Chinese New Year in Chinese 春节
Chūnjié
Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) in Chinese is 春节 (chūn jié).
Also searched for as: chinese new year, spring festival, lunar new year, happy new year.
The biggest festival. 15 essential Chinese New Year words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
Chinese New Year in Chinese is 春节 (Chūn jié), the Spring Festival, though in everyday speech people often say 过年 (guò nián), literally 'to pass the year'. It's the biggest family occasion of the Chinese calendar, built around the 年夜饭 (nián yè fàn) on New Year's Eve, 红包 (hóng bāo) for the children, and greetings like 新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè) and 恭喜发财 (gōng xǐ fā cái).
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 春节 | Chūn jié | Spring Festival |
| 过年 | guò nián | to celebrate New Year |
| 除夕 | Chú xī | New Year's Eve |
| 年夜饭 | nián yè fàn | New Year's Eve dinner |
| 红包 | hóng bāo | red envelope |
| 拜年 | bài nián | to pay a New Year visit |
| 春联 | chūn lián | New Year couplets |
| 鞭炮 | biān pào | firecrackers |
| 烟花 | yān huā | fireworks |
| 饺子 | jiǎo zi | dumplings |
| 团圆 | tuán yuán | family reunion |
| 生肖 | shēng xiào | Chinese zodiac |
| 灯笼 | dēng lóng | lantern |
| 恭喜发财 | gōng xǐ fā cái | wishing you prosperity |
| 新年快乐 | xīn nián kuài lè | Happy New Year |
Usage tips
- 恭喜发财 (gōng xǐ fā cái) is especially popular in southern China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, where you'll also hear its Cantonese form, gong hei fat choy.
- Give and receive 红包 with both hands, and it's polite not to open one in front of the giver. Amounts usually avoid the number 4, because 四 (sì) sounds like 死 (sǐ), death.
- New Year visits, 拜年 (bài nián), traditionally start on 初一 (chū yī), the first day of the lunar year, beginning with the oldest relatives.
Common mistakes
- Calling the festival 中国新年 (Zhōng guó xīn nián) → Chinese speakers say 春节 (Chūn jié) or 农历新年 (nóng lì xīn nián), the latter being very common in Singapore and Malaysia.
- Translating 拜年 as "worship the year" → it means visiting people to wish them a happy New Year, so 去拜年 (qù bài nián) is "go and pay New Year visits".
Mini dialogue
- A春节你回老家过年吗？Chūn jié nǐ huí lǎo jiā guò nián ma?Are you going home for Spring Festival?
- B回！除夕晚上全家一起吃年夜饭，还要包饺子。Huí! Chú xī wǎn shang quán jiā yī qǐ chī nián yè fàn, hái yào bāo jiǎo zi.Yes! On New Year's Eve the whole family has dinner together, and we make dumplings.
- A真热闹！你还会收到红包吗？Zhēn rè nao! Nǐ hái huì shōu dào hóng bāo ma?Sounds lively! Do you still get red envelopes?
- B当然，爷爷奶奶每年都给我红包。Dāng rán, yé ye nǎi nai měi nián dōu gěi wǒ hóng bāo.Of course, Grandma and Grandpa give me one every year.
- A那提前祝你新年快乐，恭喜发财！Nà tí qián zhù nǐ xīn nián kuài lè, gōng xǐ fā cái!Then happy New Year in advance, and wishing you prosperity!
Example sentences
- 今年春节你回家吗？Are you going home for Spring Festival this year?
- 过年的时候，孩子们最开心。Children are happiest at New Year.
- 除夕晚上，我们一家人看电视。On New Year's Eve our family watches TV together.
- 奶奶做了一大桌年夜饭。Grandma made a huge New Year's Eve dinner.
- 爷爷给了我一个大红包。Grandpa gave me a big red envelope.
- 初一早上，我们去给爷爷奶奶拜年。On New Year's morning we visit Grandpa and Grandma to wish them a happy New Year.
- 爸爸在门上贴春联。Dad is putting up the New Year couplets on the door.
- 半夜十二点，外面放起了鞭炮。At midnight, firecrackers started going off outside.
- 天上的烟花真漂亮！The fireworks in the sky are beautiful!
- 过年我们全家一起包饺子。At New Year the whole family makes dumplings together.
- 春节是家人团圆的日子。The Spring Festival is a time for family reunions.
- 你的生肖是什么？What's your Chinese zodiac sign?
- 门口挂着两个红灯笼。Two red lanterns are hanging by the door.
- 恭喜发财，红包拿来！Wishing you prosperity, now where's my red envelope?
- 祝你新年快乐，身体健康！Happy New Year, and wishing you good health!
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Chinese New Year speaking island has 8 everyday questions about Chinese New Year to prepare your own answers to.