Happy Chinese New Year. Hope You Get Rich!

(#_ )! Oh, didn’t you know that:

• 恭喜 (gōng xǐ) means “congratulations” (or “happy” as in greetings),
• 发 (fā) means “send”, or “deliver”,
• 财 (cái) means “wealth”!

So, the infamous 恭喜发财 doesn’t mean “happy new year”; it’s “hope you get rich”! It’s not “hope you get lucky” either as “lucky” is 福 (fú) in Chinese and 福 (fuku) in Japanese.

So, hope you get rich! If you’re offended with this and just want to say Happy New Year instead, try saying 新年快乐！