Happy new year mandarin

what is chinese new year

Chinese New Year is the Spring Festival: the turn of the year on the traditional lunisolar calendar. The first day is the first new moon of that year. In 2026 that civil date was Tuesday, 17 February, the start of a Year of the Horse. On 3 September 2026 that square has passed. The next Chinese New Year is Saturday, 6 February 2027, the start of a Year of the Goat. The festival season runs through the fifteenth lunar day, the Lantern Festival, not only the first morning.

It is not the same night as Gregorian New Year’s Eve on 31 December. A 1 January “Happy New Year” in English marks the civil calendar used for work contracts and school years in much of the world. 新年快乐 marks the reunion, the eve dinner, and the new lunar year. You can say both, in their seasons, without cancelling either.

Is today Chinese New Year only if today is that lunar first day in your civil conversion. On 3 September 2026 the answer is no. China New Year and Chinese New Year are the same festival in ordinary English search; the extra word does not add a second date.

The Mandarin greetings people actually use

Xīn nián kuài lè (新年快乐) is the straightforward “happy new year.” Xīn nián hǎo (新年好) is shorter and common among family. Guò nián hǎo (过年好) works on the day and in the days around it. Chūn jié kuài lè (春节快乐) names the festival: happy Spring Festival. Gōng xǐ fā cái (恭喜发财) wishes prosperity. That last phrase is the Mandarin of what English speakers often know in Cantonese as gong hei fat choy. If you wanted Mandarin, do not borrow the Cantonese sounds and call the job done.

新年快乐 — xīn nián kuài lè — Happy New Year. 新年好 — xīn nián hǎo — a shorter greeting. 过年好 — guò nián hǎo — good wishes for the festival stretch. 春节快乐 — chūn jié kuài lè — Happy Spring Festival. 恭喜发财 — gōng xǐ fā cái — wishes for prosperity (Mandarin, not Cantonese).

Tone marks are there so the words stay the words. Kuài lè is not a mumbled “kwai-luh” if you flatten both syllables. You do not need a perfect accent to be polite. You do need the right holiday. Saying 新年快乐 on 1 January to a Mandarin speaker is a civil-year greeting. Saying it in the Spring Festival week is the festival greeting. Context does the rest.

Gong hei fat choy is a generous wish in Cantonese. It is not a Mandarin pronunciation with a party hat on.

When to say it, and when the shops close

The reunion dinner is on New Year’s Eve, the lunar year’s last evening: 16 February 2026, and 5 February 2027. Red envelopes, visits, and fireworks sit in the days after. Public holiday length in mainland China is set each year by the State Council and is not identical to the fifteen-day traditional span. Other countries with a Chinese or lunar new year holiday publish their own days off. A greeting does not close a bank in New York.

If you are writing a card, the Mandarin line can stand alone. If you are speaking, one phrase is enough. Stacking five greetings in a row is not more respectful; it is a list. Pick 新年快乐 or 春节快乐 and stop.