Hebrew for Rosh Hashanah 101

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, which usually happens in mid September. Technically Jews have a bunch of new years, including a special one just for trees! But Rosh Hashanah is the new year of the Jewish calendar. It's also one of the High Holidays, the other one being Yom Kippur.

The word Rosh Hashanah literally means "head of the year." רֹאשׁ הַשָׁנָה (audio)

Let's practice reading Hebrew and learn some stuff! Like how to wish people a happy Jewish New Year in Hebrew, and some of the important words for the holiday.

How do you say happy New Year in Hebrew?

You can always just say "happy new year!" in English, but even better:

1. The most common way means "happy year": שָׁנָה טוֹבָה (audio) or Shanah tovah.
2. This greeting means a good, sweet new year: שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה (audio) or Shanah tovah.
3. Another common holiday greeting is chag sameach: חַג שַׂמֵחַ (audio)