Happy New Year in Korean

New year and new start, new resolution and another failures. Ahh… my life… lol. I think you searched how to say happy new year in Korean because it’s very close to new year or maybe today is New Year’s Day. Yeah another new year! Let’s make eeeeasy resolutions so we can’t fail again like breath well everyday. Anyway, today we’re going to learn how to say happy new year in Korean!

Warm Up Your Brain

Remind yourself all resolutions that you made at the last New Year’s Day and HEY! You are studying Korean with me now! What a great start! Keep thinking you can do anything and use your energy for this lesson and all future lessons!

How To Say Happy New Year in Korean

새해 복 많이 받으세요

[sehe bok mani badeuseyo]
Happy New Year!

Good start but this phrase is a bit hard right? lol I’m sorry to make you suffer from the start. 새해 is new year, 복 is good luck or good fortune, 많이 is many or much, 받으세요 is receive in a speech tone to suggest / recommend someone to do. So, it’s a wish for someone’s good luck for new year. Very sweet phrase right? All native Koreans say it to everyone they know at New Year’s. That’s a Korean custom.

So, all together : I wish your many good fortunes (or good things) in new year. When you response to this phrase, it’s better to say it exactly same to another rather than only saying ‘you too’

A: 새해 복 많이 받으세요
I wish you good luck for new year
B: 준씨도 새해 복 많이 받아요
I wish you good luck for new year too

Make It Natural

Koreans often add 덕담(deokdam) which means a word of blessing in Korean with all wishes for friends and family’s happiness. Mostly they wish everything goes well in new year. How sweet is that?

새해에는 모든 일 잘 이루어지길 바래요
I wish your all (everything) goes well in new year

새해에는 항상 좋은 일만 있길 바래요
I wish only good things happen to you in new year

You Can Also Say

행복한 새해되세요
Have a Happy New Year

If you read Korean Jun’s How To Say Korean Series in order, then you have must seen that you can say ‘즐거운 … 되세요’. You can use that phrase with New Year too but with ‘행복(happiness)’ instead. However, ‘새해 복 많이 받아’ is much more common because that’s a Korean custom.

Korean Culture for New Year’s Day

Oh boy… I have so many things to tell you about this season because it’s a huge holiday season for us. Food for New Year’s, Lunar New Year’s Day, 새배 which is Korean bowing especially for special holidays, family gathering. Let’s go to see what Koreans have!

Korean Age and New Year’s Day

Yeah… Let’s talk about this. Korean age. So, technically Koreans have their own way to count their age. It can be super simple. You get 1 year older at New Year’s Day. Eeeeeeverybody together lol. So… sometimes New Year’s Day isn’t much a happy thing for some people who turn into 30, 40… lol like some people feel bad at their 30th birthday. The only difference is that Koreans feel bad with all together at the same day lololol.

Learn It Together

새해 [sehe] : new year
복 [bok] : good luck / fortune
많이 [mani] : many / much / a lot / very
받다 [batdda] : to receive
행복하다 [henbokada] : to be happy
되다 [doeda] : to become
항상 [hangsang] : always
좋다 [jota] : to be good / to like
-만 [man] : only
바라다 [barada] : to wish / to hope
모든 [modeun] : all / every
잘 [jal] : well
이루어지다 [irueo-jida] : a wish or hope comes true