The Ultimate Guide to Year of the Snake Greetings
Show off your language skills with basic, intermediate, and advanced phrases—ready to copy, paste, and share!
Today is New Year’s Eve in the lunar calendar, or 大年三十 in Chinese.
So, now is the time to send eloquent and inventive seasonal greetings to your Chinese friends, colleagues, and family.
But you don’t just want to use the boiler plate, standard greetings.
You want something special.
Something to impress.
Something to give you that boost of confidence you need to kick-start your Mandarin in the Year of the Snake.
That’s when wordplay, puns, and homonyms come in. These are a "must-have" in authentic seasonal greetings in Mandarin.
Word play comes in two main varieties:
idioms and phrases with the zodiac animal in them already (basic)
homonyms (谐音词) which borrow the zodiac animal into a set phrase (more advanced)
Here are some of the best ones we’ve found.
Simply copy, paste, and share!
Basic Snake Year Phrases
Here are five solid “Year of the Snake” phrases you can use right away, from ARC by John Pasden and Peter Braden:
金蛇吐祥 jīn shé tǔ xiáng – “The golden snake brings good fortune”
蛇行天下 shé xíng tiān xià – “The snake moves freely across the world”
蛇年发财 shé nián fā cái – “Prosperity and wealth in the Year of the Snake”
灵蛇开运 líng shé kāi yùn – “The agile snake brings good luck”
蛇转乾坤 shé zhuǎn qián kūn – “The snake turns the world around”
Intermediate to Advanced Options
Now you have the basics, let’s dive into the more advanced stuff.
We’ll explain the background knowledge you need to know, and then apply it to increasingly “advanced” idioms and phrases.
You don’t need to “learn” all these, just pick the ones you like, copy and paste, and try them out with your Chinese speaking contacts!
Background
The Snake (蛇 shé) is the sixth animal in the twelve-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.
Another way to denote the year according to the traditional Chinese calendar is using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches (天干地支) system which is a sixty-year cycle.
There are twelve Earthly Branches (地支) which correspond to the twelve animals of the zodiac. The Year of the Snake corresponds to the Earthly Branch symbol, si (巳 sì)—which also means “snake”.
There are ten Heavenly Stems (天干) which correspond to yin and yang versions of the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water).
So, this Year of the Snake, according to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches system, is the Year of the Wood Snake (乙巳年 yǐ sì nián):
乙 (yǐ) is second Heavenly Stem, “Wood” (Yin).
巳 (sì) is the Sixth Earthly Branch, ”Snake”
Still with me?
Don’t worry if you’re not.
Because, having said all that, although everyone in China knows this stuff, it’s never really used other than around Spring Festival, mainly in festive expressions, and marketing campaigns.
So all you really need to know is there are two characters which mean “snake”— 蛇 shé and 巳 sì.
This is important for the seasonal wordplay—the two “snake” characters sound similar to other common characters:
蛇 shé sounds similar to "to give up" (舍 shě)
巳 sì sounds similar to "things" (事 shì), and "time" (时 shí)
Now, let’s apply this to some more challenging idioms.
Snake Idioms (intermediate)
Idiom homonyms with the character for "snake" (蛇)
有蛇有得 yǒu shé yǒu de — “Where there’s a snake, there’s a gain”
Source: 有舍有得 yǒu shě yǒu dé - "You must give something up to gain something"
蛇来运转 shé lái yùn zhuǎn — “When the snake comes, fortune turns”
Source: 时来运转 shí lái yùn zhuǎn - "When the time comes, luck turns around"
蛇拿九稳 shé ná jiǔ wěn — “When the snake bites, it's nine out of ten”
Source: 十拿九稳 shí ná jiǔ wěn - "When you try ten times, nine are stable"
出蛇入化 (chū shé rù huà) — “Achieving mastery in the Year of the Snake”
Source: 出神入化 chū shén rù huà - "To reach a state of excellence or perfection"
一蛇二鸟 yī shé èr niǎo — “Double success in the Year of the Snake”
Source: 一石二鸟 yī shí èr niǎo - "To kill two birds with one stone"
Idiom homonyms with the character for "si” (巳):
好巳成双 hǎo sì chéng shuāng — “Double happiness in the Year of the Snake”
Source: 好事成双 hǎo shì chéng shuāng - "Good things come in pairs"
巳全巳美 sì quán sì měi — “Perfection in the Year of the Snake”
Source: 十全十美 shí quán shí měi - "Perfect and flawless"
巳巳如意 sì sì rú yì — “Everything goes as planned in the Year of the Snake”
Source: 事事如意 shì shì rú yì - "Everything goes as planned"
心想巳成 xīn xiǎng sì chéng — “Your wishes will come true in the Year of the Snake”
Source: 心想事成 xīn xiǎng shì chéng - "May all your wishes come true"
巳喜临门 sì xǐ lín mén — “Good fortune is at your door in the Year of the Snake”
Source: 四喜临门 (Sì xǐ lín mén) - "Four blessings are at the door"
Idiom combos (advanced)
Now, armed with this knowledge, you have what it REALLY takes to impress!
