年年有余

年年有餘
niánnián-yǒuyú
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 may you have plenty to spare every year
  2. 2 abundance year after year

Examples

HSK 4
Zhù nǐ xīnnián kuàilè, niánnián-yǒuyú!
Happy New Year, and may you have plenty to spare every year!
HSK 7-9
Niányèfàn shàng yídìng yào yǒu yú, tú de jiùshì " niánnián-yǒuyú " de hǎo zhàotou.
There has to be fish at the New Year's Eve dinner, for the lucky sign of 'surplus every year'.

Tips

culture
余 'surplus' sounds exactly like 鱼 'fish'. So New Year prints (年画) show a chubby child hugging a big fish, the wish is often written 年年有鱼 as a pun, and many families leave part of the New Year's Eve fish uneaten so there is something left over into the new year.

Stroke Order

年 nián
有 yǒu
余 yú