laimīgu jauno gadu
laimīgu jauno gadu is how you say Happy New Year in Latvian.
You can say Laimīgu Jauno gadu! as a direct greeting. In more formal settings, you might use the full sentence Novēlu Jums laimīgu Jauno gadu! to say "I wish you a happy New Year" or Es Jums novēlu laimes un panākumu Jaunajā gadā! to mean "I wish you happiness and success in the New Year."
Meaning: Happy New Year (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adjective laimīgu (happy/lucky), the adjective jauno (new) and the noun gadu (year).
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase is in the accusative case because it is an elliptical form of the verb phrase es novēlu jums laimīgu jauno gadu (I wish you a happy new year).
When do people say it?
When using the phrase as a formal holiday greeting, it is common and acceptable to capitalize Jauno gadu, even though it is often written in lowercase in other contexts.
Did you know?
- In Latvian culture, New Year's is often seen as the primary winter holiday, sometimes overshadowing Christmas in terms of festive decorations and gifts.
- During New Year festivities, it is common to see a 'grandfather' figure similar to the Russian 'Ded Moroz' delivering gifts, blending Slavic and Baltic traditions.
- The word laimīgu comes from the root laime, which can mean both 'happiness' and 'luck'. In Latvian, being happy and being lucky are linguistically intertwined.
Examples in context
- Novēlu jums priecīgus svētkus un laimīgu Jauno gadu!Have a happy holiday season and a happy New Year!This sentence shows how to wish someone a happy holiday season and a happy New Year using laimīgu jauno gadu.Tatoeba #13657542 by GemMonkey, translation #7673593 by Hybrid
- Laimīgu Jauno gadu!Happy New Year!This is a simple way to say Happy New Year! using laimīgu jauno gadu.Tatoeba #7678304 by User77812, translation #361350 by blay_paul
- Es uzskatu, ka mēs viens otram vēl varam novēlēt laimīgu jauno gadu, jo citur, izņemot rietumu pasauli, tas vēl tikai sākas vai sāksies.I believe that we can still wish each other a Happy New Year, because elsewhere, apart from the Western world, it is just starting or will start.This sentence uses laimīgu jauno gadu to explain that people can still wish each other a happy New Year even if it is not yet the new year in their part of the world.Tatoeba #13703162 by GemMonkey, translation #13703166 by GemMonkey
- Inese, es Jums no visas sirds novēlu laimi, veselību un priecīgus 2023. gada svētkus. Priecīgu Jauno gadu!Inese, I wholeheartedly wish you happiness, health, and joyful 2023 celebrations. Happy New Year!
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Zane and Māris meet in the street on January 1st.
- ZaneSveiciens, Māri! Laimīgu jauno gadu!Greetings, Māris! Happy New Year!
- MārisPaldies, Zane! Tev arī laimīgu jauno gadu!Thanks, Zane! Happy New Year to you too!
- ZaneKā tev pagāja svētki?How were your holidays?
- MārisĻoti labi, pavadīju kopā ar ģimeni.Very good, I spent them with my family.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “happy new year” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
