The festive season continues. Now it's the turn to celebrate the Spring Festival very-very soon!
And as the Spring Festival is approaching, let's look at some keywords you might use to talk about it in Chinese - and to wish a Happy New Year of the Rabbit to your Chinese friends, colleagues, and family.
01. Spring Festival
春节
Chūnjié
Spring Festival
(also known as the Lunar New Year / Chinese New Year)
02. The Date
Since this holiday is celebrated based on the lunar calendar (农历 nónglì), its date in the Gregorian or solar calendar (阳历 yánglì) is floating.
This year, it falls on January 22, Sunday.
2023年一月二十二日
èr-líng-èr-sān nián yī yuè èrshí’èr rì
January 22, 2023
(by the solar calendar)
正月初一
zhēngyuè chū yī
the 1st day of the 1st lunar month
(by the lunar calendar)
除夕
chúxī
Lunar New Year’s Eve
03. Year of the Rabbit
Now, there are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, and this year's zodiac animal is the Rabbit (兔 tù).
There are also 5 element signs: Gold (金 jīn), Wood (木 mù), Water (水 shuǐ), Fire (火 huǒ), and Earth (土 tǔ). This year's element is Water (水 shuǐ), which is represented by the black color.
If we bring the two together, we can say that this new year is:
黑兔年
Hēi Tù Nián
the Year of the Water Rabbit
(lit. "black-rabbit-year")
04. Special CNY Wishes
Every year, in addition to the classic Spring Festival wishes of good health and good fortune, people come up with new wishes that feature this year's zodiac animal.
Rabbits are adorable, so there's been no lack of creative wishes this year. Here's a wish in which every word that has the sound "tu" in it has been modified to have the "Rabbit" instead:
祝你在新的一年里：
Zhù nǐ zài xīn de yī nián lǐ:
In the new year, I wish you
前“兔”似锦，前“兔”光明，
Qián "tù" sì jǐn, qián "tù" guāngmíng,
To have a promising and bright future,
前“兔”无量，“兔”飞猛进，
Qián "tù" wúliàng, "tù" fēi měngjìn,
A boundless future and soaring progress,
扬眉“兔”气，大展宏“兔”！
Yángméi "tù" qì, dàzhǎn hóng "tù"!
May you feel proud and happy,
and may you realize your ambition!
If you're curious which characters have been replaced by the "Rabbit", here they are:
1,2,3: 途 tú (as in 前途 qiántú, prospects)
4: 突 tū (as in 突破 tūpò, breakthrough)
5: 吐 tǔ (as in 扬眉吐气 yángméi-tǔqì, to feel proud and elated)
6: 图 tú (as in 大展宏图 dàzhǎn hóngtú, to realize one’s ambition)
05. A Wish Tù Share!
Here is this wish without pinyin and translation, so you can copy and send it to friends and family:
祝你在新的一年里：
前“兔”似锦，前“兔”光明，
前“兔”无量，“兔”飞猛进，
扬眉“兔”气，大展宏“兔”！
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