As Spring Festival celebration approaches, our collective ears will be filled with New Year’s jingles hovering in shopping malls, non-stop chit-chat over family dinner tables, plus fire crackers loud enough to wake us from deep sleep. We want to add one more to our list of CNY celebration favorite sounds — greetings in authentic dialects by CS friends covering China far and wide. The 15 audio tracks below are only a small fraction of the 80+ dialects in China, but hopefully you’ll have a better feel how people extend their best wishes to each other.

Go ahead, pick your favorite and give it a try! Nobody has high expectations for our dialect abilities anyway. The key word is 羊 (yáng) or sheep, which becomes phonetically auspicious when (for the year of sheep, though without consulting the sheep itself) put in the popular phrase 洋洋得意 (yángyáng déyì) or feeling contented and fulfilled.

Leave us a comment telling us how to wish someone a Happy Chinese New Year in your language. Whatever your skill level, here’s wishing you a baaaaaaaad-ass year!

Region

(N to S) Mandarin Translation Beijing

给您拜个年儿。祝您羊年吉祥，发大财！

Gěi nín bài gè nián. Zhù nín yáng nián jíxiáng, fā dà cái! Wishing you an auspicious and prosperous year of the sheep. Beijing

过年好啊，您呢！

Guònián hǎo a, nín ne! Have a good new year! Tianjin

羊年身体倍儿棒，吃嘛儿嘛儿香。

Yáng nián shēntǐ bèi er bàng, chī ma er ma er xiāng. Wishing you health and enjoyment in the year of the sheep. Shandong

过年过得好啊。

Guòniánguò dé hǎo. May you have a good new year celebration. Henan

祝你新春大吉，羊年快乐，喜气洋洋。

Zhù nǐ xīnchūn dàjí, yáng nián kuàilè, xǐqìyángyáng. Wishing you an auspicious and joyous year of the sheep. Anhui

拜年啦！恭喜发财！

Bàinián la! Gōngxǐ fācái! Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year. Shanghai

祝大家新年快乐身体健康，多多发财。

Zhù dàjiā xīnnián kuàilè shēntǐ jiàn, duōduō fācái. May you all have a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. Shanghai, Chongming Island

祝大家新的一年里万事如意，身体健康。

Zhù dàjiā xīn de yī nián lǐ wànshì rúyì, shēntǐ jiànkāng. Wishing you the best of health and may all your wishes come true in the new year. Zhejiang, Jixiang

祝你们身体健康，万事如意，红包拿来。

Zhù nǐmen shēntǐ jiànkāng, wànshì rúyì, hóngbāo ná lái. Wishing you the best of health. May all your wishes come true. Hand me the red packets. Sichuan, Chengdu

祝大家新春快乐，万事如意，一年到头洋洋得意。

Zhù dàjiā xīnchūn kuàilè, wànshì rúyì, yīniándàotóu yángyáng déyì. Happy New Year. May you have a fulfilling new year where all your wishes come true. Sichuan, Luzhou

祝大家新年快乐，羊年吉祥。

Zhù dàjiā xīnnián kuàilè, yáng nián jíxiáng. Wishing everyone a happy and auspicious year of the sheep. Fujian, Quanzhou

祝你全家新年快乐。

Zhù nǐ quánjiā xīnnián kuàilè. Wishing you and your family a happy new year. Guizhou, Zunyi

大家新年快乐，新年新气象，万事如意。

Dàjiā xīnnián kuàilè, xīnnián xīn qìxiàng, wànshì rúyì. Wishing everyone a happy and auspicious new year. May all your wishes come true. Guangdong

祝大家羊年喜气洋洋。

Zhù dàjiā yáng nián xǐqìyángyáng. Wishing you a joyous year of the sheep. Guangdong, Chaozhou

新年快乐，万事如意，心想事成。

Xīnnián kuàilè, wànshì rúyì, xīn xiǎng shì chéng. Happy New Year! May all your wishes come true.

Learn more about and keep track of

Upcoming Chinese Festivals and Other Holidays.