12 puzzles · all free to play and print
Chinese New Year Word Search
Free Chinese New Year word search puzzles to print or play online.
Play online or print
New Year Fun
8 words to find
- RED
- GOLD
- LANTERN
- DRAGON
- LION
- PARTY
- FOOD
- FAMILY
Drag from the first to the last letter of a word, or tap the first letter and then the last. The PDF has the puzzle on page 1 and the answer key on page 2.
All 12 Chinese New Year puzzles stay free here. Want them as one printable booklet?
12 printable Chinese New Year word search puzzles
12 puzzles in three levels. Easy puzzles are 10 by 10 grids with eight words across and down, medium puzzles are 13 by 13 with twelve words and diagonals, and hard puzzles are 16 by 16 with eighteen words in every direction, backwards too. Sub-themes include Zodiac Animals, Holiday Foods, Lantern Festival and Language and Greetings. Every puzzle has an answer key and prints on US Letter or A4. Every one of these 12 puzzles is free: play it online above or print its PDF, with the answer key on page 2. No account, no email.
Easy: across and down 4 puzzles
Medium: across, down and diagonal 4 puzzles
Hard: every direction, backwards too 4 puzzles
Optional · all in one file
Want all 12 in one booklet?
You do not need it: every Chinese New Year puzzle above is free to play and to download one by one. The booklet is only for printing them all at once, a 26-page PDF with a cover, a contents page and the answer keys at the back. Buying it also keeps this site free for everyone.
One-time payment, secure checkout with Stripe. US Letter and A4 PDFs, the download link arrives by email.
How to use these Chinese New Year word searches
Teachers can use the easy puzzles in a Lunar New Year classroom celebration, and librarians can set them out next to a display of zodiac books. Families can print a few for the reunion dinner table to keep children busy, and community centers and care homes can share the lantern and food grids at a festival event. Each PDF has the puzzle on page 1 and the answer key on page 2.
Make your own Chinese New Year word search
Add your own words, a name or a class list to these chinese new year words and pick a level. The preview is free; the printable PDF with its answer key is $1.99.
Good to know about Chinese New Year word search
Every Chinese New Year puzzle on this page is free to play online and free to print as a PDF with its answer key, one by one. Only the optional booklet, all 12 puzzles bundled into one print-ready file, costs money.
Zodiac Animals, New Year Foods and New Year Fun are easy 10 by 10 puzzles with eight short words that read across and down, which suits ages 6 to 8.
Greetings and names use pinyin without tone marks, such as GONG XI FA CAI and NI HAO, because word search grids only use plain letters A to Z.
Eleven of them. Zodiac Animals (easy) has the rat, tiger, rabbit, snake, horse, goat, monkey and rooster, and Zodiac Years and Traits (medium) adds the dragon, dog and pig. The ox is left out because every word needs at least three letters.
Easy puzzles (10 by 10, words across and down) work from about age 6. Medium puzzles (13 by 13, diagonals added) suit ages 8 to 11. Hard puzzles (16 by 16, every direction, backwards too) are for older kids and adults.
Page 2 of every PDF is the answer key, with each word marked where it hides. When you play online, the Show answers button marks them on the grid.
Every puzzle comes as a US Letter PDF (8.5 by 11 inches) and an A4 PDF (210 by 297 mm). Print at 100% or Actual size.
Every puzzle on this page plays in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer: drag or tap from the first to the last letter of a word. Nothing to install and no account.
Print as many copies as you need for your home, classroom, church group or care home. Please link to this page instead of uploading the files elsewhere.