Do you have any friends or family whose first language is not English? Maybe you wish you could impress them by speaking in their native tongue? Whatever the reason, you’re in the right place – we have the perfect blog for you all about wishing someone a happy birthday in different languages.
To top off the celebrations, our amazing bunch of thortful card creators have even created some birthday cards which say happy birthday in other languages and are perfect for pairing with your newfound knowledge.
How to wish someone happy birthday in other 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 10+ 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
- Norwegian — Gratulerer med dagen
- Turkish — Doğum günün kutlu olsun
- Polish – Sto lat
- Danish — Tillykke med fødselsdagen
- Russian — С Днём рождения
- 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 lyrics for the happy birthday song in French that you can give a go:
Joyeux anniversaire
Joyeux anniversaire
Joyeux anniversaire (insert name)
Joyeux anniversaire à toi
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 also need to swap around the word order making it ‘Cumpleaños feliz’, so make sure to bear that in mind if you are planning on serenading someone on their birthday 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 common 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 English, in Italian you would say ‘festeggiato’ for males and ‘festeggiata’ for females.
Dutch
If it’s the birthday of someone you respect or would speak more formally to, such as an employer or someone older, you might want to say ‘Nog vele jaren in goede gezondheid’. This 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’. Obviously, this is a whole lot easier to pronounce or write down than ‘Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin’. It’s also worth mentioning they don’t have to actually be turning 100 years old for you to say this, thank goodness!
How to say happy birthday in sign language
When it comes to saying happy birthday in sign language, rather than just explaining, it might be better to see what you need to do visually. Luckily, I Like Signing Songs has a video on this exact thing that you might find helpful.
Now you know exactly how to wish someone a happy birthday in other languages along with some other extra things to bear in mind that will really impress them. Just make sure to practice and 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! The thortful blog has all sorts for you to peruse including a whole array of how-to guides, gift ideas, and lifestyle content.
