In preparation for the upcoming 2025 Chinese New Year’s Eve on January 28th 2025, here are the 5 most common idioms to wish others a happy, successful, and prosperous Chinese New Year and the related fun food facts you cannot miss!
年年有餘 means “Every year with excess”; Calligraphy generation is supported by akuziti.com
1: 年年有餘 (“Nian Nian Yo Yu”)
The idiom means “every year with excess” to express the wish for continuous prosperity, harvest, and excess food. As “餘 (Yu)” has the same pronunciation as “魚” which means fish🐟, it is a custom to keep some leftover fish at Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner to make sure this year also ticks the box!
大吉大利 means “Great luck and harvest “; Calligraphy generation is supported by akuziti.com
2: 大吉大利 (“Da Jee Da Lee”)
To wish others “Great luck and harvest”. The representative food of this idiom is tangerine as the word “吉(Jee)” is pronounced similarly to “橘” which means tangerine🍊. In addition, the color of tangerine – orange and yellow – is also well-liked during CNY due to its similarity to the color gold, which is associated with prosperity, the sun, and wealth. The color gold also has a long history of being exclusively allowed to be worn and used by the Emporer in ancient dynasties.
That’s why tangerines are popular decorations and greeting fruit everywhere during Chinese New Year!
平平安安 means “To be safe and sound”; Calligraphy generation is supported by akuziti.com
3. 平平安安 (“Ping Ping Ann Ann”)
To wish for keeping “safe and sound”. The representative food for this idiom is apple🍎 – as you probably have guessed – it is due to the pronunciation of 平 “Ping” being identical to 蘋 which means apple. Furthermore, the color red is the most popular color over CNY as it represents good luck, happiness, and success.
年年高升means “To improve, be promoted, and elevated every year”; Calligraphy generation is supported by akuziti.com
4. 年年高升 (“Nian Nian Gao Shen”)
To wish for improvements, promotions, and elevation every year, particularly in career and studies. The food related to this idiom is rice cake 年糕 “Nian Gao” due to the similar pronunciation.
招財進寶means “To invite wealth and treasures into the house”; Calligraphy generation is supported by akuziti.com
5. 招財進寶 (“Zhao Cai Jin Bao”)
The idiom means to “invite wealth and treasures into the house”. The food for this idiom is dumplings as the shape of dumplings is similar to the shape of the currencies in ancient dynasties “元寶”.
I hope you enjoyed the 5 Fun Chinese New Year Idioms, facts, and food 2025! Also check out my 5 book recommendations here: 5 Books That Helped Me Grow Personally and Professionally