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This is a four character phrase for which I have found no accurate translation online. I hear it all the time around CNY.

万事大吉

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3 Answers

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This is an expression wishing the listener good luck. Any equivalent English expression will do: "Best of luck in all your endeavors", "May your every endeavor prosper", etc. The use of the character 万 (wàn, meaning "10,000"), here just means "many" or "all".

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In this kind of expressions, the English equivalent word of 万 is 'million' which means 'a great/huge number of'. you will find words or phrases like: 万岁, 千秋万载, 千千万万... – Fivesheep Jan 20 '12 at 20:33
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Usually in wishes, though, you'd say "all" or "every" in English. Even using the large number "million" would be sort of limiting your good wishes! (Also, it's worth being clear to learners that wan4 does NOT mean "million" literally!) – Terry Waltz Jan 21 '12 at 3:08
万 can be more accurately translated as "myriad", which also means 10,000 but more often is used to refer to a large multitude in English; this usage is coincidentally very similar to that of Chinese 万. – Claw Jan 8 at 8:00
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If you get PeraPeraKun plugin (avail for Chrome and FireFox) it gives you the meanings of all of these idioms on hover.

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  1. gas and gaiters
  2. everything is just fine

A idiomatic usage to show you hope everyone will be fine or send a congratulation messages to others when Lunar New Year come. It often comes like "祝各位新的一年心想事成，万事大吉"

It's congratulatory speech.

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What the heck does gas and gaiters mean?!? – Stumpy Joe Pete Dec 13 '12 at 1:56
@StumpyJoePete 估计是古代英语，这应该是所谓的“雅” – frame99 Dec 13 '12 at 8:33
@frame99 I looked it up. It's referencing a Dickens novel. Anyhow, not a phrase I've ever heard anyone use. – Stumpy Joe Pete Dec 13 '12 at 16:57

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