Lucky Chinese New Year Phrases

My mom just called my overseas relatives and of course gave everyone some customary greetings.

To my uncle: "身體健康 （Good Health)"

Response, "Health?  My foot hurts like hell!"

That's right!  It's time to milk the older generation for money without guilt!

Here are some classic phrases I'm handing out for free:

恭喜發財

Happiness and Health

新年快樂

Happy New Year

財源廣進

Let money roll in!

大吉大利

Big fortune big luck!

年年有餘

Have extra each year!

步步高升

Climb higher with each step!

事事如意

Have things go as you wish!

心想事成

Let what your heart desire come true!

萬事如意

Let 10000 things be as you wish!

一元復始

Let's start anew!

金玉滿堂

Gold and jade fill a hall!

竹報平安

Bamboo fortune says good year!

龍鳳呈祥

The dragon and pheonix show fortune! (For couples)

The fun ones to think about:

鴻圖大展

The wild goose painting is really big!

(The word 鴻 is a pun for grand, 宏。  圖 is a pun for 途，meaning future.  So it's suppose to mean "May your plans for the future spread wide."  Usually for business people.)

早生貴子

Hurry up and give birth to a son!

(A tad sexist.)

For the numberphile:

一路發財

One road of flourishing wealth

雙星報喜

Two stars signal happiness

三洋開泰

3 suns start peace.
(3 suns references spring)

四季平安

4 seasons of peace

五福臨門

5 fortunes enter the door.

六六大順

6 6 great ease

(6 6 is a pun for 流流，or flow.   So it means, "Flow with great ease."  Great for relatives who have chronic digestion problems. )

七子八婿

7 sons and 8 wives

(For the polygamists of the family.)

八仙過海

8 saints cross the ocean

(Legend has it that there were 8 daoist immortals.  Each represent a group in humanity.  Together they use their magic items to cross the Bitter Sea.  It means that those you know will all pull together and succeed.)

九九重陽

The double 9th sun

(It means to live longest to the end.  Stories goes there's this family that encounters a daoist.  Daoist tells the family to carry as much chrysanthemums and chrysanthemum flowers up a hill and stay up there for one night.  The family has a lovely drinking party.  When they go back home, all their livestock is dead.  In the Daoist tradition this day is the day with the most Yang energy.  So it goes downhill after this day.)

十全十美

10 complete 10 beautiful

And a partridge in a pair tree!

To all the snake lovers:

金蛇狂舞

Gold snake dance crazy!

筆走龍蛇

Brush flows like the dragon and snake.

蛇足飽滿

Snake feet are stuffed!

魅力如蛇

Charming like a snake

絕不蛇本

Never be in debt!

(Snake is being used as a pun for debt.)

金蛇出洞

The gold snake leaves the hole

金蛇郎君

The gold snake husband?  playboy?  whoremaker?

蛇形刁手

Hand like a snake!

(Name of a Bruce Lee movie)

把幹媽的蛇出這幹媽的飛機！

Get these mother fucking snakes of this mother fucking plane!

(飛機 is also a euphemism for penis.  So this can also mean, "Get these mother fucking snakes off the mother fucking penis."  I wonder of Samuel L. Jackson knew?)

Happy Chinese New Year!