top of page

Chinese New Year Greetings and Poetic Spring Festival Couplets

Chinese New Year greetings are the heartfelt wishes exchanged among loved ones, carrying with them the radiant aspirations individuals hold for themselves and their dearest ones.

 

The messages shared during Chinese New Year range from the simplicity of 'Happy New Year' to the profound elegance of traditional four-character idioms, auspicious parallelism sentences, or even entire compositions.

 

Spring Festival Couplet is a popular New Year greeting, each including two parallelism lines, usually poetic and auspicious; now, some are creative and fun.

Popular Chinese New Year Greetings — Idioms, Proverbs, and Phrases

​

​

  • 幸福: Happiness

​

  • 好运: Luck

​

  • 幸运: Good Luck

​

  • 祝福: Blessing

​​

  • 吉祥: Auspiciousness

​

  • 快乐: Joy

​

  • 喜悦: Delight

​

  • 过年好: Wish you a good new year

​

  • 新年快乐: Happy New Year

Chinese New Year Flowers

Good Fortune and Wealth

 

  • 平安喜乐: Safe and sound, happy and joyful.

​

  • 合家欢乐: Everyone in the family is happy and joyful.

​

  • 阖家幸福: Wish you a happy family.

​

  • 幸福美满: Happy and content.

​

  • 丰衣足食: Have ample food and fine clothing.

​

  • 金玉满堂: Gold and jade fill the hall, meaning abundant wealth or family members.

Jade Decorated Filigree Gold Hairpin of the Ming Dynasty (1368 — 1644)

Jade Decorated Filigree Gold Hairpin of the Ming Dynasty (1368 — 1644) — Hubei Museum (Photo by Dongmaiying)

  • 福寿安康: Happiness, longevity, peace, and good health.

​

  • 欢聚一堂: Joyful gathering.

​

  • 恭喜发财: Wish you wealth and prosperity.

​​

  • 春风得意: The warm spring breeze is satisfactory, representing luck and success.

​​

  • 花好月圆: Blooming flowers and a full moon, symbolize a perfect and happy life.

​​

  • 花开富贵: Flourishing and wealthy as blooming flowers.

"Hu Zhong Fu Gui Tu" that Xuande Emperor Zhu Zhanji Painted to Award His Exceptional Prime Minister Yang Shiqi (1365-1444), Wishing Him A Long and Wealthy Life

"Hu Zhong Fu Gui Tu" by Xuande Emperor (1399 — 1435), to Award Prime Minister Yang Shiqi and Wishing Him A Long and Wealthy Life — Taipei Palace Museum

  • 吉祥如意: Auspicious and satisfied.

​​

  • 万事如意: Everything goes as one wishes.

​​

  • 万事胜意: Everything goes better than expected.

​​

  • 心想事成: May all your wishes come true.

​​

  • 吉星高照: Auspicious stars shining in the sky, meaning good fortune.

​​

  • 鸿运当头: Good luck is right on the way.

​​

  • 福至心灵: Lucky, inspired, and intelligent.

Chinese New Year Lanterns

Health and Longevity

 

  • 生龙活虎: Vigorous like dragon and tiger.

 

  • 长命富贵: Longevity and wealth.

 

  • 万寿无疆: Eternal longevity.

 

  • 人寿年丰: Longevity, health, and abundant harvest.

 

  • 福寿双全: Happiness, auspiciousness, and longevity.

 

  • 寿比南山: May your life be as long as Nanshan, the mountain of longevity.

Mount Heng or Nanshan, the mountain of longevity

Mount Heng or Nanshan, the Mountain of Longevity, Photo by Zuiniulvyou.

Ambition and Success

 

  • 事业有成: Career success.

​​

  • 学业有成: Bright academic achievement.

​​

  • 所向披靡: Wherever the force arrives, all obstacles would be eliminated, which now represents invincibility.

 

  • 海晏河清: Tranquil sea and clean river, meaning the society is peaceful and stable.

​​

  • 国泰民安: The flourishing country with people living in peace and prosperity.

 

  • 鹏程万里: The mythical bird Peng can quickly fly tens of thousands of miles, symbolizing a bright, promising future.

Mythical Bird Peng in Chinese Mythology.

Mythical Bird Peng in Chinese Mythology

Auspicious and Poetic Spring Festival Couplets

​

Chinese Couplets, whether pasted or hung on doors or columns for the New Year or used as pure decorations, usually don't have punctuation marks.

 

However, when recording them in writing, it is okay to use punctuation marks to make them easier to read and understand.

Spring Festival Couplets, Photo from She Ying Duan Shi Pin.

Spring Festival Couplets, Photo from She Ying Duan Shi Pin.

  • 三阳始布，四序初开。

 

Three Yang befall; Four Seasons begin.

