Japanese New Year Vocabulary

Learn: 1) New Year's Eve greetings, 2) New Year foods, 3) New Year games, 4) New Year well-wishes, and 5) how to write New Year cards.

During Japanese New Year, many children go home to visit their grandparents. Ask what they played, and they might say they beat grandma at karuta (かるた遊び karuta asobi), or flew a kite (凧揚げ takoage) with dad. Other traditional New Year games include spinning tops (コマ回し koma mawashi) and feathered shuttlecock (羽根つき hane tsuki). Have you tried any of these?

How do people greet each other at New Year in Japan?

Among colleagues, you can say: 「あけましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします。」

With friends or family, you can say: 「新年おめでとう！」

In text messages, people sometimes write: 「あけおめ！ことよろ！」

What greetings are usually written on Japanese New Year cards?

Between individuals—whether to seniors, peers, or juniors—you can use 「謹賀新年、頌春、賀正」. The other phrases in the image are for more formal settings, such as cards from a company to clients, or New Year greetings that appear in ads.