How to Say "Happy (Western) New Year" in Chinese
December 28, 2021
The New Year is here yet again and we bet you have lots of people you would like to wish all the best in the coming year. From family to friends to colleagues to strangers on the street, we are sure you will be exchanging festive New Year’s greetings left, right, and sideways over the coming days.
On that note, if you want to say “Happy New Year” in Chinese, you would probably translate the phrase literally and go for “新年快乐 xīnnián kuàilè”. Nothing wrong with that, right?
Well, if your aim is to wish a Chinese speaker a happy “western” New Year, your wishes are actually a bit vague. There is nothing wrong with this phrase as a New Year’s greeting, but from a cultural standpoint, you can be more specific.
"Happy New Year" in Chinese as we learned above is
新年快乐
xīnnián kuàilè
and this can be said during the international New Year on January 1, as well as the lunar new year celebrated during 春节 chūnjié (also known as the Spring Festival).
If you want your New Year's well-wishes to be specific to the international New Year on January 1, it is better to say
元旦快乐
yuándàn kuàilè
International new year in China is called 元旦 yuándàn.
"元 yuán" means “first, beginning” and “旦 dàn” means “dawn, daybreak”.
Talk about straightforward!
The History of the New Year in China
In the past, "元旦 yuándàn" used to refer to the lunar New Year holiday (春节 chūnjié).
This is due to the fact that China used only the lunar calendar prior to the establishment of the PRC in 1949. When the PRC came into being, the Gregorian (international) calendar became the official calendar of China.
With it came the celebration of the international New Year, and thus the title of 元旦 yuándàn was shifted to January 1. It has remained the name for the international New Year ever since.
New Year Traditions in China
International New Year in China lags behind the Spring Festival in terms of deep-rooted tradition. If you are looking for age-old customs and lore, you would do better to read up on the Spring Festival.
However, simply because Spring Festival has a longer history does not mean that there are no international New Year’s celebrations happening in China! You are sure to find parties, discounts, and (if you are in a smaller city or the countryside) fireworks galore.
If you don’t have any celebrations in your area, grab some friends and count down to the new year. You can carry on your old family traditions or even start some new traditions of your own!
What are some of your favorite New Year’s eve traditions?
About the Author
Eden has been learning Chinese since 2008. She fell in love with the language, food, and culture and never looked back! Eden lived in China for six years, including in Harbin, Beijing, and Dali.
