The Chinese New Year phrase you will hear and say most is Gong Xi Fa Cai (恭喜发财, gong xi fa cai), a direct wish for wealth that means roughly congratulations and may you prosper. Pair it with Xin Nian Kuai Le (新年快乐, xin nian kuai le, happy new year) and you are covered for almost any greeting in 2026, which is the Year of the Horse and falls on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 February. This guide leans on money because most CNY phrases are wishes for prosperity, and in Singapore they come attached to a real cost: the ang bao you hand over while saying them. Below you get the phrases that matter, with characters, pinyin and plain meaning, grouped by who you are talking to, plus the standard 2026 ang bao amounts so the words and the red packet line up.
If you remember only two Chinese New Year phrases, make them these. They work for friends, colleagues, hawker uncles, your boss and your in-laws, and nobody will think twice.
Gong Xi Fa Cai (恭喜发财) is the wealth greeting. Gong xi means congratulations, fa cai means to make a fortune, so together it wishes someone a prosperous year. In Mandarin it sounds like gong shee fah tsai; the Cantonese version is Gong Hei Fat Choy. Xin Nian Kuai Le (新年快乐) is the neutral happy new year and is the safest thing to say if you are unsure of the setting. Many people just chain both: Gong Xi Fa Cai, Xin Nian Kuai Le.
One thing to know about Gong Xi Fa Cai in Singapore: children and unmarried relatives often follow it with a cheeky add-on, hong bao na lai (红包拿来, red packet please). It is a joke, but it is also the cue. If a child greets you with it and you are married, you are expected to have an ang bao ready, which is where the money planning starts.
| Phrase (characters) | Pinyin | What it means | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 新年快乐 | xin nian kuai le | Happy new year | Anyone, any setting, safest default |
| 恭喜发财 | gong xi fa cai | Congratulations, may you prosper | Anyone; the wealth wish everyone says |
| 恭喜恭喜 | gong xi gong xi | Congratulations, congratulations | Casual, warm, friends and colleagues |
| 万事如意 | wan shi ru yi | May all go as you wish | Anyone; pairs well after fa cai |
| 新年进步 | xin nian jin bu | Progress in the new year | Younger people, colleagues, students |
Pinyin tells you the spelling, not the sound, and the tone marks throw people off. You do not need correct tones to be understood at a CNY gathering; saying the phrase warmly counts for more than nailing the pitch. Below is a rough say-it-like-this guide for the phrases you will use most, written the way the syllables land for an English speaker.
Two habits make any of these sound natural. Keep the four syllables even and unhurried rather than rushing them, and smile while you say it, since CNY greetings are meant to sound glad rather than precise. If Mandarin is not your dialect at all, the Cantonese Gong Hei Fat Choy is just as welcome, and many Singaporeans mix both in the same breath.
| Phrase | Pinyin | Rough sound | Means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 新年快乐 | xin nian kuai le | sin nyen kwai luh | Happy new year |
| 恭喜发财 | gong xi fa cai | gong shee faa tsai | May you prosper |
| 恭喜恭喜 | gong xi gong xi | gong shee gong shee | Congratulations |
| 身体健康 | shen ti jian kang | shun tee jyen kahng | Good health |
| 万事如意 | wan shi ru yi | wahn shir roo ee | May all go your way |
| 大吉大利 | da ji da li | daa jee daa lee | Great luck and profit |
Most CNY greetings are prosperity wishes dressed up in four characters. If you want to say something with a bit more weight than fa cai, these are the ones to reach for, and they are the phrases you will see printed on ang bao packets, mandarin oranges and bak kwa boxes every February.
Use these freely with anyone you would also wish wealth on: relatives, business contacts, your landlord, the people you owe a favour to. They are formal enough to feel respectful and direct enough to be understood by everyone, including non-Chinese friends who have heard them their whole lives in Singapore.
| Phrase (characters) | Pinyin | Literal meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 财源滚滚 | cai yuan gun gun | May wealth roll in wave after wave |
| 招财进宝 | zhao cai jin bao | Attract wealth and treasure |
| 生意兴隆 | sheng yi xing long | May your business thrive (for business owners) |
| 财源广进 | cai yuan guang jin | May wealth come from many directions |
| 金玉满堂 | jin yu man tang | A hall full of gold and jade (great wealth) |
| 大吉大利 | da ji da li | Great luck and great profit |
| 年年有余 | nian nian you yu | Surplus and abundance year after year |
Not every greeting has to wish someone rich. A second set of phrases wishes family, peace and a smooth year, and they are the ones that feel personal rather than transactional. Reach for these with friends, colleagues and relatives you actually know, or stack one after Gong Xi Fa Cai so you are not only talking about cash.
