also: せんしゅうばんざい
may you live a thousand years
A celebratory yojijukugo expressing wishes for long life and prosperity, often used in formal or poetic contexts such as New Year's greetings or congratulatory messages.
As a New Year's greeting, I say, 'May you live a thousand years.'
In celebration of your longevity, I offer the words '千秋万歳.'
万歳 is a common exclamation meaning 'hurrah' or 'long live,' while 千秋万歳 is a more elaborate, formal expression specifically wishing long life.
千寿万寿 is a similar yojijukugo also wishing long life, but 千秋万歳 emphasizes the passage of many years (秋 and 歳) rather than longevity itself (寿).
Standard kanji form; the reading せんしゅうばんざい is more common than せんしゅうばんぜい.
Alternate reading; less common and may be considered archaic or literary.
A yojijukugo composed of 千 (thousand), 秋 (autumn, here metaphorically 'year'), 万 (ten thousand), and 歳 (year), literally 'a thousand autumns and ten thousand years,' expressing a wish for extremely long life. The phrase originates from classical Chinese celebratory expressions.