Happy New Year! Bonne année !

I wish you all a very Happy New Year! May 2023 make your dearest dreams come true!

Every year, as we celebrate the New Year, these are the first words we use to send our wishes to people around us:  Happy New Year in English, and Bonne année in French.

Here are 5 different ways to say Happy New Year both in English and in French that you can use to change from the classic and overused Happy New Year and Bonne année

First of all, let’s look at how else can you say Happy New Year in English.

1. Have a Happy New Year! 

Begin with the phrase “Have a/an… ”.  Of course, you can change the adjective happy and use another one instead, or even several ones.

Use this structure: Have a/an + [adjective] + New Year!

Or: Have a/an + [adjective] + and + [adjective] + New Year!

Here are a few examples: 

• Have a wonderful New Year!
• Have an amazing and prosperous New Year!
• Have a successful New Year!

2. Wishing you a Happy New Year

Simply begin with “Wishing you a/an…”. Again, you can change the adjective or add another one. You can also change the end if you want to be more specific or want to name the year.
For example: 

• Wishing you a Happy and Successful New Year!
• Wishing you the best in 2023
• Wishing you health and happiness in 2023

Of course, you can also include other people, for example:

• Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year.

3. I wish you a Happy a New Year

This is very similar to the previous one. Maybe you are not the only one wanting to wish the person a happy new year. This phrase is easy to change if other people want to send their wishes together.

Look at these examples:

• We wish you a happy and prosperous new year.
• Julian, Pat and I wish you a very happy new year.
• The whole family wishes you the best in 2023.

4. May the New Year be filled with happiness.

There are many alternatives here. Starting with the verb “May…” expresses a wish. You can express anything you really wish for using the same structure.

Here are some examples:

• May 2023 be filled with happiness.
• May the New Year bring you health and joy.
• May the New Year bring peace to the world.

5. Cheers to the New Year!

This is a quick and dynamic way to celebrate the New Year. It is much less formal and sounds joyful. You can also name the year and say:

• Cheers to 2023!

Now, let’s look at 5 different ways to say Bonne année in French.

1. Bonne et heureuse année !

That is another very common way to say happy New Year in French. You can find it on many new year cards. You can also name the year at the end and say

• Bonne et heureuse année 2023 !

2. Meilleurs vœux

This literally translates to Best Wishes. Again, it is a very common, short phrase to wish someone a happy new year. You can also see it on many new year cards.

3. Tous mes vœux pour cette nouvelle année !

If you are not alone to send these wishes, use the possessive adjective nos (our) instead of mes (my): 

• Tous nos vœux pour cette nouvelle année !

You can also add more to your wishes to make them more specific. In this case, you can add the preposition “de” followed by the nouns to specifically express what you wish. Here are a couple of examples:

• Tous mes vœux de bonheur pour cette année !
• Tous nos vœux de bonheur et de réussite pour 2023 !

4. Je te souhaite une bonne année.

Change je and/or te if you need. For example:

• Je vous souhaite une bonne année.
• Nous te souhaitons une bonne année.
• Karim et moi te souhaitons une bonne année.

Add anything else to this sentence. Here are more examples:

• Nous vous souhaitons une année pleine de joie, une bonne santé et beaucoup de bonheur.
• Je te souhaite, ainsi qu’à toute ta famille, une merveilleuse année.
• Je vous souhaite une année pleine de bonheur.

Because it is a full, regular sentence, this is probably the ideal option to change and specify your wish exactly the way you like. Be creative!

5. Que cette année t’apporte santé et bonheur !

Using the structure “que + subject + verb (in the subjunctive form!) + complement” is the equivalent to the English “May…”. The above example literally means “May this year bring you health and happiness!”

Change with the words that you need to express exactly what you wish. Remember to change te / t’ to vous if you need.

Here are some examples:

• Que 2023 t’apporte beaucoup de joie et d’amour !
• Que cette nouvelle année vous apporte santé et réussite !
• Que 2023 apporte la paix dans le monde.
• Que cette année soit une année remplie de bonheur.

There you are! You now know how to vary the way you can Happy New Year in English and in French. Congratulations! 🙂