Buzz
The most straightforward way to say “happy birthday” in Spanish is “feliz cumpleaños,” but there are many other ways to wish someone a happy birthday in this language. Below are some of the most useful phrases.
Steps
The Basic "Happy Birthday" Phrase
Say "¡Feliz cumpleaños!" This is the most common and basic way to say “happy birthday” in Spanish.
- Feliz is a Spanish adjective meaning "happy."
- Cumpleaños is a noun meaning "birthday." It is a compound word. "Cumple" comes from the Spanish verb "cumplir," which means "to complete" or "to achieve." The word "años" means "years" in its plural form. Note the tilde over the letter "n" in "años," which is crucial for maintaining the word's meaning.
- The pronunciation of this birthday greeting is feh-lees koom-pleh-ahn-yos.
Other Popular Birthday Greetings
Say "¡Felicidades!" This is a common greeting used for birthdays and other special occasions.
- Felicidades means "congratulations" or "best wishes." It is often used as an exclamation but originates from the Spanish noun felicitaciones, which means congratulations.
- While saying "congratulations" on someone's birthday might seem unusual in American culture, it is an accepted greeting in most Spanish-speaking countries. Essentially, you are congratulating someone for completing another year and starting a new one.
- The pronunciation of this phrase is feh-lee-see-dah-dehs.
Be specific with "¡Felicidades en tu día!" This is another greeting, but it is more specific to birthdays compared to the basic felicidades.
- Felicidades still means "congratulations" in this context.
- En means "on," tu translates to "your," and día means "day."
- Note that when addressing someone less familiar, you should use "su" - pronounced "soo," instead of "tu." The word "su" is a formal way of saying "your" in this context.
- The entire phrase translates to "Congratulations on your day!"
- The pronunciation of this greeting is feh-lee-see-dah-dehs en too dee-ah.
Wish a happy birthday with "¡Felicidades en el aniversario del día en que tu has nacido!" This is a less common phrase, but it is the most specific birthday greeting you can use.
- El aniversario in Spanish means "the anniversary."
- Del is a combination of "de" - meaning "of," and "el," the article "the" in English. "El" is attached to "día," meaning "day."
- The phrase "que tu has nacido" means "that you were born." Nacido is derived from the Spanish verb "nacer," meaning "to be born."
- Put together, this phrase means "Congratulations on the anniversary of the day you were born."
- You can pronounce this phrase as feh-lee-see-dah-dehs en el ah-nee-ver-sah-ree-oh del dee-ah en ke too ahs nah-see-doh.
Use the phrase "¡Que cumplas muchos más!" This birthday greeting is essentially like saying "many more to come" after wishing someone a happy birthday.
- Que means "that" or "may."
- Cumplas is conjugated from the Spanish verb "cumplir," meaning "to complete," "to achieve," or "to fulfill."
- Muchos is the plural form of "mucho" in Spanish, meaning "many."
- Más means "more."
- Literally, this phrase means "may you have many more of these days." Essentially, you are wishing the birthday person many more birthdays to come.
- The pronunciation of this phrase is keh koom-plahs moo-chohs mahs.
Say "¡Que tengas un feliz día!" Although this phrase isn't specifically for birthdays, it's a popular way to wish someone a happy day on their birthday.
- This phrase translates to "may you have a happy day." By using this, you're wishing someone happiness on their birthday, even without directly mentioning their birthday.
- Que means "may," feliz means "happy," and día means "day."
- Tengas is conjugated from the verb "tener," meaning "to have."
- The pronunciation of this phrase is keh ten-gahs oon feh-lees dee-ah.
Ask "¿Cuántos años tienes?" This question is commonly used to ask a child's age on their birthday.
- Literally, this question means "how many years do you have?"
- Cuántos is the interrogative pronoun for "how many."
- Años means "years" in its plural form. Note the tilde over the letter "n" in "años," which is crucial for maintaining the word's meaning.
- Tienes is conjugated from the Spanish verb "tener," meaning "to have."
- The pronunciation of this question is kwahn-tohs ahn-yos tee-eh-nehs.
