”
恭喜发财 (gōngxǐ fācái) is a well-known festive wish for prosperity.
恭喜 conveys congratulations or good wishes, while 发财 means to become prosperous or make a fortune.
The phrase is closely associated with festive and prosperity-focused contexts.
It is not a general greeting for every occasion, so keep it for the New Year or another suitable celebratory context.
A natural English gloss is “Wishing you prosperity”. The pinyin here gives the Mandarin pronunciation.
5. 恭贺新禧 (gōnghè xīnxǐ) – “Happy New Year”
恭贺 (gōnghè) means “to congratulate respectfully”, and 新禧 (xīnxǐ) refers to the joy of the New Year.
Together, 恭贺新禧 (gōnghè xīnxǐ) is a formal New Year congratulation.
You’re more likely to see it in writing, such as on a card, banner or formal message, than to use it in casual conversation.
“Happy New Year” is a useful English gloss, but the Chinese expression keeps a ceremonious tone.
6. 岁岁平安 (suì suì píng'ān) – “I Wish You Peace”, “May You Always Have Peace Year After Year”
岁 (suì) can mean “year”. In 岁岁平安, the repetition 岁岁 gives the sense of “year after year”.
平安 (píng'ān) covers safety, peace and well-being. You may know it from 一路平安 (yīlù píng'ān), “Have a safe journey”.
As a New Year blessing, 岁岁平安 wishes someone peace and safety year after year.
7. 过年好 (guònián hǎo) – “Happy New Year”
This is another way to greet someone during Chinese New Year. How often you hear it varies by region.
过年 (guònián) means to celebrate or observe the New Year, while 好 (hǎo) contributes the positive greeting.
The phrase belongs specifically to the New Year period; it is not an everyday substitute for 你好.
Translate 过年好 by function as “Happy New Year”, rather than literally as “pass the year well”.
Breaking a phrase into characters can help you remember it, but the meaning and register of the whole expression matter more than a word-for-word English rendering.
8. 万事如意 (wànshì rúyì) – “Best Wishes”
万事如意 (wànshì rúyì) is a blessing that means “May everything go as you wish”.
万 (wàn) literally means “ten thousand”, but in this expression 万事 refers figuratively to all matters or everything.
事 (shì) means “matter” or “thing”, so 万事 is “all matters”.
如意 (rúyì) means “as one wishes” or “to one’s satisfaction”.
This blessing is not limited to New Year, though the surrounding message should still fit the occasion.
9. 财源广进 (cáiyuán guǎng jìn) – “I Wish You Prosperity”
财源广进 (cáiyuán guǎng jìn) wishes that wealth will flow in from many sources.
Because it focuses specifically on finances, it suits a business owner or a prosperity-focused New Year message better than every recipient.
Prosperity wishes are one part of the festival’s wider themes, alongside family reunion, health, peace and good fortune. 红包 (hóngbāo) are red envelopes containing money; who gives and receives them varies by family and region.
Character by character, 财 (cái) means “fortune”, “wealth” or even “income”.
源 (yuán) is “source”, 广 (guǎng) means “extensive” or “numerous” and 进 (jìn) is “to enter”.
10. 新春大吉 (xīnchūn dàjí) – “Great Luck in the New Year”
新春 (xīnchūn) literally means “new spring” and is also a festive term for the New Year season.
大吉 (dàjí) means “great luck”, so the full expression wishes someone an auspicious New Year.
5 Bonus Phrases You Can Use to Say “Happy New Year” in Chinese
Here are five more phrases you can use during the Chinese New Year celebrations:
- 给您拜年了 (gěi nín bàinián le) – “I’m offering you my New Year greetings.” 您 is the respectful form of “you”.
- 大吉大利 (dàjí dàlì) – “Great luck and prosperity” or, more naturally, “Wishing you great fortune”.
- 马年行大运 (mǎ nián xíng dà yùn) – “May you have great luck in the Year of the Horse.” Use this only in a Horse year; substitute the correct zodiac animal for another year.
- 恭喜发财，红包拿来 (gōngxǐ fācái, hóngbāo ná lái) – “Wishing you prosperity; now hand over the red envelope.” This is a playful rhyme for people you know well, not a formal request.
- 心想事成 (xīn xiǎng shì chéng) – “May everything you wish for come true.”
Ready for Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year brings together family reunions, seasonal customs and hopes for good fortune in the year ahead.
The right greeting depends on the person and the setting. 新年快乐 is a safe general choice; a more specific blessing can make sense when you know its register and meaning.
Choose two or three phrases you’ll genuinely use, then practise saying them aloud before the festival.
Here’s wishing you 新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè). Happy New Year!
For your next step, use our guide to ordering in a Chinese restaurant or learn some Mandarin family vocabulary.
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