# Chinese Wishes for Every Occasion: Birthdays, Weddings and Get Well

You say happy birthday to a grandparent, write a wedding card line, cheer a friend before an exam and find quiet words for a grieving family. For learners with Chinese-speaking friends, family or coworkers.

Source: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/chinese-wishes-for-every-occasion

## At a glance

- Level: Beginner · HSK 1
- Format: Reference guide · PDF · 9 pages · US Letter (prints on A4)
- Price: Free · free with a saymei account · updated Nov 4, 2026

## Download

Free with a SayMei account, on the workbook's page: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/chinese-wishes-for-every-occasion. SayMei emails a copy too.

## A line from the workbook

祝你生日快乐！ (Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè!) — Happy birthday to you!

## By the end you can

- Say happy birthday to anyone, from a friend to a grandparent. 生日快乐 works for anyone. Add 祝您 for elders, bosses and teachers, and say 许个愿吧 just before the candles go out. 祝您生日快乐！ (Zhù nín shēngrì kuàilè!): Happy birthday to you! (polite)
- Write a warm birthday card line. Wish a friend 祝你天天开心, use the set phrase 祝你心想事成, and wish grandparents good health and a long life with 祝您健康长寿. 祝你心想事成！ (Zhù nǐ xīn xiǎng shì chéng!): May all your wishes come true!
- Congratulate couples and new parents. Say 恭喜恭喜 for any happy news and 新婚快乐 on the wedding day, write the classic card line 百年好合, and welcome a baby with 祝宝宝健康成长. 祝你们百年好合！ (Zhù nǐmen bǎi nián hǎo hé!): May you be happy together for a hundred years!
- Cheer people on for new jobs, exams, moves and trips. Wish a smooth start with 祝你工作顺利, a good exam with 考试加油, a new home with 恭喜乔迁新居, and a safe trip with 一路平安. 祝你考试顺利！ (Zhù nǐ kǎoshì shùnlì!): Hope your exam goes well!
- Comfort someone who is ill, sad or grieving. Wish a quick recovery, offer help with 有什么需要就告诉我, say you're sorry to hear the news, and keep it quiet and short with a grieving family: 请节哀. 祝你早日康复！ (Zhù nǐ zǎorì kāngfù!): Get well soon!
- Know which gifts and words to avoid. Skip clocks, since 送钟 sounds like seeing someone off at death, pears and sets of four for someone ill, and red sympathy cards. Red envelopes at weddings hold even amounts with no 4. 送钟 (sòng zhōng): giving a clock (sounds like 送终)
- Write a two-line card for each friend. One wish, then one warm line, with 您 for an older reader. The practice pages walk through cards for a new baby, a sick friend, a wedding and a new job.

## What's inside

- Wishes: Birthday Wishes · Weddings, Babies, Anniversaries · New Jobs, Exams, Moves and Trips · Get Well and Hard Times
- Practice: Write and Say a Card · Four Cards for Four Friends

## How to use this book

Four pages of wishes, one per kind of occasion, then two practice pages. Most wishes start with 祝 (zhù, I wish you), so learn that word first. Play a line on the free audio, pause and say it back with a smile.

- Day 1: Birthdays. Page 3. Learn 祝, then pick one spoken wish and one card line for someone whose birthday is coming up.
- Day 2: Weddings, babies, anniversaries. Page 4. Say 恭喜恭喜 with energy, and read the note on red envelopes.
- Day 3: New starts. Page 5. Match a line to each friend starting a new job, an exam, a move or a trip.
- Day 4: Hard times. Page 6. Practise the get-well lines and the quieter lines of sympathy, and read the tip on which gifts to avoid.
- Day 5: Write and say cards. Pages 7 and 8. Fill the blanks, write two-line cards, and listen to Xiaoyu read hers.
- Before the occasion: Write it by hand. Copy your favourite card line into a real card. A few words written by hand mean a lot.

## Who it's for

Adult beginners with Chinese-speaking friends, family, partners or coworkers who want to say and write the right thing for birthdays, weddings, new babies, new jobs, exams, moves, trips and hard times.

Before you start: Nothing. Every line has characters, pinyin and English, with a note on who it fits and when. The free audio reads each line with a pause to say it back.

## What's inside?

Four pages of wishes, one for each kind of occasion: birthdays; weddings, babies and anniversaries; new jobs, exams, moves and trips; and get well and hard times. Two practice pages follow, where you write two-line cards for a new baby, a sick friend, a wedding and a new job.

## How do you say happy birthday in Chinese?

生日快乐 (shēngrì kuàilè) works for anyone, spoken or written. For an elder, a boss or a teacher, say 祝您生日快乐, with the polite 您. On a card, add a line like 祝你天天开心 (be happy every day).

## What do I say at a wedding?

恭喜恭喜 for any happy news and 新婚快乐 on the wedding day. On a card, write the classic line 百年好合. The note on page 4 explains that red envelopes at weddings hold even amounts with no 4.

## Which gifts should I avoid?

Clocks, because 送钟 (giving a clock) sounds like 送终, seeing someone off at death. For someone ill, many people skip pears (梨 sounds like 离, to part) and sets of four (四 sounds like 死, death). Keep sympathy cards white or plain, never red.

## When do I use 您 instead of 你?

Use 您 for grandparents, older relatives, bosses and teachers, as in 祝您健康长寿. On the last practice page, Xiaoyu uses 您 in her card for Grandma.

## Is there audio?

Yes, free on this book's page: one track for the four pages of wishes and one for the practice pages, where you hear Xiaoyu read her cards. Play a line, pause and say it back before the next one.

## Do I need a SayMei account?

Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor.

## How do I print it?

The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too.

Version 2026-11, updated Nov 4, 2026.