19 Festive Ways to Say “Happy New Year” in Spanish
How do you say, “Happy New Year” in Spanish? Learn 19 Spanish New Year’s greetings!
If you’re headed to a Spanish-speaking country such as Spain to celebrate New Year’s Eve, learning how to say Happy New Year in Spanish is a must!
How do I know Happy New Year wishes in Spanish? I’m a former Spanish teacher! Besides, I lived in Spain and have celebrated the New Year there a few times.
In the days leading up to January 1st, you’ll most certainly need to wish others a Happy New Year in a variety of formal and informal contexts in español. Friends, family, store clerks, coworkers, and waiters, for example.
In this post, you’ll learn 19 different ways of saying Happy New Year in Spanish to do just that!
How to Say Happy New Year in Spanish
So, what is the Spanish phrase for “Happy New Year”? There are actually a few common ways to say Happy New Year in Spanish. Let’s start with the most standard phrases to express this quintessential holiday greeting in Spanish:
1. Happy New Year in Spanish – Feliz Año Nuevo
Wish someone a “Happy New Year” in Spanish by saying Feliz Año Nuevo when the clock strikes midnight.
This is the most common way to say Happy New Year in Spain and Latin American countries.
—¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Espero que este nuevo año te traiga mucha alegría y éxito.
—Happy New Year! I hope this new year brings you much joy and success.
Notice this is a literal translation, as feliz means “happy”, año means “year”, and nuevo means “new”.
2. Happy New Year in Spanish – Feliz Año
Wishing someone a “Happy New Year” in Spanish is easy when you use the shortened version, ¡Feliz Año!
The literal translation is “Happy Year!” but it also means Happy New Year in Spanish.
—¡Feliz año! Diviertete esta noche.
—Happy New Year! Have fun tonight.
3. Happy New Year in Spanish – Próspero Año
There’s another way to say Happy New Year in Spanish. The phrase ¡Próspero Año Nuevo! Is used since a lot of New Year traditions like these in Spain welcome in prosperity for the new year.
—¡Próspero Año! Que en este nuevo año encuentres amor, prosperidad y nuevas oportunidades.
—Happy New Year! May you find love, prosperity, and new opportunities in this new year.
Notice that it’s not always necessary to add the word “new” to the phrase “Próspero Año.” The “new” part of Happy New Year is implicitly understood.
It’s also important to note that not all countries say Próspero Año. In general, it sounds a bit more formal. You’ll often see it written in greeting cards. You may have also heard this New Year’s term in the popular Christmas song, Feliz Navidad, I Wanna Wish You a Merry Christmas.
How to Pronounce Happy New Year in Spanish
Happy New Year in Spanish is Feliz Año Nuevo.
- Feliz Año Nuevo is pronounced feh-LEES AH-Nyoh nwEY-voh.
- Próspero Año is pronounced prOH-sper-oh AH-Nyoh.
- Feliz Año is pronounced feh-LEES AH-Nyoh.
Happy New Year Greetings in Spanish
In this section, we’ll go over some alternative ways to wish Spanish speakers a fun and prosperous New Year!
4. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year – Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
If you want to wish someone well for both Christmas and New Year’s, you can say “Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo.”
This is a common saying you’ll hear during the festive season. You can use it both formally and informally.
Notice that instead of wishing someone a “Feliz” (Happy) New Year in this case, the word “próspero” is used instead. Próspero means prosperous.
—¡Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo a todos! Que este año nos brinde abundancia y prosperidad en todos los aspectos de la vida.
—Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to everyone! May this year bring us abundance and prosperity in all aspects of life.
To sum up, this Christmas phrase in Spanish not only wishes for a happy holiday but also good fortune in the upcoming year. That said, you may also say, “Feliz Navidad y Feliz Año Nuevo.”
5. Have a Happy New Year! in Spanish – ¡Que tengas un feliz año nuevo!
A friendly New Year’s greeting is to say, Have a happy New Year! in Spanish.
This is a positive way to convey your hopes for a great year ahead.
—¡Que tengas un feliz año nuevo! Disfruta de la celebración con tus amigos.
—Have a happy New Year! Enjoy the celebration with your friends.
Don’t forget to conjugate the verb tener (to have) in the present subjunctive (tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, tengáis, tengan) based on who you’re talking to.
6. Happy Holidays in Spanish – Felices fiestas
To wish someone a general, “Happy Holidays” use the phrase, “Felices fiestas.”
