How to say 'happy birthday' in 20+ languages: important phrases to know

Short Answer:  “Happy birthday” in Mandarin is “shēngrì kuàilè”; in Hindi, it is “janamdin ki
shubhkamnaye”; in Spanish, it is “feliz cumpleaños”; in Arabic, it is “eid milad saeed”; and finally, in
French, “happy birthday” is “joyeux anniversaire”. In almost every culture, knowing how to say happy
birthday and understanding the correct context of when to use it matters for building strong
relationships and lasting connections.

In certain languages, “happy birthday” has no direct translation at all, and the phrases that do exist
are rarely a word-for-word match. The Dutch say gefeliciteerd, which means “congratulated” and
works just as well for a new job; the Greek χρόνια πολλά means “many years” and is heard at name
days and at Christmas as often as at birthdays. Formality matters too, and in Japanese and Korean
the phrase you would use with a close friend is not the one you would use with a manager. The table
below covers 20 languages and gives the native script, a romanisation, an approximate pronunciation,
the key context for each phrase and the literal meanings.

Two conventions are worth knowing before you read the table. Romanised phrases are written in
lower case, because most of these languages do not capitalise them mid-sentence; German is the
exception, as it capitalises nouns wherever they appear. In the pronunciation column, capital letters
mark the syllable to stress, and Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, and Hindi are shown without them
because stress either works differently in those languages or is not fixed.

How important is the phrase "happy birthday"?

"Happy birthday" can be used for a variety of occasions, as shown in the table above. It's a useful phrase to have in your repertoire; you never know when you might be able to use it!

Frequently asked questions

What other phrases are important to learn?
That depends on what you’re planning to predominantly use the language for. For example, you may want to learn how to say “congratulations” in your language of choice. However, no matter the language you choose to learn, it is important to learn basic survival phrases such as “please”, “thank you”, and “help”. Memrise has a handy phrasebook for many languages, which could help build on these phrases.

What language should I learn first?
This is up to you! If you are planning a trip somewhere, learning the language spoken in your
destination of choice is always a great start. However, if you want to learn a language for general
travel and use, Spanish is a good place to start, as many regions around the globe speak it, and
Harvard currently recognises it as a growing language.

What is the best way to learn a new language?
Everyone is different, so you may learn differently from someone else, but a good tip is not to do too much at once. Learning can be exciting, and it can be tempting to try and fast-track your progress, but this will likely lead to burnout, which can cause you to learn at a slower pace. Finding the right course for you matters. Memrise has properly structured courses with real people speaking the language you are learning, which makes for a steady and natural experience.

How many words should I learn a day?
10-15 new words a day is a reasonable target for most beginners. Everyone learns at a different
speed, and the number matters less than the reviewing: you need time to come back to the words you learned last week, or they will not stick. If you are managing that comfortably after a month, add a few more. If your errors and reviews are piling up, learn fewer.