Happy New Year in Persian: Sâl-e No Mobârak, Wishes and Replies

Happy New Year in Persian is سال نو مبارک (sâl-e no mobârak), literally “the new year is blessed.” Iranians say it mainly at Nowruz, the Persian New Year on the first day of spring (around March 20 or 21), together with عید شما مبارک (eyd-e shomâ mobârak). For January 1, say سال نو میلادی مبارک (sâl-e no-ye milâdi mobârak).

Below you will find every common way to say it, from a quick text to a friend to a polite card for an elder, how to reply, which phrase fits which new year, and the Nowruz words you will hear around these greetings. Each section has a short practice block, and there is a quiz near the end.

The main ways to say Happy New Year in Persian

These are the greetings you will hear most. The first three are what nearly every Iranian says at Nowruz.

Hear the key greetings, then say each one back:

سال نو مبارک (sâl-e no mobârak) Listen
عید شما مبارک (eyd-e shomâ mobârak) Listen
عیدت مبارک (eydet mobârak) Listen
نوروز مبارک (nowruz mobârak) Listen
سال نو میلادی مبارک (sâl-e no-ye milâdi mobârak) Listen

What each word means

• سال (sâl) means “year.” The â is long and open, as in “father.”
• نو (no) means “new.” It sounds like “no” in English, with a slightly rounder o. You will also see it spelled “now” in English texts.
• The little -e between them is the ezâfe, which links a noun to its adjective: sâl-e no is “new year,” word for word “year-of new.” It is pronounced but not written.
• مبارک (mobârak) comes from Arabic and means “blessed” or “happy.” Persian uses it for almost every celebration: تولدت مبارک (tavallodet mobârak) is “happy birthday.” Stress the last syllable: mo-bâ-RAK.
• عید (eyd) means “holiday” or “feast.” Around March, Iranians use it on its own to mean Nowruz, so عید شما مبارک is understood as “Happy New Year.”
• میلادی (milâdi) means “Gregorian,” the calendar counted from the birth of Christ. It tells people you mean January 1, not Nowruz.

Persian puts mobârak at the end, where English puts “happy” at the start. Once you notice that pattern, you can build greetings for other occasions yourself; our guide to congratulations in Persian shows more of them.

Which new year? Nowruz in March vs. January 1

This is the part most phrase lists skip, and it matters. Iran and Afghanistan use a solar calendar whose year begins at the spring equinox. That day, نوروز (nowruz, “new day,” pronounced noruz in Tehran), is the real New Year for Iranians, and it is the biggest holiday of the year. Read more in our guide to Nowruz, the Persian New Year and in the Persian calendar guide.

In practice:

• If you say plain سال نو مبارک in March, everyone knows you mean Nowruz.
• If you say it on January 1, most Iranians, especially those living outside Iran, will understand and happily say it back. Adding میلادی (milâdi) simply makes it clear.
• Do not use عید شما مبارک for January 1. In Persian, “eyd” in a new year greeting points to Nowruz.
• For an Iranian Christian friend at the end of December, کریسمس و سال نو مبارک (kerismas va sâl-e no mobârak), “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,” works well.

Persian years have their own numbers. The year that starts at Nowruz in March 2027 is 1406 in the Iranian calendar. Cards often say نوروز ۱۴۰۶ مبارک (nowruz-e hezâr-o chahârsad-o shesh mobârak), “Happy Nowruz 1406,” and in January you may see سال ۲۰۲۷ مبارک (sâl-e do hezâr-o bist-o haft mobârak). If the Persian digits look unfamiliar, see Persian numbers 1 to 1,000.

Spoken vs. formal: the same greeting at three levels

Persian changes with formality, and new year greetings follow the same rules as everything else. Spoken Persian shortens endings (-etân becomes -etun) and uses ro for râ. Our page on spoken vs. written Persian explains the full pattern.

تبریک گفتن (tabrik goftan) means “to congratulate.” Persian uses it where English would simply say “Happy New Year to you.”

سال نو رو تبریک می‌گم (sâl-e no ro tabrik migam) Listen

New year wishes: what to say after “Happy New Year”

Iranians rarely stop at one line. After the greeting comes a wish for health, happiness or success. These are the ones you will hear and read most:

سال خوبی داشته باشید (sâl-e khubi dâshte bâshid) Listen
صد سال به این سال‌ها (sad sâl be in sâl-hâ) Listen
هر روزتان نوروز، نوروزتان پیروز (har ruzetân nowruz, nowruzetân piruz) Listen

A few notes. ایشالا (ishâllâ) is the spoken form of ان شاء الله, “God willing,” used here like English “hopefully.” The line هر روزتان نوروز، نوروزتان پیروز plays on the rhyme of nowruz and piruz (“victorious”), which is why it is on so many cards. And صد سال به این سال‌ها is said with a smile, often by older relatives.

How to reply to Happy New Year in Persian

When someone wishes you a happy new year, return the greeting with هم (ham), “also.” It is the polite reflex, much like replying to hello in Persian.