This Spanish holiday saying includes all the holidays of the season including Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Three Kings Day, etc.
If you think the word “felices” comes from “feliz,” the Spanish word for “happy,” you’re correct! Since adjectives must agree in number and gender with the words they modify in the Spanish languages, feliz turns into felices since it’s modifying a plural word (fiestas or holidays in English).
Fiesta most commonly means “party” in Spanish. However, it can also refer to holidays, festivals, and celebrations.
Put it all together, and you’ve got, ¡Felices fiestas!
—¡Felices fiestas a ti y a tu familiar!
—Happy holidays to you and your family!
7. Happy New Year’s Eve! in Spanish – ¡Que tengas un feliz año nuevo!
La Nochevieja and víspera de Año Nuevo both mean “New Year’s Eve” in Spanish. So, if you’d like to wish that someone has a good time on Dec 31st specifically, you can say, ¡Que tengas un feliz año nuevo!
This conveys your hopes for an amazing evening!
—¡Que tengan un feliz año nuevo! Que lo pasemos muy bien juntos.
—Have a happy New Year! Have a great time together.
Don’t forget to conjugate the verb tener in the present subjunctive depending on who you’re addressing:
—¡Que tengas un feliz año nuevo! Disfruta de la celebración con tus amigos.
—Have a happy New Year! Enjoy the celebration with your friends.
8. Happy 2024 – ¡Feliz 2024!
If you’d like to include the specific year in your New Year’s wishes in Spanish, you can do that very easily by following the word Feliz (happy) with the year:
- Happy 2024 – ¡Feliz 2024!
- Happy 2025 – ¡Feliz 2025!
- Happy 2026 – ¡Feliz 2026!
- Happy 2027 – ¡Feliz 2027!
- Happy 2028 – ¡Feliz 2028!
It’s common to use the specific year when wishing someone in Spanish, “Happy New Year.”
—¡Feliz 2024! ¡Va a ser un año increíble!
—Happy 2024! It’s going to be an amazing year!
9. This year I wish you love, money and health. – Este año te deseo amor, dinero y salud.
To express a desire for love, financial stability, and good health in the new year, you can say something like Este año te deseo amor, dinero y salud.
A statement like this would be appropriate inside a holiday greeting card.
—Este año te deseo amor, dinero y salud. Son los tesoros más importantes en la vida.
—This year I wish you love, money, and health. They are the most valuable treasures in life. (informal)
—Este año le deseo amor, dinero y salud. Todo lo mejor.
—This year I wish you love, money, and health. All the best. (formal)
10. Que Dios te bendiga este Año Nuevo. – God bless you this new year.
You might say, “God bless you this New Year,” to emphasize the Lord’s providence over your friend’s life in the new year.
This phrase is often used to offer New Year’s greetings.
—Que Dios te bendiga este Año Nuevo y te guíe en cada paso de tu camino.
—God bless you this New Year and guide you in every step of your journey. (informal)
—Dios la bendiga en este nuevo año y la cuide en cada paso que dé.
—God bless you New Year and watch over you with every step you take. (informal, feminine)
11. Let’s Toast to the New Year in Spanish – ¡Brindemos al Año Nuevo!
Toasting to the New Year is done all over the world. If you’re giving a toast in Spanish, ¡Brindemos al Año Nuevo! will impress your Spanish-speaking friends.
—¡Brindemos al Año Nuevo! Que sea todo lo que esperábamos y más.
—Have a happy New Year! May it be everything we hoped for and more.
You can also say:
—¡Salud por el Año Nuevo!
—Cheers to the New Year!
12. I wish you a very happy New Year in Spanish – Te deseo un muy feliz Año Nuevo
To send someone extra New Year’s cheer in Spanish, use the word muy (very).
Te deseo un muy feliz Año Nuevo is a simple yet effective New Year in Spanish greeting.
—¡Te deseo un muy feliz Año Nuevo! ¡Vamos!
—I wish you a very happy New Year in Spanish! Let’s go!
You may also use the phrase, Te deseo un Próspero Año Nuevo to also mean I wish you a Happy New Year.
13. A Very Happy New Year in Spanish – Muy feliz Año Nuevo
Some Spanish-speaking countries have the habit of adding “muy” (very) before greetings in Spanish. For example, when saying Good morning in Spanish, some say Muy buenos días instead of Buenos días.
Adding muy in front of Feliz Año Nuevo adds a little emphasis. It’s akin to saying, “A very happy New Year!”
