生意兴隆

Pronunciation: shēng yì xīng lóng Literal meaning: Business flourishing and prosperous

Origin & Usage

The standard wish for a shop or company. 生意 means business or trade, and 兴隆 means flourishing and prosperous. There is no single classical origin; the phrase is everyday merchant language that shows up in Ming and Qing fiction. In the Qing novel 《镜花缘》 (chapter 13), a character tells a fisherman that if he releases a captured girl, 以后包你网不虚发，生意兴隆, 'from now on your nets will never come up empty and your business will thrive.' By the early twentieth century it was fixed in the shop couplet 生意兴隆通四海，财源茂盛达三江, which Chen Duxiu (陈独秀) mocked in 1917 as posted on every small tofu shop. Say it to shop owners at New Year or at a grand opening, often alongside 财源广进.

Examples

English: "When the new bakery opened on the first day of the lunar year, the neighbours sent flowers wishing it a busy, thriving business."

Chinese: 新店开张，祝老板生意兴隆，客似云来！