 

In ancient Yin Yang Theory and Astrology, since November in the Traditional Chinese Calendar, the Yin gradually disappears and the Yang arrives.

 

Hence, the Chinese New Year is the starting time of Three (November, December, and January) Yang. Later, Three Yang (San Yang) also means the Chinese New Year.

 

This couplet is unearthed from Mogao Grottoes and is the earliest extant Spring Festival Couplet.

 

  • 天泰地泰三阳泰，家和人和万事和。

 

Heaven, earth, and Three Yang are in peace; family, people, and everything are in harmony. 

 

  • 田园渐发生，三阳启泰；草木咸萌动，四序先春。

 

Fields gradually thrive when Three Yangs reveal peace; floras strive to sprout in the upcoming spring.

Flowers Sprouting in Spring

  • 新年纳余庆，嘉节号长春。

 

In the New Year, we enjoy our ancestors' blessing; the merry festival heralds a beautiful and everlasting spring.

 

This was written by Meng Chang in the year 964, a king of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907 — 979).

​

  • 福庆初新，寿禄延长。

​

Prosperity and joy anew; longevity and blessings ever grow.

 

  • 向阳门第春常在，积善人家庆有余。

 

Those facing the sun would have eternal spring; those doing goodness would have generous blessings.

​

  • 忠厚传家久，诗书继世长。Su Shi (1037 — 1101)

 

Loyal and honest clans can thrive and proceed; educated and civilized ones can develop and expand.

Silver Gilt Hairpin of the Song Dynasty (960 — 1279) Decorated with Figurines of Happily Married Couples

Silver Gilt Hairpin of the Song Dynasty (960 — 1279) Decorated with Figures of Happily Married Couples  — Ningguo Museum (Photo by Dongmaiying)

  • 岁岁平安节，年年如意春。

 

Every festival, safe and sound; every spring, auspiciousness abounds.

 

  • 五风十雨皆为瑞，万紫千红总是春。

 

Timely wind and rain presage a promising future; myriads of purple and red reveal a splendid spring.

 

  • 花好月圆人寿，时和岁乐年丰。

 

Flowers are blooming, the moon is full, and people enjoy longevity; the weather is fine, life is happy, and harvests yield prosperity. 

 

  • 天增岁月人增寿，春满乾坤福满堂。

 

Heaven adds ages and people add longevity; spring graces the world and happiness graces the family.

Chinese New Year Decorations

  • 一天云日祥和气，万里山川锦绣春。

 

Floods of clouds and sun form a tranquil and auspicious ambiance; myriads of mountains and rivers shape a beautiful and splendid spring.

​

  • 一帆风顺吉星到，万事如意福临门。

 

Sailing smoothly with auspicious stars arriving; everything goes as hoped, blessings at the door thriving.

 

  • 春临大地百花艳，节至人间万象新。

 

Spring befalls and brings splendid colors to flowers; festival comes and refreshes the universe.

 

  • 春回大地千山秀，日暖神州万物荣。

 

Spring comes back and brings beauty to the mountains; the sun warms the homeland and flourishes everything in the universe.

Flowers in Spring

  • 吉星永照平安宅，五福常临积善家。

 

Auspicious stars will always shine on tranquil houses; Five Blessings will always befall virtuous families. 

 

Five Blessings or Wufu include longevous, wealthy, healthy, virtuous, peaceful, and natural death.

​

  • 人寿年丰歌盛世，山欢水笑庆新春。

 

People are longevous, harvest is ample, the great times are being praised; mountains carry happiness, rivers load laughings, the new year is being celebrated. 

 

  • 爆竹二三声，人间是岁；梅花四五点，天下皆春。

 

Two or three sounds of firecrackers reveal the new year; four or five spots of plum blossoms bring the spring.

Plum Blossoms

  • 岁岁常欢愉，年年皆胜意。

 

Every festival is filled with joy and delight; every year is better than expected.

​

  • 愿有前程可奔赴，亦有岁月可回首。

 

May there be a promising future to pursue, and great times to look back upon with fond view.

 

  • 有诗有酒有远方, 有钱有爱有梦想。

​

Having poetry, wine, and Great Perhaps; having wealth, love, and lofty dreams.

Rose and book

  • 水色山光阳春万里，花香鸟语丽景九州。

​

Miles of crystal water and beautiful mountains shine in the sunny spring; nationwide singing birds and fragrant flowers draw endless splendid scenes.

​

  • 花随春到遍天下，福同岁至满人间。

​

With the spring, beautiful flowers bloom in all corners of the world; along the new year, auspiciousness falls upon the universe. 

​

  • 日有熹，月有光，富且昌，寿而康。 新春嘉平，长乐未央。

​

Sunlight bathes the daytime; moonlight graces the night. Wealth and prosperity abound; longevity and health resound. In the new spring joy prevails; eternal happiness shall never cease.

Flowers in spring
bottom of page