Chinese New Year - Vocab

新年快乐！ (xin1 nian2 kuai4 le4)  Here are some great words and phrases to know for Chinese New Year!  Let's begin!

春节 - (chun1 jie2) Chinese New Year

新 - (xin1) new

年 - (nian2) year

快乐 - (kuai4 le5) happy

红 - (hong2) red

火 - (huo3) fire

年兽 - (nian2 shou4) the name of the new year monster

鞭炮 - (bian1 pao4) firecracker

灯笼 - (deng1 long2) lantern

红包 - (hong2 bao1) red envelopes

庆祝 - (qing4 zhu4) celebrate

You probably noted that 新年快乐 is literally "New Year Happy."  In fact, this order goes for most wishes for holidays.  To say, "Happy Birthday," you actually say 生日快乐 (sheng1 ri4 kuai4 le4).  Can you guess what the word for birthday is?  生日 (sheng1 ri4)!  Good job!  

Why doesn't 春节 include the word 年 or 新?  That's a very good question.  The word literally means, "spring festival."  (春 = spring, 节 = festival/holiday)  

新年快乐！ I hope that way helpful!