Alternative Chinese New Year Blessings

[Updated Jan 2017]

Other than kung hei fat choy, lai see dou loy 恭喜發財，利是逗來 (may you be prosperous, and hand me a red packet), what else can you whip out to say to your relatives during the Lunar New Year? Here are some popular alternatives, as well as some quirkier ones to say to your hip aunties and uncles in the Year of the Rooster.

1. Best for… grandparents: lung ma jing shen 龍馬精神 (may you be as strong and healthy as a dragon or a horse)

2. Best for… your cool relatives: deem gwor look jeh 掂過碌蔗 (may you be more awesome than a shoot of bamboo)*

*long story — deem in Cantonese can sound like “straight” or “sweet”, so if you’re straighter or sweeter than a shoot of bamboo, you’re doing very well!

3. Best for… commuters: lo lo cheung tung 路路暢通 (may you come across no traffic jams in every road you travel)

4. Best for… people in their 20s: but lo yee wok 不勞而獲 (may you gain without ever making an effort)

5. Best for… people who get sick all the time: bahk dook but chum 百毒不侵 (may you be immune to any kind of poison)

6. Best for… your busy relatives: jun see sau gong 準時收工 (may you get off work on the dot)

7. Best for… anyone who buys Mark Six lottery tickets: look hup chuen jung 六合全中 (may you win the Mark Six)

8. Best for… fitness junkies: tou lahm mo sai 肚腩無晒 (may all your belly fat disappear)

9. Best for… if you’re lazy and can’t think of anything to say: sum seung see sing 心想事成 (may whatever you wish for come true)