Happy New Year in 42 Languages: Greetings, Scripts and When to Say Them

A New Year message in someone's own language lands differently from one in English. It shows you made an effort, and it often starts a real conversation: they correct your spelling, tell you what they eat at midnight, or teach you the reply.

Below are 42 languages, each in native script, with a romanization in brackets for non-Latin scripts and a short note when it matters. Each phrase was checked against two references (Wiktionary and Omniglot), and the dates against Wikipedia. After the table you'll find which phrases are formal or casual, the new years that don't fall on 1 January, and how to send your greeting to someone abroad.

Happy New Year in 42 languages

Language	Happy New Year	Note
Spanish	¡Feliz Año Nuevo!	Also Próspero año nuevo
French	Bonne année	-
German	Frohes neues Jahr	-
Italian	Buon anno	Also Felice anno nuovo
Portuguese	Feliz Ano Novo	Portugal and Brazil
Dutch	Gelukkig Nieuwjaar	-
Afrikaans	Gelukkige Nuwejaar	-
Swedish	Gott nytt år	-
Norwegian	Godt nytt år	-
Danish	Godt nytår	-
Finnish	Onnellista uutta vuotta	-
Polish	Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku	-
Czech	Šťastný nový rok	-
Hungarian	Boldog új évet	-
Romanian	La mulți ani	Also used for birthdays; Un An Nou Fericit is New Year only
Russian	С Новым годом (S Novym godom)	-
Ukrainian	З Новим роком (Z Novym rokom)	-
Bulgarian	Честита Нова година (Chestita Nova godina)	-
Greek	Καλή χρονιά (Kalí chroniá)	Means "good year"
Turkish	Mutlu yıllar	Formal: Yeni yılınız kutlu olsun
Catalan	Bon any nou	Also Feliç any nou
Welsh	Blwyddyn newydd dda	-
Irish	Athbhliain faoi mhaise	-
Hawaiian	Hauʻoli makahiki hou	-
Arabic	كل عام وأنتم بخير (Kull ʿām wa antum bikhayr)	Any yearly occasion; also سنة سعيدة (sana saʿīda)
Hebrew	שנה טובה (Shana tova)	Said at Rosh Hashanah (September or October)
Persian	سال نو مبارک (Sal-e no mobarak)	Said at Nowruz (around 21 March)
Urdu	نیا سال مبارک (Naya saal mubarak)	-
Hindi	नए साल की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ (Naye saal ki hardik shubhkamnayein)	Casual: नया साल मुबारक (naya saal mubarak)
Bengali	শুভ নববর্ষ (Shubho noboborsho)	Mostly for Pohela Boishakh (14 April)
Marathi	नवीन वर्षाच्या हार्दिक शुभेच्छा (Navin varshachya hardik shubhechha)	-
Mandarin Chinese	新年快乐 (Xīnnián kuàilè)	1 January and Lunar New Year
Japanese	明けましておめでとうございます (Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu)	Only from 1 January; before it, よいお年を (yoi otoshi o)
Korean	새해 복 많이 받으세요 (Saehae bok mani badeuseyo)	"Receive many blessings in the new year"
Vietnamese	Chúc mừng năm mới	Mostly for Tết (Lunar New Year)
Thai	สวัสดีปีใหม่ (Sawatdi pi mai)	Also at Songkran (13-15 April)
Indonesian	Selamat tahun baru	-
Malay	Selamat Tahun Baru	-
Tagalog	Manigong Bagong Taon	-
Swahili	Heri ya mwaka mpya	-
Kazakh	Жаңа жыл құтты болсын (Zhana zhyl qutty bolsyn)	-
Uzbek	Yangi yilingiz bilan	-

Formal or casual: which one to send

Most languages have one greeting that works for everyone. A few have a choice worth knowing:

• Japanese changes at midnight. Before 1 January, wish someone a good year ahead with yoi otoshi o. From 1 January, say akemashite omedetō gozaimasu, or just akemashite omedetō with friends.
• Hindi has a warm, formal line (naye saal ki hardik shubhkamnayein, heartfelt wishes for the new year) and a short everyday one (naya saal mubarak), which Urdu speakers use too.
• Turkish mutlu yıllar is fine with friends. Yeni yılınız kutlu olsun is the polite form for a colleague or a teacher.
• Arabic kull ʿām wa antum bikhayr isn't only for the new year. People say it for Eid and birthdays too, so it never sounds out of place.
• Romanian la mulți ani means "many years". You'll hear it on birthdays as well as on 1 January.

Not every new year is on 1 January

If your friend lives somewhere with its own new year, sending the greeting on their day means more:

• Lunar New Year (6 February 2027): Chinese New Year, Seollal in Korea and Tết in Vietnam. In all three it is the main new year celebration, far bigger than 1 January.
• Nowruz (around 21 March, the spring equinox): the Persian new year, celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and by Kurdish communities.
• Songkran (13-15 April): the Thai new year, famous for water fights.
• Pohela Boishakh (14 April in Bangladesh, 14-15 April in India): the Bengali new year.
• Enkutatash (11 September): the Ethiopian new year.
• Rosh Hashanah (September or October): the Jewish new year, with shana tova.
• Old New Year (14 January): 1 January on the old Julian calendar. Many families in Russia and other countries that once used it mark it as a second, quieter New Year.

Sending it to someone in another country

Midnight doesn't arrive everywhere at once. Kiribati's Line Islands (UTC+14) are first. When it's midnight in Sydney, London is only at lunchtime on 31 December. If you write to a friend abroad, send your message at their midnight, not yours.

A greeting is also an easy way to restart a quiet chat. Some ideas:

• Write it in their language first, then add a line in yours. A small mistake is fine; it gives them something to reply to.
• Ask one question. "What do you eat at midnight?" or "Do you stay up or go to bed?" turns a greeting into a conversation. For more, see conversation starters with someone from another country.
• Ask for the reply. Many languages have a standard reply to the greeting. Asking for it is a mini lesson and a reason to write back.

If you don't have anyone abroad to send it to yet, try Olu. It matches you with a real person in another country for a text chat. Every message is translated both ways with the original visible, so your attempt in their language reaches them as you wrote it, and you can read their answer even at a low level. Olu is for adults (18+).