Not everyone rings in the new year on 1 January — and not everyone uses the same calendar. Here's how to send new-year wishes around the world, whenever that new year happens to be.

  • 🇫🇷 French — Bonne année — bun ah-NAY
  • 🇪🇸 Spanish — Feliz Año Nuevo — feh-LEES AH-nyoh NWEH-voh
  • 🇮🇹 Italian — Buon anno — bwohn AH-noh
  • 🇩🇪 German — Frohes neues Jahr — FROH-us NOY-us yaar — Just before midnight Germans wish each other a Guten Rutsch ("a good slide" into the new year).
  • 🇷🇺 Russian — С Новым годом — s NOH-vym GOH-dom — New Year, not Christmas, is the big gift-giving night in Russia.
  • 🇨🇳 Chinese — 新年快乐 — Xīnnián kuàilè (shin-nyen kwai-luh) — Lunar New Year (late Jan–Feb) is the huge one. Wish people wealth with 恭喜发财 (Gōngxǐ fācái) — and expect a red envelope in return!
  • 🇰🇷 Korean — 새해 복 많이 받으세요 — sae-hae bok ma-ni ba-deu-se-yo — "Receive many blessings in the new year", said at Seollal (Lunar New Year).
  • 🇯🇵 Japanese — 明けましておめでとうございます — a-ke-ma-shi-te o-me-de-toh go-zai-mas — A mouthful, but the warmest way to greet the year.
  • 🇮🇳 Hindi — नया साल मुबारक — na-YA saal moo-BAA-rak — Fun fact: for many across India the true "new year" feeling belongs to Diwali, the autumn festival of lights — greet people with Happy Diwali or शुभ दीपावली (Shubh Deepavali).
  • 🇸🇦 Arabic — كل عام وأنتم بخير — kull ʿaam wa antum bi-khayr — "May every year find you well" — used for new years and festivals alike.

Learning when and how a culture celebrates its new year tells you a lot about it. Ask a native speaker below which new year matters most to them — you'll learn far more than a phrase.