Happy New Year in French and Spanish

Bonne année et bonne santé

French expressions analyzed and explained

By Laura K. Lawless, About.com Guide

Expression: Bonne année et bonne santé !

Pronunciation: [buh na nay ay buhn sa(n) tay]

Meaning: Happy New Year!

Literal translation: Good year and good health!

Notes: The simplest way to wish someone a happy new year in French is with Bonne année !, but Bonne année et bonne santé is a classic expression. In English, we say "happy new year," but the "new" is unnecessary in French - bonne année does the whole job. The addition of bonne santé (good health) is not only a nice thought, but it also rhymes, making a little sing-songy sort of phrase.

More good wishes
Bonne et heureuse Année
Meilleurs vœux
Meilleurs vœux pour le Nouvel An

A Quick Lesson for Beginners: ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

By Gerald Erichsen, About.com Guide January 1, 2012

Are you new to learning Spanish in 2012? If so, you can begin learning a few of the basics of Spanish with today's greeting: ¡Feliz año nuevo!

The phrase is the most common way of saying "Happy new year!" in Spanish. Here are four aspects of Spanish this simple phrase can help you learn or remember:

• Spanish begins exclamations with an upside-down exclamation point. This punctuation is unique to Spanish among the world's major languages.
• You might notice that both año (the word for "year") and nuevo ("new") end in the letter o. It is usually the case (and is here) that such words are masculine — Spanish words have a quality known as gender, and masculine nouns match up with masculine adjectives.
• The middle letter of año, written as Ñ or ñ (pronounced kind of like EHN-yeh), is the only letter of the Spanish alphabet that is not in the English alphabet.
• The phrase has adjectives both before the noun and afterward. Both locations are common, although there can be differences in meaning depending on where the adjective is located.

You're not a beginner at Spanish? Then see what lessons you can abstract from this sentence: ¡Que tengas un muy feliz año nuevo, lleno de paz, amor y salud para ti y para los tuyos!