How to say "Happy New Year" in Chinese, Korean & Japanese

Well, it is time to say goodbye to 2020 and invite 2021 to the world!

I think we all agree that 2020 has not been a very good year, so let's pray and hope that 2021 will be better. During the epidemic that has been going on have we all been having to face hardships and isolation, but like said, let's believe that next year will be improved and more open! So, now that it is time to close this chapter, let's greet 2021 by learning how to say "Happy New Year" in Chinese, Korean and Japanese!

1) In Chinese, "Happy New Year!" is "Xīnnián kuàilè !". The new year's festival in China is not so important though because the spring festival is coming. Chinese New Year is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar. The festival is usually referred to as the Spring Festival in modern China. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between January 21st and February 20th.

2) In Korean, "Happy New Year!" is "Saehae bog manh-i bad-euseyo!". Fun fact, did you know that every Korean get 1 year older on January 1st on New Year´s Day? Yes, that’s how Korean age works and how Koreans get older, and that is why New Year's Day is more special in Korea. There are also two New Year's Day in Korea; one is "gujeong" and the other is "sinjeong". Gujeong is the New Year holiday based on the lunar calendar. It is considered more traditional than the other one, Sinjeong, which is based on the solar calendar.

3) In Japanese, "Happy New Year!" is "Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu!". While the calendar marks only January 1st as a holiday, in Japan, they celebrate the period from the 1st to the 3rd, known as Sanganichi. Some companies and stores close during this time, and a number of unique events and customs take place. In Japan, you will also hear "Yoi o-toshi o" at the end of the year and it is often translated into "Happy New Year!" in English. The difference between the two sayings is that "Yoi o-toshi o" is only used before the New Year.

Now you know what to say to some of your Asian friends when you greet them and wish them a Happy New Year! And I, too, wish every single one of you a Happy New Year!

Comments

80's J-Pop: Miki Matsubara

Album cover for Miki Matsubara's "Stay With Me". Miki Matsubara , or Suzie Matsubara [as she also went by], was a composer, lyricist and singer from Japan. She was known for her 80's J-Pop love songs, but really became famous after her debut single, " Stay With Me ", was released in November 1979. I'm sure many of you have heard this song, and I'm a fan of this talented woman myself, thus I decided to write about her. Early Life Miki Matsubara was born 28th of November 1959 in Osaka ( Kishiwada ), Japan. She grew up with a father, mother and younger sister in Hiraoka Town . Miki quickly became familiar with jazz music, as her mother was a jazz singer. She started playing piano at an outstandingly young age of 3 and simply embraced music in general, not only jazz but also rock. She went to ordinary schools her whole childhood and was praised as being a great and hardworking student who would enroll into university, but Miki had already dreams of beco...

Kiss Him, Not Me!: Kae Serinuma

Kiss Him, Not Me! , known in Japan as Watashi ga Motete Dousunda , is a Romance, Comedy & Shoujo 14-volumes-long manga series written and illustrated by Junko , published by Kodansha year 2013. The manga also won "Best Shoujo Manga" at the 40th Kodansha Manga Awards. It got its own anime adaption in 2016, airing between October 6th and December 22nd, with 12 episodes. "Kae Serinuma is a second year high schooler and an avid fujoshi who secretly ships her classmates, Igarashi-kun and Nanashima-kun. The death of her favorite anime character causes her to become stressed and locking herself in her own room for a whole week - and she loses weight rapidly. Now that Serinuma has become an attractive girl to her classmates, her snarky kouhai Shinomiya-kun, and her senpai Mutsumi, how is she going to deal with them ...with her constant BL-filled, fujoshi mind?!" Kae Serinuma is the main protagonist of the series; a 2nd-year student who is a full-fledged otak...

The Black-Haired Woman: Chiyuki

For this Character of the Week , I chose my favourite female protagonist ever. However, there will be heavy spoilers in this one, so beware if you have not seen the anime Death Parade yet! Her name in the anime is never revealed until the very end, and she has black hair with a tiny white strand on the right side, so she has always been known as The Black-Haired Woman (or, in Japanese, 黒髪の女 [Kurokami no Onna]). To fans, she is sometimes referred to as Onna , which means "woman" in Japanese. Her real name is Chiyuki , though her surname is unknown. The series followed Decim , the main character and the bartender of Quindecim , but the way Decim judges souls changes completely and the story makes a turn when the mysterious woman shows up at the bar. As she has no idea how or why she came there, she became Decim´s assistant at the bar and started helping him with the lost souls that comes frequently to the place, just like the black-haired woman. When you die, you arriv...

SayakaSU

Search This Blog