5 Holiday Greetings in Chinese

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If you’re planning to reconnect with your Chinese friends during this season, why not add a personal touch with authentic Chinese holiday greetings?

In this post, we will walk you through five popular holiday greetings you can use in your messages or festive chats.

Happy holidays 节日愉快

Kick things off with a universally heartfelt greeting – “Happy holidays”: 节日愉快 (jié rì yú kuài)

Dive a little deeper into the phrase: 节日 (jiér ì) refers to “festival” or “holiday”; 愉快 (yú kuài) embodies joy, translating to “cheerful” or “delighted.” When paired together, they convey the spirit of “happy holidays.”

For a slightly informal touch, you might opt for 节日快乐 (jié rì kuài lè). Here, 快乐 (kuàilè) stands in for “happy.”

Merry Christmas 圣诞快乐

Next on our list is a greeting revered in many corners of the world, especially in countries with a significant Christian population — “Merry Christmas”: 圣诞快乐 (shèng dàn kuài lè)

Let’s unpack the phrase: 圣诞 (shèng dàn) represents “Christmas,” coupled with the familiar 快乐 (kuài lè), which means “happy.”

For a slight variation, you can use its synonym 耶诞快乐 (yē dàn kuài lè) to sprinkle a different flavour into a Christmas greeting.

Happy New Year 新年快乐

As we welcome a fresh start, the phrase “Happy New Year” reverberates globally, echoed by people from all walks of life. In Chinese, it’s 新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè).

Here, 新 (xīn) stands for “new,” 年 (nián) represents “year,” teamed up with our now familiar friend 快乐 (kuài lè) meaning “happy,” crafting the perfect greeting to usher in the new year with warmth and joy.

Happy Birthday 生日快乐

Now, let’s turn our attention to those special personal milestones we celebrate all year round – birthdays! Start with the phrase 生日 (shēng rì), which quite literally means “birth day,” followed by our now familiar expression of happiness, 快乐 (kuài lè; happy).

So, string them together, and you get 生日快乐 (shēng rì kuài lè), the perfect phrase to shower your loved ones, friends, or colleagues with joy and best wishes on their special day.

Wish you 祝你

As you build on your Chinese vocabulary, you can truly shine by adding the phrase 祝你 (zhù nǐ) — translating to “wish you” — at the beginning of all those heartfelt holiday greetings we’ve ventured through.

It begins with 祝 (zhù), which means “to wish,” paired with 你 (nǐ), representing “you,” maintaining a direct and warm translation in this affectionate phrase.

For friends, family, or neighbors, wishing a Merry Christmas would look like this:

祝你圣诞快乐！(zhù nǐ shèngdàn kuàilè)

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