How to write a New Year's Card

With the Lunar New Year fast approaching, it is a time for many to return home and spend their holiday with family. But sometimes connecting with distant (as in location) relatives isn't an option. In times like that, the 新年賀卡 (xīn nián hè kǎ), or New Year's Card is a perfect way to send one's well wishes. For students of Chinese, this is the perfect time to put some of our hard-earned studying time to good use, and to get some serious culture points in the process.

A traditional 新年賀卡

The traditional New Year greeting card (see above) is typically just a single piece of paper with four major components.

1. 收件者 (shōu jiàn zhě: the receiver). The receivers name should be placed in the top right corner of the card, followed by their 尊稱 (zūn chēng) or honorific title (if they have one).
2. 吉祥話 or 祝福話 (jí xiáng huà: auspicious words / zhù fú huà: well wishes). Place in the center of the card, as this is the meat of the greeting card. The words should appear larger than the rest. Auspicious words should be selected according to the status of the recipient.
3. 寄件者 (jì jiàn zhě: the sender). Placed on the left hand side of the card this portion is divided into three sections. The first is 自稱 (zì chēng: your self-professed title) ex. 學生(xué shēng: student). It should be slightly smaller than your 署名 (shŭ míng: signature), which follows on the next line over. Proceeding your signature is the 啟事敬辭 (qǐ shì jìng cí), a way of further showing your respect to the sender. A typical example of this is 敬上(jìng shàng), the Chinese form of "respectfully".
4. 日期 (rì qí: the date). Much like personal and professional letters it is always important to wrap things up with the date. This appears furthest to the left on a traditional greeting letter.

Even if you are using the more common western-style greeting card found today, the components remain the same--just be sure to switch all the components to fit western standards.

A more western style of 新年賀卡, where the writing goes on the inside!

The big question still remains. What should you put in the middle? While the ubiquitous 新年快樂 (xīn nián kuài lè), or Happy New Year, is the obvious choice, there are many other options. One that is certain to be popular for 龍年 （lóng nián: the year of the dragon) is: 龍年行大運 (lóng nián xíng dà yùn), which will bring good luck to all your actions during the year of the dragon.

For a great list of some standard well wishes, and some great four character couplets, check out Card City, and some of their more standard greetings (found in the box marked: 參考賀詞: cān kǎo hè cí). The site is all in traditional Chinese, but pretty easy to navigate. You can even send an e-card to your friends and family if you choose.

Care to share a few of your favorite New Year greetings? Put them in the comments below.