How to say “Happy New Year” in Korean

안녕하세요 여러분! KoreanStudyJunkie입니다.

It’s time for a new year, and I know people ask me how to say “happy new year” every year, so here I am to teach you.

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The Most Commonly Used Phrase:

새해 복 많이 받으세요

Now i will break it down to hopefully help you remember from now on.

How do you say “New Year”?

Another question I’ve gotten a few times. There’s actually a several ways this is done in Korean:

새해 - New Year (everyday use)

새 - New

해 - Year

Usage: general

When its used: greetings, resolutions, plans, and wishes

Examples:

새해 복 많이 받으세요.

Happy New Year.

새해 목표가 뭐예요?

What are your New Year goals?

신년 - New Year (formal)

신 - New

년 - Year

Usage: formal / official

When its used: formal writing, announcements, business, media

It sounds stiff in daily conversations

Examples:

신년 인사

New Year’s greeting

신년 계획

New Year plans

새해맞이 - Welcoming the New Year

Usage: focuses on the act of celebrating or welcoming

When its used: often used with events and activities

Examples:

새해맞이 행사

New Year celebration event

새해맞이 여행

New Year trip

설 / 설날 (seollal) - Lunar New Year

설 - the holiday period

설날 - the day itself

Do NOT use 새해 if you specifically mean Lunar New Year — Koreans will assume January 1st.

Examples:

설날 잘 보내세요.

Have a nice Lunar New Year.

설 연휴

Lunar New Year holiday

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What does “복“ mean?

복 = good fortune, blessings, luck

It’s NOT just “luck”. This word encompasses, health, money, success, happiness, etc.

많이

많이 = a lot / many / much

받으세요

From 받다 = to receive, get

-으세요 = polite honorific ending

Used when wishing something to the listener

받으세요 = please receive

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Natural meaning (not literal):

새해 복 많이 받으세요

“May you receive lots of good fortune in the New Year.”

That’s why the English equivalent is:

Happy New Year!

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That’s all for this lesson! I hope you continue to learnn with me into the new year and beyond!

Check out the next 3 lessons I linked below.