How to Say “Happy New Year” in Korean: 새해 복 많이 받으세요

새해 복 많이 받으세요

saehae bok mani badeuseyo

Situation: Greetings & basicsLevel: Intermediate (TOPIK 3–4)

Meaning

Happy New Year.

It literally means “Receive lots of good fortune in the new year.” Polite enough for elders.

Romanization follows the Revised Romanization system and is a guide to pronunciation.

Syllables: 9 · Words: 4

In natural speech, sounds link and shift across words. The table below reads each word separately, as it sounds when said on its own.

Syllable	Letters (consonant + vowel + final)	Romanization
새해
새	ㅅ+ㅐ	sae
해	ㅎ+ㅐ	hae
복	ㅂ+ㅗ+ㄱ	bok
많이
많	ㅁ+ㅏ+ㄶ	[마] ma
이	ㅇ+ㅣ	[니] ni
받으세요
받	ㅂ+ㅏ+ㄷ	[바] ba
으	ㅇ+ㅡ	[드] deu
세	ㅅ+ㅔ	se
요	ㅇ+ㅛ	yo

A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.

Silent ㅎ: a final ㅎ (including the ㅎ inside ㄶ and ㅀ) is not pronounced before a vowel. 많이 → [마니]
Linking: when a syllable ending in a consonant (patchim) is followed by a syllable that starts with a vowel, the consonant moves over to the next syllable. 받으 → [바드]

Style: Polite (해요체)Sentence type: Statement or set phrase

Ends in -요. The everyday polite style, and a safe choice with shop staff, colleagues, strangers and anyone older than you.

It contains the honorific -(으)시-, which shows respect to the person being talked about or talked to.

These words from the TOPIK vocabulary lists appear in the phrase (shown in dictionary form).

Korean	Part of speech	Meaning	Level
받다	verb	to receive	TOPIK level 1

말씀 많이 들었습니다I’ve heard a lot about you
마음이 많이 힘들었겠어요That must have been very hard on you
많이 힘들었죠?That must have been really hard, right
객실이 예약 때 본 사진과 많이 달라서 변경이 가능한지 여쭤보고 싶은데요The room is quite different from the photos I saw when booking, so I’d like to ask whether it’s possible to change rooms

Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.

Question 1 What does “새해 복 많이 받으세요” mean?

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Answer: Happy New Year

Question 2 How do you say “Happy New Year” in Korean?

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Answer: 새해 복 많이 받으세요 saehae bok mani badeuseyo

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