Lifestyle

10 Powderful & Unique CNY Greetings in 2018 for More Ang Baos

2018-01-05 , 1:53 pm

With CNY just lurking around the corner waiting to hammer you on the head and rip a hole in your wallet, I think now would be a perfect time to start preparing for the inevitable.

That being said, I’m sure most of us only know a few sentences when visiting our relatives. Tell me, other than “恭喜发财，红包拿来” and “新年快乐，万事如意”, what else do you know?

So, for the sake of your Ang Bao harvest this year, here are some interesting things you can say to impress your elders!

1）百福具臻(bai3 fu2 ju4 zhen1)

该成语出自《旧唐书·李藩传》: “伏望陛下每以汉文孔子之意为准，则百福具臻”

主要指的是各种福运同时到来，还。。。

*Ahem*

Uh, sorry about that. I tend to go full channel 8 when talking about Chinese related stuff (Hey, these are the things I studied in school, you know).

Anyway, this Chinese idiom may appear chim, but it simply means “good fortune and blessings to come into a person’s life”.

2) 福齐南山(Fu2 qi2 nan2 shan1)

Its literal meaning is to wish for someone to receive “blessings/fortunes as tall as a mountain”.

It’s kinda similar to “寿比南山”（shou4 bi3 nan2 shan1), just that this might be more suitable for CNY settings!

3) 财运亨通 (Cai2 yun4 heng1 tong1)

Meaning: ” to have good monetary luck and a smooth money making journey”

When it comes to CNY, we have a tendency to associate it with money. After all, we are pretty much screaming “huat” around every corner.

So, why not incorporate it into your greetings as well?

4) 政通人和（zheng4 tong1 ren2 he2)

Meaning: To wish for “Stability of the country and for everyone to be happy”

Well, I believe most of you would agree that the stability of a nation would directly affect the livelihood of its people.

I’m sure this is a blessing most would concur with!

5) 升官发财（sheng1 guan1 fa1 cai2)

Meaning: “To rise through the ranks and make more money”

Well, do say this to your relatives working in the government sectors or climbing the corporate ladder!

They just might give you a bigger ang bao following their promotion!

6）四季平安（si4 ji4 ping2 an1)

Meaning: “to stay healthy and peaceful throughout the four seasons”

Now, this is actually a commonly used idiom. However, due to the fact that a good number of my friends have no idea what it actually means, I thought I should mention it too.

7) 富贵有余(fu4 gui4 you3 yu2)

Meaning: “ to have excess money and status(social standing)”

Basically, you can say this to just about anyone. Uh, just don’t say it to your cousin’s baby or it’ll end up a little weird.

(Unless that baby is an influencer or something, idk)

8) 晋爵延龄(jin4 jue2 yan2 ling2)

Meaning: “To rise through the ranks and enjoy longevity”

Here’s something for your cousin/uncle who’s close to the prime of their career. I’m sure both health and wealth are their top concerns at that stage in life!

9) 五谷丰登(wu3 gu3 feng1 deng1)

Meaning： “a bumper harvest with enough food to go around”

Well, I know it’s not that valid in Singapore. However, you can try saying that to the grocery store uncle at the nearby market or something. Pretty sure that would mean that he has more things to sell(?).

…Yeah, at this point I’m just pushing it.

10) 一帆风顺，二龙腾飞，三羊开泰，四季平安，五福临门，六六大顺，七星高照，八方来财，九九同心，十全十美。(yi1 fan1 feng1 shun4, er4 long2 teng2 fei1, san1 yang2 kai1 tai4, si4 ji4 ping2 an1, wu3 fu2 lin2 men2, liu4 liu4 da4 shun4, qi1 xing1 gao1 zhao4, ba1 fang1 lai2 cai2, jiu3 jiu3 tong2 xin1, shi2 quan2 shi2 mei3)

*Deep breath*

That… was a real mouthful.

Last but not least, here’s something to give someone every single blessing known to mankind.

…Nah, not really.

But this one, will confirm plus chop ensure that you’ll be getting an awesome red packet.

Anyway, I hope you guys managed to pick up a few phrases along the way. Time to impress your elders and peers with your powderful Chinese!

Since you’re here, why not watch a video about a guy who lodged a Police report here in Singapore because he was friendzoned? Seriously. Here, watch it and do remember to share it (and also subscribe to Goody Feed YouTube channel)!

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com