Do you know how to say New Year in Japanese? Do you know the different ways and phrases to wish happy new year in the language? In today's article, we're going to learn some New Year's phrases in Japanese so you can say them to your friends.
The New Year is celebrated on the first of January since 1873, when the country adopted the Gregorian calendar (previously it used the Chinese calendar). The turn of the year is considered an important fact.
Buddhists go to temples to hear the 108 tolls of the bell on New Year's Eve. Others go to hills or temples to see the first sunrise (初日の出 – hatsuhinode).
We also recommend reading: Oshougatsu – New Year in Japan
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Wishing Happy New Year in Japanese
If you just want to say “Happy New Year” know that in Japanese there are a few different ways to say it. The main and most formal one is:
- Shin nen Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu
- 新年明けましておめでとうございます
If we translate it literally it means "Happy New Year".
The word chamaimasu present in the sentence is to make the sentence more polished and formal. We can just say akemashite omedetou [あけましておめでとう] and without the need to use kanji. It is also possible to abbreviate it by saying ake ome [あけおめ].
A curiosity is that we use (明け) which also means sunrise and dawn to refer to the new year. A more obscure way of using this word is to say akete omedetou [明けておめでとう].
Another common expression used is今年もよろしくお願いします“kotoshimo yoroshiku onegaishimasu”, which literally means “I hope to have your cooperation this year. Some young people shorten this sentence on casual occasions by sayingことよろ(koto yoro)!
In case you are still at the end of the year and want to wish a good new year, you can also say:
- よいお年をお迎えください。
- Yoi otoshi o omukae kudasai;
- Abbreviated form: Yoi otoshi o! よいお年を！
Other ways to say happy in the new
Another way to say happy new year is using the expression新年(shinnen) which also means new year. You can say新年おめでとう (shin nen omedetou) and even新年明けましておめでとうございます(shin nen akemashite omedetou gozaimasu) this expression is very formal and is commonly used until the end of January.
On business cards, it is usually written 賀正 (Gashō), which also means happy new year. Other words that are not commonly used and also mean happy new year are 頌春 (shoushun) and 慶春 (keishun), both contain the kanji for spring, and even after researching, I couldn't discover the origin or usage of these words; they are probably used in some ceremony or a long time ago.
Wishing you a Happy New Year in Japanese
"Nenmatsu" (年末) is a Japanese word that means "end of the year." It is used to refer to the period from the last day of the year until the first day of the following year.
During this period, people in Japan often celebrate the New Year and spend time with family and friends. In the same way that Akemashite is used for the new year, it is customary to use the term Nenmatsu to wish a good end to the year.
年末よろしく
Nenmatsu yoroshiku
Good luck at the end of the year.
年末よろしくお願いします
Nenmatsu yoroshiku onegaishimasu
Please have a good end of the year.
年末もよろしく
Nenmatsu mo yoroshiku
May you have a good end of year as well.
年末にもよろしく
Nenmatsu ni mo yoroshiku
I hope you have a good end of the year too.
New Year phrases in Japanese
Here are more new year phrases in Japanese that you can use to celebrate the new year:
あけましておめでとうございます
Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu
Happy New Year
新年歓迎
Shin nen kangei
Welcome to the new year
頑張れ
Ganbare
Good luck or Let's go
良いお年を
Yoi otoshi o
Have a good year
新年おめでとうございます
Shinnen omedetou gozaimasu
Happy New Year
記念日おめでとうございます
Kinenbi omedetou gozaimasu
Happy New Year birthday
