Do you have any friends or family whose first language is not English? Have you ever wished you could impress them by speaking in their native tongue? Well, we have the perfect blog for you all about wishing someone a happy birthday in different languages.
Plus, to top off the celebrations our amazing bunch of thortful card creators have even created some birthday cards which have different ways to say happy birthday on them too such as this Feliz Cumpleaños card. And if you need inspiration for longer messages to write in your birthday card, we can also help you out with that. Check out our blog on what to write in a birthday card (although just a heads up that the message ideas are all in English)!
How to wish someone happy birthday in different languages
If you’re interested in making someone’s birthday extra special by sending them birthday wishes in their own mother tongue, here’s how to say happy birthday in 15 different languages from around the world.
- French — Bon anniversaire!
- German — Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!
- Spanish — ¡Feliz cumpleaños!
- Italian — Buon compleanno!
- Portuguese — Feliz aniversário!
- Swedish — Grattis på födelsedagen!
- Dutch — Gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag!
- Norwegian — Gratulerer med dagen!
- Turkish — Doğum günün kutlu olsun!
- Polish — Wszystkiego najlepszego!
- Danish — Tillykke med fødselsdagen!
- Indonesian — Selamat ulang tahun!
- Russian — С Днём рождения! (s dnem rozhdeniya!)
- Japanese (casual) – お誕生日おめでとう (otanjoubi omedetou)
- Chinese – 生日快乐 (Shēngrì kuàilè)
Other ways to say happy birthday across Europe
Now you know the basic phrases, here are some different ways of saying happy birthday in other languages all across Europe. These are perfect if you’re wanting to really dazzle them and show that you really know your stuff!
French
Perhaps you’re really wanting to take things to the next level and sing happy birthday in French. If so, here’s the simple version of the happy birthday song:
Joyeux anniversaire
Joyeux anniversaire
Joyeux anniversaire (insert name)
Joyeux anniversaire à toi
Or if you want to want to add an extra note to your birthday wishes you could say ‘Passe(z) une merveilleuse journée’ meaning ‘Have a wonderful day.’
German
In Germany, it’s actually seen as bad luck to mention someone’s birthday before the actual date. However, if you’re slightly late that’s fine and you can wish them a happy belated birthday with ‘Nachträglich alles Gute zum Geburtstag.’
Spanish
To really impress your Spanish-speaking friend, you can shorten the phrase to ‘feliz cumple’ which is a more colloquial and informal way to wish them a happy birthday. Interestingly, when singing happy birthday in Spanish, you do swap around the word order making it ‘Cumpleaños feliz’, so make sure to bear that in mind if you are planning on serenading someone as well.
Italian
Another common way to wish someone happy birthday in Italian is by saying either ‘auguri’ or ‘tanti auguri’. While it doesn’t literally translate as happy birthday, it is a more general way of sending your best wishes to someone. Also, while we might refer to the person celebrating as the birthday boy or birthday girl, in Italian you would say ‘festeggiato’ for males and ‘festeggiata’ for females.
Dutch
If it’s the birthday of an employer, someone older, or you would just prefer to keep things a bit more formal then you could say ‘Nog vele jaren in goede gezondheid’ which means ‘Many happy returns and good health’.
Polish
For any Polish friends on their birthday, you can say ‘Sto lat’ which is a more informal way to say happy birthday and literally means ‘100 years’. It’s also a whole lot easier to pronounce than ‘Wszystkiego najlepszego’. (And it’s worth mentioning they don’t have to actually be turning 100 years old for you to say this, thank goodness!)
Now you know exactly how to wish someone a happy birthday in other languages along with some other extra options to really impress (just be sure to get the pronunciation right if you’re planning to say it out loud)! If you enjoyed this and are interested in continuing your language learning journey then you should definitely head over to our other blog on how to say I love you in different languages. But wait, there’s more! Our blog has all sorts for you to peruse including a whole array of how-to guides, gift ideas, and lifestyle content.