—¡Muy feliz Año Nuevo! Disfruta de la celebración con tus amigos.
—Have a happy New Year! Enjoy the celebration with your friends.
This New Year’s saying in Spanish isn’t quite as common, but you may see it on greeting cards or other holiday decor.
14. Happy New Year to You in Spanish – Feliz Año Nuevo a ti
If you’d like to be more direct in wishing someone a wonderful new year, you may do so:
—¡Feliz Año Nuevo a ti!
—Happy New Year to You!
Of course, you can replace the “to you” with whomever you’d like to address. For instance, you might want to say, “Happy New Year, my friend” in Spanish:
—¡Feliz Año Nuevo, mi amigo!
—Happy New Year, my friend!
—¡Feliz Año Nuevo, Sr. Stone!
—Happy New Year, Mr. Stone!
15. Best wishes for the new year! – ¡Muchas felicidades por el año nuevo!
Another way to convey your hopes for a prosperous, healthy, and happy new year in Spanish-speaking countries is to say, ¡Muchas felicidades por el año nuevo!
The literal translation of this Spanish New Year saying is “Congratulations on the New Year!” While you wishing well rather than congratulating, felicidades is used often for holidays and special occasions like celebrating birthdays in Spain.
—¡Muchas felicidades por el año nuevo, amiga!
—Best wishes for the new year, friend!
16. Happy New Year My Sweetheart – Feliz Año Nuevo mi cariño
Feliz Año Nuevo mi cariño is a romantic greeting used to express affection and warm wishes towards your loved one at the beginning of the New Year.
This phrase is often used between couples to celebrate the occasion.
—¡Feliz Año Nuevo mi cariño! Te amo.
—Happy New Year My Sweetheart! I love you.
Mi cariño can be replaced by other popular pet names in Spanish, too.
17. My Best Wishes for This New Year in Spanish – Mis mejores deseos en este Año
A New Years in Spanish greeting that you might want to use is, “Mis mejores deseos en este Año.”
This phrase is often used in cards or messages during New Year celebrations.
—¡Mis mejores deseos en este Año! Espero que empieces con el pie derecho.
— My best wishes for this New Year! Hope you start off on the right foot.
18. May the Next Year Bring You Blessings in Spanish – Que el próximo año te traiga bendiciones
Another way to wish blessings over someone’s life in the new year is to say, Que el próximo año te traiga bendiciones.
—Que el próximo año te traiga bendiciones.
—May the next year bring you blessings
You can also say, “Que este año les traiga bendiciones.” This means, “May this year bring you blessings” in English.
Of course, you can also replace the word blessings with any vocabulary you desire.
—Que el próximo año os traiga salud y riqueza.
—May the next year bring y’all health and wealth.
—Que este año traiga aventuras inesperadas.
—May this year bring unexpected adventures.
19. Hope all your wishes come true in the New Year – Que se cumplan todos tus deseos en el año nuevo
Many people make wishes, usher in good luck, or set resolutions for the New Year. (Maybe your New Year’s wish is to learn Spanish, for instance!)
Whatever the custom, a new year means a new start. Desiring that your friends and family have their wishes and dreams come true is a nice way to welcome in the new year.
—¡Que se cumplan todos tus deseos en el año nuevo! Te lo mereces.
—Hope all your wishes come true in the New Year! You deserve it.
To address someone formally, adjust this to, “Que se cumplan todos sus deseos en el año nuevo.”
How do You Say Happy New Year in Spanish: FAQ’s
What language is Feliz Año Nuevo?
Feliz Año Nuevo is Spanish. It’s Spanish for “Happy New Year”
How do I respond to Happy New Year in Spanish?
If someone wishes you a happy new year, you can respond in Spanish by saying, Feliz Año Nuevo para ti, también. This means, “Happy New Year to you, too.” Feliz Año (Happy New Year) is also appropriate.
How do they say Happy New Year in Spain?
In Spain, people typically say Feliz Año Nuevo or Feliz Año to mean Happy New Year.
Happy New Year in Spanish: Conclusion
In conclusion, “¡Feliz Año Nuevo!” is just one way to say “Happy New Year” in the Spanish language. There are many other celebratory ways to greet and wish each other a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year in Spanish.
Now that you’ve learned some common Spanish New Year’s greetings, it’s time to spend New Year’s Eve in Spain eating 12 lucky grapes under the fireworks!
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