To start off, let me wish you “新年快乐(xīn nián kuài lè)！” This is a common greeting between Chinese people around both the time of the Gregorian calendar New Year and the Chinese traditional New Year.
“新年快乐!” is a good place to start when learning New Year greetings, because it is the expression that most closely translates to the ubiquitous English “Happy New Year!”. But Chinese people more often use other popular expressions of best wishes, which depend on who you are greeting! Let’s take a look together!
1. Elders
We always wish good health to the elderly and greet them with:
祝您身体健康！(Zhù nín shēntǐ jiànkāng!) or wish you good health!
Remember to use the polite form of you 您 “nín” which is a mark of respect for your elders and superiors.
2. Men
It’s traditional to wish the men in your life success in work. We say:
祝你工作顺利！(Zhù nǐ gōngzuò shùnlì!) or wish you success in work!
3. Women
Traditionally we wish women happiness and beauty, which we express as:
祝你天天开心, 越来越漂亮！(Zhù nǐ tiāntiān kāixīn, yuè lái yuè piàoliang!) or Wish that you are happy everyday and become ever more beautiful!
4. Children
We always wish kids happiness and progress in their studies and learning by telling them:
祝你开开心心, 学习进步！(Zhù nǐ kāi kāi xīn xīn ， xué xí jìn bù!)
Wish you happiness and progress in your studies!
5. Families
If you would like to express your best wishes to an entire family, you can say :
祝你们合家欢乐,万事如意！(Zhù nǐmen hé jiā huānlè，wàn shì rúyì！)
Wish all of you a happy life, may everything go as well as you could wish!
Have you ever seen this picture? It represents another very popular new year greeting called “恭喜发财”（gōng xǐ fā cái）. Do you know what does this means? Tell us in the comments!