What is the Chinese term for the New Year's couplets?

The Chinese term for New Year’s couplets is chunlian.

Written 春聯 in traditional characters and 春联 in simplified Chinese, chunlian literally means “Spring Festival couplets.” They are paired strips of red paper bearing auspicious lines, traditionally written vertically in black or gold calligraphy and placed on opposite sides of a doorway. A shorter horizontal scroll may be hung above them.

Chunlian belong to the broader tradition of Chinese couplets, or duilian, which follows the paired-line structure of classical Chinese poetry. The two lines are expected to balance one another in length, grammar, imagery, and often tone. Typical messages wish for prosperity, happiness, longevity, or family harmony.

They are sometimes confused with nianhua, festive New Year pictures, or hongbao, red envelopes containing money. Fu refers to the character 福, meaning good fortune, often displayed upside down as a visual pun because “upside down” sounds like “arrived” in Mandarin. Chunlian specifically means the paired doorway verses.