<p>The correct way to write the phrase is「恭喜發財」. This phrase is made up of two words:</p>

<ul>
<li>「恭喜」, meaning <em>congratulations</em>;</li>
<li>「發財」, meaning <em>to make a fortune</em>.</li>
</ul>

<p>In contrast,「恭禧」is not actually a word. At most,「恭禧發財」can be viewed as a pun which emphasises the <em>fortune</em> aspect of the phrase, as「禧」(<em>good fortune</em>) is a homophone with「喜」.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-24T13:38:46.620Z
Hmm. Today I received a traditional daily tear-off Chinese calendar, and the metal part of it reads 「恭禧發財」. If that phrase is indeed wrong, why do I see it all over the place?
Flux
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-24T13:51:28.290Z
@Flux it's "wrong" in the same sense that puns are "wrong"; you can't find such words or phrases in dictionaries, and when you learn the language you won't get taught to write words like that.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-20T23:32:46.293Z
2018-11-20T23:32:46.293Z
dROOOze
<p>Today I visited a house that had Chinese New Year banners all over. On the stairs, one banner reads 「恭禧發財」, and above a door, another banner reads 「恭喜發財」. Both of these are pronounced exactly the same in Cantonese and Mandarin. </p>

<p>Questions:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>What are their differences in terms of meaning? </p></li>
<li><p>Which is 'correct'? (i.e. Which is the canonical or most popular version?)</p></li>
<li><p>When people say 「gung1 hei2 faat3 coi4」 / 「gōng xǐ fā cái」 during Chinese New Year, do they mean 「恭喜發財」or do they mean 「恭禧發財」?</p></li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-20T15:15:07.843Z
dictionaries, e.g. bkrs  for 恭禧發財 will say "see 恭喜發財" suggesting greater frequency of the latter, 恭喜发财， character frequency numbers: 喜#1606 禧#3886 both: May you have a prosperous New Year! (New Year’s greeting) 
May you be happy and prosperous! Of course the character 禧 itself may suggest 福, good fortune (besides happiness), (material) welfare (福利);
user6065
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-20T15:37:13.923Z
@user6065 Dude, that's an answer. And a good one at that. Post it.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-20T16:40:58.420Z
大半用户坚决反对纠缠于与正题无关的问题，只要问题得到答案，其他的都无所谓了。
user6065
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-21T01:49:22.250Z
@user6065 StackExchange is not a pure "ask for help" website, questions and answers are supposed to provide useful information to the whole community. That is why some type of questions are closed on stackexchange.
炸鱼薯条德里克
<meaning><word-choice><usage><difference>
What's the difference between 恭喜發財 and 恭禧發財?
# What's the difference between 恭喜發財 and 恭禧發財?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-11-20)

Today I visited a house that had Chinese New Year banners all over. On the stairs, one banner reads 「恭禧發財」, and above a door, another banner reads 「恭喜發財」. Both of these are pronounced exactly the same in Cantonese and Mandarin.

Questions:

1. What are their differences in terms of meaning?
2. Which is 'correct'? (i.e. Which is the canonical or most popular version?)
3. When people say 「gung1 hei2 faat3 coi4」 / 「gōng xǐ fā cái」 during Chinese New Year, do they mean 「恭喜發財」or do they mean 「恭禧發財」?

**Tags:** meaning, word-choice, usage, difference
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: dictionaries, e.g. bkrs  for 恭禧發財 will say "see 恭喜發財" suggesting greater frequency of the latter, 恭喜发财， character frequency numbers: 喜#1606 禧#3886 both: May you have a prosperous New Year! (New Year’s greeting)  May you be happy and prosperous! Of course the character 禧 itself may suggest 福, good fortune (besides happiness), (material) welfare (福利);  
> **username_2**: @user6065 Dude, that's an answer. And a good one at that. Post it.  
> **username_1**: 大半用户坚决反对纠缠于与正题无关的问题，只要问题得到答案，其他的都无所谓了。  
> **username_3**: @user6065 StackExchange is not a pure "ask for help" website, questions and answers are supposed to provide useful information to the whole community. That is why some type of questions are closed on stackexchange.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-11-20. Score: 2

The correct way to write the phrase is「恭喜發財」. This phrase is made up of two words:

* 「恭喜」, meaning *congratulations*;
* 「發財」, meaning *to make a fortune*.

In contrast,「恭禧」is not actually a word. At most,「恭禧發財」can be viewed as a pun which emphasises the *fortune* aspect of the phrase, as「禧」(*good fortune*) is a homophone with「喜」.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Hmm. Today I received a traditional daily tear-off Chinese calendar, and the metal part of it reads 「恭禧發財」. If that phrase is indeed wrong, why do I see it all over the place?  
> **username_4**: @Flux it's "wrong" in the same sense that puns are "wrong"; you can't find such words or phrases in dictionaries, and when you learn the language you won't get taught to write words like that.  

---