عید شما هم مبارک (eyd-e shomâ ham mobârak) Listen همچنین (hamchenin) Listen

Notice that sâl-e no becomes sâl-e no-ye shomâ: after a word ending in a vowel, the ezâfe is -ye.

Happy New Year messages for cards and texts

Copy these as they are, or mix a greeting with a wish. Each one is labeled with its tone.

1. Short text to a friend (spoken): عیدت مبارک رفیق. ایشالا امسال سال تو باشه. (eydet mobârak rafigh. ishâllâ emsâl sâl-e to bâshe.) “Happy New Year, my friend. Hope this year is your year.”
2. To family (warm): سال نو مبارک. امیدوارم سال جدید پر از شادی و سلامتی باشه. (sâl-e no mobârak. omidvâram sâl-e jadid por az shâdi va salâmati bâshe.) “Happy New Year. I hope the new year is full of joy and health.”
3. Classic Nowruz card: هر روزتان نوروز، نوروزتان پیروز. (har ruzetân nowruz, nowruzetân piruz.) “May every day be Nowruz for you, and your Nowruz be victorious.”
4. To a teacher, boss or client (formal): فرا رسیدن نوروز را به شما و خانواده‌ی محترمتان تبریک می‌گویم. (farâ residan-e nowruz râ be shomâ va khânevâde-ye mohtarametân tabrik miguyam.) “I congratulate you and your respected family on the arrival of Nowruz.”
5. From a company or team: آغاز بهار و سال نو را به شما تبریک می‌گوییم. (âghâz-e bahâr va sâl-e no râ be shomâ tabrik miguyim.) “We wish you a happy spring and New Year.”
6. For January 1: سال نو میلادی مبارک. امیدوارم سال خوبی داشته باشی. (sâl-e no-ye milâdi mobârak. omidvâram sâl-e khubi dâshte bâshi.) “Happy New Year. I hope you have a good year.”

Texting in Latin letters? Iranians often write these in Finglish: “sale no mobarak,” “eydet mobarak.” It is fine for casual messages, but a card in Persian script means more.

Nowruz words you will hear with these greetings

If you spend Nowruz with Iranians, these words come up again and again. Knowing them makes the greetings feel natural.

عیدی (eydi) Listen هفت‌سین (haft-sin) Listen تحویل سال (tahvil-e sâl) Listen

During عید دیدنی visits, you greet the host at the door with عید شما مبارک, and the host often answers عید شما هم مبارک، خوش اومدید (eyd-e shomâ ham mobârak, khosh umadid), “Happy New Year to you too, welcome.” Expect tea, sweets and plenty of polite back-and-forth; our guide to taarof explains it. To practice reading about the holiday in Persian, try Persian Reading Lesson 8: Nowruz.

Happy New Year in Dari and Tajik

Afghans also celebrate Nowruz, and the greeting is written the same way: نوروز مبارک, pronounced nawroz mobârak in Dari. Tajiks say Navruz muborak. The Dari greetings page compares more phrases with Iranian Persian.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Saying “khoshhâl sâl-e no.” Translating “happy” word for word does not work. Persian says the year is مبارک, at the end of the phrase.
• Forgetting the ezâfe. It is sâl-e no, not “sâl no.” The -e is short, but Iranians notice when it is missing.
• Using eydet with your boss. عیدت مبارک is for friends and family. With elders and at work, say عید شما مبارک or عیدتون مبارک.
• Expecting a big January 1 in Iran. Iranians in Iran save the celebration for March. A January greeting is kind, but the warmest wishes belong to Nowruz.

Want more phrases for holidays, visits and everyday conversation? Keep a reference like 1000 Most Common Farsi Phrases close by; it is organized by situation, holidays included.

Common questions

How do you say Happy New Year in Farsi?

Say سال نو مبارک (sâl-e no mobârak). Farsi and Persian are the same language, so the phrase is identical. At Nowruz you will also hear عید شما مبارک (eyd-e shomâ mobârak) and, between friends, عیدت مبارک (eydet mobârak).

Do Iranians celebrate New Year on January 1?

Not as their main New Year. January 1 is an ordinary working day in Iran. The Iranian New Year is Nowruz, around March 20 or 21. Iranian Christians and many Iranians abroad do mark January 1, and سال نو میلادی مبارک is the greeting for it.

What does “Nowruz Mobarak” mean?

نوروز مبارک means “Happy Nowruz.” نوروز (nowruz) is “new day,” the name of the Persian New Year, and مبارک (mobârak) means “blessed” or “happy.”

What does “Eid-e shoma mobarak” mean?

It means “may your holiday be blessed.” عید (eyd) is “holiday,” and around March Iranians use it to mean Nowruz, so عید شما مبارک works as a polite “Happy New Year.” The reply is عید شما هم مبارک.

How do you reply to “sale no mobarak”?

Say سال نو شما هم مبارک (sâl-e no-ye shomâ ham mobârak), عید شما هم مبارک, or simply همچنین (hamchenin), “same to you.” Add سال خوبی داشته باشید to sound especially warm.

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