How should I answer 'Happy New Year'?

Question

When someone says, "Happy New Year," how should we answer?

"Happy new year to you, too."
Or just: "Happy new year!"

Or in some other way?

or you can answer "You too" See my question can-you-reply-you-too-to-wishes-such-as-good-luck — Bogdan Lataianu, Dec 31 '13 at 18:01

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 31 '13 at 19:30

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It's a matter of taste. The most common reply is an echo of "Happy New Year", but often one will hear "And (also) to you!" In the interest of being different, I usually reply "Nifty New Year to you."

answered Dec 31 '13 at 19:30

DopeGhoti

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"Nifty new year to you" is not at all a particularly idiomatic reply to "Happy New Year", and I wouldn't advise learners to use it. A straightforward "Happy New Year" is much more appropriate in most circumstances. – Matt Jan 01 '14 at 02:57
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I specifically mentioned my idiosyncratic salutation as an example of why it's a matter of preference as opposed to there being a hard and fast rule that one must follow, and did so after also specifically mentioning the two most commonly used replies. – DopeGhoti Jan 01 '14 at 19:48

score 3 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 03 '17 at 17:57

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I wanted to reply Happy new year in English to my students (our new year is Norouz mass.)

In my opinion, "to you, too" or "same to you" are both OK.

edited Jan 03 '17 at 17:57

Mari-Lou A

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answered Mar 21 '15 at 13:54

meisam

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Earlier, I flagged this post (as "not an answer") because I thought it wasn't an answer. Now I tried to read it again (as suggested by one of our members), I think it's possible that meisam was indeed trying to answer the question. Then again, I'm not really sure. It could look both ways, I guess. – Damkerng T. Mar 21 '15 at 16:09
To me it did sound like an answer right from the first time I read, though in a not-so-common-way ;-) – Sнаđошƒаӽ Mar 21 '15 at 17:28

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 21 '19 at 16:18

The most common response is to echo back the same thing: "Happy New Year!"

This also applies to any "common" holiday, meaning one that is not personally related to you. So it's the same for "Merry/Happy Christmas", "Happy Easter", and various country-specific holidays: "Happy Thanksgiving", "Happy Fourth of July", and so on.

score -1 · Answer 4 · edited Jan 02 '16 at 00:59

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I used to say "Happy New Year", but I changed to "Likewise!" as it is shorter and it seems the new years are going to come every year and I don't want to repeat myself yearly.

Hope New Year will be celebrated every 5 years in the future.

edited Jan 02 '16 at 00:59

Nathan Tuggy

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answered Jan 02 '16 at 00:51

Tsinat

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score -2 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 23 '14 at 14:20

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The best response for 'happy new year' is 'many happy returns'

answered Nov 23 '14 at 14:20

Getty

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Indeed, although "many happy returns" is much more common in British and Indian English than American English. – ColleenV Nov 23 '14 at 14:24
In British English, I've only ever heard "many happy returns" as a synonym for "happy birthday"; Wikipedia describes this as "common usage". – David Richerby Nov 23 '14 at 17:15
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I can't agree that it's "the best response." (I would agree that it's an acceptable response, and I might agree that it's a good response.) – J.R. Nov 23 '14 at 17:44
I think "Many happy returns" is suitable. – Dec 27 '14 at 18:27

How should I answer 'Happy New Year'?

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