How To Toast The New Year In 15 Languages - Duolingo Blog

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What are you doing on New Year’s Eve? Eating 12 grapes, counting down with a sparkly disco ball, yelling “Rabbit, rabbit!” or something else entirely? Every culture has a unique tradition to welcome in the new year, from what they do to what they say.

For example, in Brazilian Portuguese, the celebration is known as “Réveillon” (yes, that’s French!). Brazilians usually wear all white clothing and some even head to the beach at midnight, where they might throw flowers into the ocean or skip the first seven waves with their right foot for good luck. In Czech, each day on the calendar corresponds to a saint’s name, so people celebrate both their birthday and their name day. December 31st is the feast of Saint Silvestr—so in Czech, you’d wish someone a Happy Sylvester! In German, most people wish each other a “good slide” into the new year on the days leading up to January 1 by saying, “Guten Rutsch (ins neue Jahr).” Similarly, in parts of Southern France, people wish each other a “bon bout d’an” (good piece of the year) between Christmas and New Year’s. And that’s just the beginning!

If you want to surprise your friends and family at midnight with a fancy, multilingual toast, we’ve asked everyone from our teaching experts to our multilingual coworkers how to say “Happy New Year,” in 19 more languages besides English!

How to say “Happy New Year” across the globe

Language New Year’s toast Literal translation
Italian Buon anno! Good year!
Spanish ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Happy new year!
Swahili Heri Njema za Mwaka Mpya! Best wishes for the new year!
Japanese 明けましておめでとう！ Happy new year!
Chinese 新年快乐 (formal) or 新年好 (informal) Happy new year
Hindi नव वर्ष की शुभकामनाएँ Have a blessed new year.
Korean 새해 복 많이 받으세요 May you have good fortune this new year.
German Frohes Neues (Jahr)! Happy new (year)!
French Bonne Année! Good year!
Gaelic Bliadhna Mhath Ùr! Happy new year!
Russian С Новым Годом!С новым счастьем! Congratulations on the new year!Congratulations on new happiness!
Arabic كل سنة وأنتم بخير Every year and you are well (I hope you’re well with every passing year)
Czech Veselý Silvestr! Happy Sylvester!
Swedish Gott Nytt År! Good new year!
Romanian Un An Nou fericit! A happy new year!
Greek Καλή Χρονιά! Good year!
Basque Urte berri on! Good new year!
Maltese Is-Sena t-Tajba! Good year!
Turkish Mutlu yıllar! Happy years!

Every culture has its own flair for welcoming a fresh start. However you celebrate this year, try out a new toast from somewhere unexpected—because there’s nothing like ringing in midnight with a little extra language magic. Here’s to new beginnings, new words, and a very Happy New Year… in any language! 🎉

Tag » How To Say Happy New Year In Spanish