Everybody has a birthday, so this phrase always comes in handy — and every culture wraps it in its own little rituals. Here's how to wish someone many happy returns in ten languages.
- 🇫🇷 French — Joyeux anniversaire — zhwa-YUH ah-nee-vair-SAIR
- 🇪🇸 Spanish — Feliz cumpleaños — feh-LEES koom-pleh-AH-nyohs — In Mexico they sing Las Mañanitas instead of "Happy Birthday".
- 🇮🇹 Italian — Buon compleanno — bwohn kohm-pleh-AH-noh
- 🇩🇪 German — Alles Gute zum Geburtstag — AH-les GOO-tuh tsoom guh-BOORTS-tahk — Careful: congratulating someone before their birthday is considered bad luck.
- 🇵🇹 Portuguese — Feliz aniversário / Parabéns — feh-LEESH ah-nee-vair-SAH-ryoo / pah-rah-BENSH — Parabéns ("congratulations") is what everyone actually says.
- 🇳🇱 Dutch — Gefeliciteerd — khuh-fay-lee-see-TEERT — Fun fact: the Dutch congratulate the whole family, not just the birthday person — so expect "gefeliciteerd met je moeder!" ("congrats on your mother!").
- 🇷🇺 Russian — С днём рождения — s dnyom razh-DYE-ni-ya
- 🇰🇷 Korean — 생일 축하해요 — saeng-il chuk-ha-hae-yo — Koreans traditionally eat seaweed soup (miyeok-guk) on their birthday.
- 🇨🇳 Chinese (Mandarin) — 生日快乐 — shēngrì kuàilè (shung-rr kwai-luh) — Long noodles are eaten for a long life — don't cut them!
- 🇯🇵 Japanese — お誕生日おめでとう — o-tan-joh-bi o-me-de-toh — Add gozaimasu to be polite.
Learn the phrase and the custom that goes with it, and you'll never be lost for words at a celebration abroad. Meet a native speaker below and find out how they blow out the candles where they're from.
