千せん秋しゅう万ばん歳ぜい

also: せんしゅうばんざい

Meanings

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.

新しん年ねんのご挨あい拶さつとして「千せん秋しゅう万ばん歳ぜい」と申もうし上あげます。
As a New Year's greeting, I say, 'May you live a thousand years.'
ご長ちょう寿じゅを祝しゅくして、千せん秋しゅう万ばん歳ぜいの言こと葉ばを贈おくります。
In celebration of your longevity, I offer the words '千秋万歳.'

Kanji

千thousand
秋autumn
万ten thousand, 10,000
歳year-end, age, occasion

Related words

万ばん歳ざい
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.
千せん寿じゅ万ばん寿じゅ
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).

Written forms

千秋万歳
- せんしゅうばんざい
  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.
- せんしゅうばんぜい
  Alternate reading; less common and may be considered archaic or literary.
せんしゅうばんざい

Etymology

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.