These also solve the awkward moment when you have already said fa cai to someone and bump into them again an hour later. Switch to one of the lines below and you sound warm rather than stuck on repeat.
| Phrase (characters) | Pinyin | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 阖家幸福 | he jia xing fu | Happiness for the whole family |
| 平平安安 | ping ping an an | Peace and safety all year |
| 工作顺利 | gong zuo shun li | May work go smoothly |
| 平步青云 | ping bu qing yun | A swift, steady rise in your career |
| 心想事成 | xin xiang shi cheng | May your wishes come true |
When you greet older relatives, health and longevity outrank wealth. These are the phrases you say while handing over mandarin oranges, or while collecting your own ang bao if you are still unmarried. Say them with both hands offering the oranges and a small bow of the head; the gesture matters as much as the words.
Health-focused phrases are also the polite move because wishing an elderly relative to make a fortune can sound slightly off. You want to wish them well-being and a long life, and let the wealth phrases go to the working adults in the room.
Children and students get study and growth wishes rather than wealth ones, and these are also the phrases parents say back to kids as they hand over the ang bao. If you are an adult collecting from older relatives, swapping a generic fa cai for a career phrase reads as thoughtful.
These double as polite small talk. Wishing a friend a promotion or a smooth year at work is welcome at any CNY gathering and is less transactional than the pure money phrases.
The phrase that fits depends on the moment, not just the person. A few situations come up every CNY in Singapore, and having the right line ready saves you reaching for a flat happy new year.
If you want one phrase that sounds a notch more thoughtful than the usual four-character lines, try the seven-character 四季平安过旺年 (si ji ping an guo wang nian), wishing peace through all four seasons and a flourishing year. It is longer to say but lands as a genuine effort rather than a reflex, which is handy with in-laws or a boss you are trying to impress.
2026 is the Year of the Horse (马年, ma nian), so phrases built around the horse character are the seasonal flex. The pun is 马上 (ma shang), which literally means on horseback but in everyday Mandarin means immediately or right away. So horse phrases promise good things arriving at once.
These are the ones to post on socials or write in a card this year specifically; they will date themselves by 2027, which is the point. Pair any of them with Gong Xi Fa Cai and you sound current rather than copy-paste.
Lou hei (捞起, scooping up) is the raw-fish-salad toss done at reunion meals and office lunches across Singapore, and each ingredient comes with its own phrase. The whole ritual is a stack of homophone puns: yu sheng (鱼生) sounds like an increase in abundance, so the louder and higher you toss, the better the year is supposed to go. You do not need to nail every line, but knowing a few makes you the person who keeps the toss going.
The host or the loudest person at the table usually calls the phrase as each ingredient goes on, then everyone tosses on huat ah (发啊, prosper). If you want the full ingredient-by-ingredient list and the best ready-made yu sheng to buy in 2026, our best yu sheng and lou hei guide runs through it.
| Ingredient | Phrase (characters) | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw fish | 年年有余 | nian nian you yu | Abundance year after year |
| Pomelo or lime | 大吉大利 | da ji da li | Good luck and great profit |
| Pepper / spices | 招财进宝 | zhao cai jin bao | Attract wealth and treasure |
| Oil | 一本万利 | yi ben wan li | Tenfold profit on your capital |
| Golden crackers | 遍地黄金 | bian di huang jin | Floor covered in gold |
| Plum sauce | 甜甜蜜蜜 | tian tian mi mi | A sweet, loving year |
| The toss itself | 捞起捞起，发啊 | lou hei lou hei, huat ah | Toss it up, prosper! |
Saying Gong Xi Fa Cai is free; the ang bao that follows is not. In Singapore, once you are married you are expected to give red packets, and the amount tracks your relationship rather than any fixed rate. For 2026, the going amounts below are the common bands, not rules. Give what you can afford and what fits your circle; nobody audits the packet.
The numbers themselves carry meaning. Amounts ending in 8 (S$8, S$28, S$88) are favoured because 8 sounds like fa, to prosper, and even numbers are preferred for the sense of things coming in pairs. Avoid the number 4 entirely, including S$40 or S$44, because 4 sounds like the word for death, and skip odd amounts like S$5 or S$7 for older recipients. Always pass and receive the packet with both hands.
Budgeting matters here because CNY giving adds up fast. A working adult with a large extended family can easily hand out S$300 to S$800 in a few days of visiting. Treat it as a planned line item, the same way you would a holiday, rather than a surprise; setting it inside a personal budget in January means you are not raiding your emergency fund in February. For the full who-gets-how-much breakdown, our CNY ang bao guide goes deeper than the bands here, and a savings goal calculator turns the total into a small monthly set-aside you barely notice.
| Who you are giving to | Typical 2026 amount |
|---|---|
| Acquaintances, service staff, distant relatives | S$2 to S$10 |
| Friends' children, younger cousins, nieces and nephews | S$10 to S$50 |
| Your own children, godchildren, close young relatives | S$50 to S$188 |
| Parents and grandparents (filial ang bao) | S$200 to S$888 or more |
| Helpers and domestic staff (one to two weeks' pay is common) | Varies by household |
Tradition favours new or clean notes in the ang bao, and the banks gear up for it. For CNY 2026, online booking of hongbao notes opened on 27 January 2026, with collection of pre-booked new and fit notes, plus exchange at pop-up and branch ATMs, starting 3 February 2026. DBS and POSB share the same pop-up ATM network and reservation system; OCBC and UOB run their own pop-up ATMs at malls and MRT stations. Book early because slots and locations sell out closer to the festival. Our guide to getting new notes for CNY 2026 lists the dates, machines and booking links bank by bank.
