Hey guys, welcome to Off the Great Wall, I'm Mike Chen,
and we've been getting a lot of feedback that you wanted to see more videos in Cantonese.
So we've been searching everywhere, and we found a lovely Christine to help us with that.
Say hi, Christine.
Hello, my name's Christine.
I will teach you how to say,
Happy New Year to all your friends in Cantonese.
Yes, you will.
And you guys seen our video on this topic in Mandarin,
here it is in Cantonese.
So we will skip the basics like 新年快樂,
and I agree with the last video that 恭喜發財 is way overdone.
So here are some cool, impressive phrases you can say in Cantonese for the new year.
In Mandarin, you add either 祝你 or 祝年 before any of the phrases that I'm about to share.
They both mean wishing you,
but in Cantonese, there's no difference in pronunciation between the two.
So it's just 祝你.
Of course, when addressing a group of people, you would say 祝大家.
財源 means fortune, and 廣進 means to pour in.
吉星 means the star of luck, and 高照 means to shine from high above.
By saying this, you're basically saying that fortune will smile on you.
It means to wish someone surplus or prosperity every year.
魷魚 is a homophone with to have fish,
and that's why there's always fish served at the New Year's table.
生意 means business, and 興隆 means to blossom.
So you're wishing someone prosperity in business.
萬事 means tens of thousands of things,
and 如意 means to go smoothly or go as one wishes.
This phrase means may everything go as planned.
工作 means work, and 順利 means to go smoothly.
事業 means career, and 有成 means to achieve success.
So you're wishing someone success in their career.
This phrase is really cool in Cantonese as well.
It's not commonly used, so you will really impress a Chinese person if you use this one.
And 青雲 means cloud.
This phrase is to wish rapid success or promotion.
馬到 literally means that the horse has arrived, and 成功 means success.
In ancient China during a war, when the powerful cavalry enters the battle,
the battle is already won.
馬到成功 is a greeting to wish instant success.
So 祝你馬到成功.
龍 means dragon, 馬 means horse, and 精神 means spirit.
You're wishing someone the spirit or energy of the dragon and horse.
This phrase is mainly said to adults or seniors to wish them good health.
身體 means body, and 健康 means health.
You want to say this to someone who is still in school.
學業 means one studies, and 成功 means to achieve success.
金榜 means the golden list, and 提名 means for your name to be on it.
Back in ancient China, the government held tests to choose
the smartest and most talented officials from among the common folks.
If you got a high score, your name would be posted on the 金榜.
So if you're about to take an important test, I wish you 金榜提名.
合家 means the whole family, and 歡樂 means happiness.
This is to wish happiness for the whole family.
心想 means what the heart desires, and 事成 means to succeed.
May you achieve what your heart desires.
笑口 means laughing mouth, and 長開 means to be always open.
So 笑口長開 is wishing someone that they will always be happy and laughing.
歲歲 translates to age after age, and 平安 means safety or peace.
This phrase is to wish you peace year after year.
And finally, a personal favourite.
It basically means give me my red envelope!
Now it might not be very polite, but it's funny to say it with those who are close to you,
particularly married people, who are supposed to hand out New Year's money to the younger folks.
Well guys, thanks for watching.
Now you know these greetings in both Cantonese and Mandarin.
Now you're ready to go out and conquer Chinatown.
So I hope you enjoyed that and you learned something.
So I wish everyone 龍馬精神, 萬事如意.
Happy New Year everybody, and don't forget to subscribe and share this video
since it is Chinese New Year.
We'll see you again in the Year of the Horse.
See ya!