Try one of these greetings (complete with Chinglish translations) and enjoy the amazed (哇！你的中文太棒啦) responses about how fantastic your Mandarin is!
巳巳如意，万事顺心 sì sì rú yì, wàn shì shùn xīn — “May all your wishes come true in the Year of the Snake, and may everything go smoothly”
巳巳如意，生生不息 sì sì rú yì, shēng shēng bù xī — “May everything go as you wish in the Year of the Snake, and may life flourish endlessly”
蛇来运转，好运随时到来 shé lái yùn zhuǎn, hǎo yùn suí shí dào lái — “As the snake comes, fortunes turn, and good luck arrives at any time”
喜蛇临门，好事接连不断 xǐ shé lín mén, hǎo shì jiē lián bù duàn — “The joyous snake arrives at your door, and good things follow one after another”
有蛇有得，该舍则舍，自有所得 yǒu shé yǒu dé, gāi shě zé shě, zì yǒu suǒ dé — “With the snake comes gain; what should be let go is let go, and what is meant to be gained will come naturally”
Longer greetings (more advanced)
蛟龙去，灵蛇来，灵蛇献瑞乐开怀 — “The dragon departs, the spirit snake arrives, and the spirit snake brings blessings and joy”
蛇全蛇美，蛇行大运，金蛇接财，四季平安 — “The snake is whole and beautiful, the snake moves with great fortune. The golden snake brings wealth, and peace throughout the four seasons”
有蛇有得，无忧无虑，蛇与争锋，一定成功 — “With the snake comes gain, without worries or concerns. Competing with the snake, success is certain!”
与蛇俱进，勇攀高峰，恭贺新禧，蛇年大吉 — “Marching forward with the snake, bravely climbing to new heights. Wishing you a happy New Year and great fortune in the Year of the Snake”
四蛇五入，蛇转乾坤，财运缠身，百福具臻 — “With the four snakes and five entries, the snake turns the world around. Wealth surrounds you, and all blessings come to fruition”
蛇来运转，步步高升，蛇影翻腾，谁与争锋 — “As the snake comes, fortunes turn, rising step by step. The snake's shadow swirls, who can compete with it?”
以蛇为贵，蛇蛇如意，丰衣足蛇，富贵吉祥 — “Regard the snake as precious, may all your wishes come true in the Year of the Snake. Clothed in abundance, with wealth and prosperity, all is auspicious!”
蛇运亨通，神气蛇足，福绕蛇年，多财多亿 — “Fortunes flow smoothly with the snake, full of vitality. Blessings surround the Year of the Snake, with wealth and riches in abundance”
灵蛇启航，前程似锦，蛇舞新春，富如其来 — “The clever snake sets sail, with a bright future ahead. The snake dances in the New Year, wealth comes as it should”
蛇拿九稳，蛇力满格，蛇势待发，共赢未来 — “The snake secures stability, full of strength. The snake is poised to strike, together we win the future!”
祥蛇纳新福，锐气满屠苏。祝所念皆如愿，所行皆坦途 — The auspicious snake brings new blessings, with sharp energy filling the Tusu wine. May all your wishes come true, and may all your paths be smooth!
Note: 屠苏 tú sū is a traditional Chinese alcoholic drink often associated with celebration of Chinese New Year. It’s made from fermented grains and herbs, believed to have medicinal properties, and protecting against illness during the New Year season.
Most Advanced!
Here’s the bit you’ve been waiting for!
The advanced idioms in the image at the top.
Using one of these will most impress your Chinese colleagues, friends and family!
生活蠖蠖 shēng huó huò huò
Translation: “Success overcoming challenges”
Background: 蠖 refers to a kind of large caterpillar, symbolising flourishing and strength
事业蟠蟠 shì yè pán pán
Translation: “A flourishing career”
Background: 蟠 suggests something coiled or twisting, often used metaphorically for growth or success
前程螣螣 qián chéng téng téng
Translation: “A bright future”
Background: 螣 refers to a mythical dragon, symbolising strength and good fortune
虺虺康健 huǐ huǐ kāng jiàn
Translation: “Robust health”
Background: 虺 refers to a small snake, symbolising vitality and health).
So, there you go!
Plenty of options to use and share over the next few days.
Happy New Year!
Andrew
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蛇年大吉！