Fit notes (also called fit-for-giving notes) are used notes still in good condition, with at most light fold lines or minor marks, similar to what an ATM dispenses. MAS and the banks promote them to cut the environmental cost of printing fresh notes every year; more than 16 million fit notes were exchanged for CNY 2025. They are perfectly acceptable to give and reduce waste, so there is no need to insist on brand-new notes if your bank is out.
The quietly better money habit is to fold CNY giving into your yearly savings plan rather than topping up cash in a panic. If you park your spare cash where it earns something the rest of the year, the seasonal outflow stings less. Our roundups of the best savings accounts and fixed deposit rates show where idle money can sit and still be liquid enough to pull for February; a short fixed deposit that matures in January is one tidy way to ring-fence the cash.
Some words are taboo during CNY because they sound like or carry unlucky meanings, and a few habits can sour the mood or your wallet. The superstitions are not statutory, but in mixed company it is easy and polite to follow them.
On spending, the bigger trap is treating CNY as licence to overspend on bak kwa, new clothes, reunion dinners and ang bao all at once. The festival is a known annual event, so it should never be an unbudgeted shock. The phrases are the easy part; the discipline is keeping the celebration off your credit card. If you are visiting and want to bring something without giving a wrapped taboo, our list of safe, affordable gift ideas sticks to things that carry good rather than unlucky meanings.
Gong Xi Fa Cai (恭喜发财) is the one you will hear most. It means congratulations and may you prosper, a direct wish for wealth in the year ahead. The Cantonese version is Gong Hei Fat Choy. Pair it with Xin Nian Kuai Le (新年快乐, happy new year) and you are covered for almost any setting.
Gong xi (恭喜) means congratulations and fa cai (发财) means to make a fortune, so the phrase wishes someone a prosperous, wealthy year. It is not a generic happy new year; it is specifically a money and prosperity wish, which is why it dominates a festival so tied to giving ang bao.
Greet the giver first, usually with Gong Xi Fa Cai or a health wish like Shen Ti Jian Kang for elders, and receive the packet with both hands. Children often add the playful hong bao na lai (红包拿来, red packet please) after the greeting. Do not open the ang bao in front of the giver.
Use horse-themed phrases this year: Ma Dao Cheng Gong (马到成功, instant success), Long Ma Jing Shen (龙马精神, vitality of dragon and horse) and the playful Ma Shang You Qian (马上有钱, may money come right away). They are seasonal for 2026, the Year of the Horse, and will feel dated by 2027.
Amounts track your relationship rather than a fixed rate. In 2026, common bands are S$2 to S$10 for acquaintances and service staff, S$10 to S$50 for friends' children and younger relatives, S$50 to S$188 for your own children and close young relatives, and S$200 or more for parents and grandparents. Favour amounts ending in 8 and avoid the number 4.
Eight (八, ba) sounds like fa (发), to prosper, so amounts like S$8, S$28 and S$88 are favoured. Four (四, si) sounds like the word for death (死, si), so amounts with 4, such as S$40 or S$44, are avoided. Even numbers are generally preferred over odd ones, especially when giving to elders.
Each ingredient has its own phrase, such as Nian Nian You Yu (年年有余, abundance every year) for the raw fish and Da Ji Da Li (大吉大利, good luck and profit) for the pomelo. The toss itself ends with everyone lifting the ingredients high and shouting Lou Hei, Huat Ah (捞起，发啊, toss it up, prosper). Higher tosses are said to bring a better year.
Yes, and most people will not mind your tones at all. Saying a greeting warmly matters far more than getting the pitch right, and Gong Xi Fa Cai is understood by almost everyone in Singapore regardless of dialect. If Mandarin feels like a stretch, the Cantonese Gong Hei Fat Choy works just as well, and a plain Happy New Year in English is always polite.
No, repeating Gong Xi Fa Cai or Xin Nian Kuai Le all day is completely normal and nobody keeps score. If you bump into the same person twice, switching to a warm line like He Jia Xing Fu (family happiness) or Ping Ping An An (peace and safety) feels more personal, but it is a nice-to-have rather than a rule.
Try the seven-character 四季平安过旺年 (si ji ping an guo wang nian), wishing peace through all four seasons and a flourishing year. It takes more effort to say than the usual four-character greetings, which is exactly why it lands well with in-laws, elders or a boss. For 2026 specifically, the horse idiom Ma Dao Cheng Gong (instant success) also reads as thoughtful.
Chinese New Year 2026 falls on Tuesday 17 February and Wednesday 18 February, both gazetted public holidays in Singapore per the Ministry of Manpower. It marks the start of the Year of the Horse. Banks open hongbao note booking from late January, with note collection from early February.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.