Chinese New Year Greetings & Phrases 59
春节用语
What to say at Chinese New Year 2027 — the Year of the Goat begins on 6 February 2027. Greetings and four-character wishes, ready-to-send messages for family, friends, colleagues and clients, the twelve zodiac animals and the customs behind them, each with pinyin, a usage note and native teacher audio.
Greetings & Wishes 16
Start with 新年快乐 or 恭喜发财, then add a four-character wish. Stacking two or three wishes in one breath is normal and sounds warm, not excessive.
The all-purpose greeting — works on the day and all through the festival.
春节 = the Spring Festival, the Chinese name for the Lunar New Year.
A little more elegant — the one you see on cards and company greetings.
The famous "gong xi fa cai" — the money wish everyone says, especially in Singapore and Malaysia.
5 过年好 guònián hǎo Happy New Year (spoken greeting)
The warm everyday greeting when you meet people during the holiday, especially in northern China.
Only for New Year's Eve — switch to 新年快乐 the next morning.
The classic four-character add-on to any New Year greeting.
Another favourite four-character wish for cards and messages.
The wish to give elders — health comes before wealth.
余 (surplus) sounds like 鱼 (fish) — why fish is on every New Year table.
Big, bright good luck — often paired with 恭喜发财.
For colleagues and friends with careers: steady promotion.
Safety every year — and the rescue line when something breaks at New Year.
The shopkeeper's favourite money wish.
For business owners and clients.
The cheeky rhyme kids say to relatives — never to your boss.
Messages for Family, Friends, Colleagues & Clients 8
Ready-to-send lines for cards, WeChat and WhatsApp. Use 您 for elders, teachers, bosses and clients, and 你 for friends.
1 祝您和家人新年快乐，身体健康！ zhù nín hé jiārén xīnnián kuàilè, shēntǐ jiànkāng! Happy New Year and good health to you and your family!
Safe and warm for anyone older than you — neighbours, a friend's parents, relatives.
2 爸爸妈妈，新年快乐！祝你们身体健康！ bàba māma, xīnnián kuàilè! zhù nǐmen shēntǐ jiànkāng! Mom, Dad, Happy New Year! Wishing you good health!
For your parents — health is the wish that matters most.
3 祝你新的一年心想事成，天天开心！ zhù nǐ xīn de yì nián xīnxiǎng shìchéng, tiāntiān kāixīn! May all your wishes come true this year — be happy every day!
Casual and cheerful for friends; 你 instead of the polite 您.
4 感谢您一年来的指导，祝您新年快乐，步步高升！ gǎnxiè nín yì nián lái de zhǐdǎo, zhù nín xīnnián kuàilè, bùbù gāoshēng! Thank you for your guidance this year — Happy New Year, and may you keep rising!
For a manager or mentor: thanks first, then the career wish.
5 感谢您一直以来的支持，祝您新春快乐，生意兴隆！ gǎnxiè nín yìzhí yǐlái de zhīchí, zhù nín xīnchūn kuàilè, shēngyì xīnglóng! Thank you for your continued support — Happy Lunar New Year and prosperous business!
The standard message to clients and business partners.
6 老师，祝您新年快乐，工作顺利！ lǎoshī, zhù nín xīnnián kuàilè, gōngzuò shùnlì! Teacher, Happy New Year — may your work go smoothly!
Students greet teachers with 您 and a wish for their work.
7 祝大家羊年大吉，喜气洋洋！ zhù dàjiā yángnián dàjí, xǐqì yángyáng! Happy Year of the Goat, everyone — may it be full of joy!
Perfect for a group chat in 2027: two goat puns in one line.
8 给您拜年了！ gěi nín bàinián le! Happy New Year to you!
What people say when they call or visit an elder to pay New Year respects.
Year of the Goat 2027 5
2027 is the Year of the Goat (羊年), from 6 February 2027 to the 2028 Lunar New Year. 羊 covers goat, sheep and ram, and it inspires plenty of puns.
2027 is a goat year — it begins on 6 February 2027.
The 2027 greeting: the animal + 年大吉.
洋洋 sounds like 羊羊 — the goat-year pun you will see everywhere.
4 我属羊 wǒ shǔ yáng I was born in the Year of the Goat
The way to state your zodiac sign: 我属 + animal.
5 三阳开泰 sān yáng kāi tài Good fortune arrives with the new year
A classic New Year blessing; in goat years it is often written 三羊开泰 as a pun on 羊.
The 12 Zodiac Animals 14
In order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig. In zodiac talk the animal is usually one character — 鼠, 虎, 兔, 猴, 鸡 — even when the everyday word is longer.
Your 生肖 changes at the Lunar New Year, not on 1 January.
A polite way to find out someone's age — answer 我属 + animal.
Zodiac sign: 鼠 — first of the twelve.
Zodiac sign: 牛 — also slang for "awesome".
Zodiac sign: 虎.
Zodiac sign: 兔.
Zodiac sign: 龙 — the most prized sign of all.
Zodiac sign: 蛇 — sometimes called 小龙, "little dragon".
Zodiac sign: 马.
Zodiac sign: 羊 — goat or sheep; 2027 is a goat year.
Zodiac sign: 猴.
Zodiac sign: 鸡.
Zodiac sign: 狗.
Zodiac sign: 猪 — last of the twelve.
Customs, Food & Decorations 16
The words behind the traditions: red envelopes, the reunion dinner, lucky foods, spring couplets and the upside-down 福.
The Chinese name for Chinese New Year — in 2027 it falls on 6 February.
The red envelope itself — hong bao in Mandarin, ang pao in Hokkien.
The New Year money inside the red envelope, given by elders to children.
New Year's Eve dinner, the most important meal of the year.
Being together as a family — the heart of the festival.
The northern New Year's Eve dish, shaped like old silver ingots.
年糕 sounds like 年高 — "higher every year".
Round rice balls for the Lantern Festival — round = togetherness.
Red good-luck lines pasted on both sides of the front door.
Hung upside down on purpose: 福倒了 sounds like 福到了, "fortune has arrived".
The traditional noise that welcomes the year (now restricted in many cities).
Dragon and lion dances fill the streets during the festival.
Welcomed on the fifth day by shops hoping for a prosperous year.
Visiting (or calling) relatives and friends to give New Year wishes.
The fifteenth day (20 February 2027): lanterns, riddles and sweet rice balls close the New Year.
The greeting for that day.
Want to actually speak them? Practice with a native teacher.
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