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Japanese New Year Vocabulary
| No. | Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | Meaning |
| 1 | お正月 | おしょうがつ | oshōgatsu | New Year period |
| 2 | 大晦日 | おおみそか | ōmisoka | New Year’s Eve |
| 3 | 元日 | がんじつ | ganjitsu | New Year’s Day (Jan 1) |
| 4 | 明けましておめでとう | あけましておめでとう | akemashite omedetō | Happy New Year |
| 5 | 良いお年を | よいおとしを | yoi otoshi o | Have a good year |
| 6 | 初詣 | はつもうで | hatsumōde | First shrine visit of the year |
| 7 | お年玉 | おとしだま | otoshidama | New Year’s monetary gift |
| 8 | 年賀状 | ねんがじょう | nengajō | New Year’s greeting card |
| 9 | おせち料理 | おせちりょうり | osechi ryōri | Traditional New Year foods |
| 10 | お餅 | おもち | omochi | Rice cake |
| 11 | お雑煮 | おぞうに | ozōni | New Year soup with mochi |
| 12 | 年越しそば | としこしそば | toshikoshi soba | Year-crossing noodles |
| 13 | 福袋 | ふくぶくろ | fukubukuro | Lucky bag / mystery bag |
| 14 | 除夜の鐘 | じょやのかね | joya no kane | New Year’s Eve bell |
| 15 | 初日の出 | はつひので | hatsuhinode | First sunrise |
| 16 | 門松 | かどまつ | kadomatsu | Pine decoration |
| 17 | しめ飾り | しめかざり | shimekazari | Sacred rope decoration |
| 18 | 鏡餅 | かがみもち | kagamimochi | Mirror rice cake decoration |
| 19 | 書き初め | かきぞめ | kakizome | First calligraphy of the year |
| 20 | 忘年会 | ぼうねんかい | bōnenkai | Year-end party |
| 21 | 新年会 | しんねんかい | shinnenkai | New Year party |
| 22 | 獅子舞 | ししまい | shishimai | Lion dance |
| 23 | 抱負 | ほうふ | hōfu | Resolution / ambition |
| 24 | 干支 | えと | eto | Chinese zodiac |
| 25 | 帰省 | きせい | kisei | Homecoming |
| 26 | 着物 | きもの | kimono | Kimono |
| 27 | 神社 | じんじゃ | jinja | Shinto shrine |
| 28 | お寺 | おてら | otera | Temple |
| 29 | お祈り | おいのり | oinori | Prayer |
| 30 | 運勢 | うんせい | unsei | Fortune / luck |
| 31 | おみくじ | おみくji | omikuji | Fortune slip |
| 32 | 大吉 | だいきち | daikichi | Great blessing |
| 33 | 吉 | きち | kichi | Good luck |
| 34 | 凶 | きょう | kyō | Bad luck |
| 35 | 休み | やすみ | yasumi | Holiday / day off |
| 36 | 家族 | かぞく | kazoku | Family |
| 37 | 親戚 | しんせき | shinseki | Relatives |
| 38 | 伝統 | でんとう | dentō | Tradition |
| 39 | 文化 | ぶんか | bunka | Culture |
| 40 | 習慣 | しゅうかん | shūkan | Custom / habit |
Related Post:
How to say “Happy New year” in Japanese
The Four Seasons of the Year words in Japanese
