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Birthday Celebrations Around the World
Cultures all over the world have unique and exciting birthday celebrations to go with their "happy birthday" messages. These are a few interesting examples.
Flour-Throwing in Brazil and Jamaica
In Brazil and Jamaica, people sometimes throw flour on the birthday boy or girl. The idea is that the dusting of flour gives that person an older, "antique" look.
Gift Opening in Italy
Instead of setting gifts aside to open at a later time, Italians open presents immediately. It is considered rude to wait.
Some Sentiments Are Universally Important
Being able to express your love or say thank you in many languages will help you show people of other cultures how much you care. The same is true for “happy birthday.” It doesn’t matter what language you speak; birthdays are always important.
So that special day is coming up for that Spanish speaker you love, and you’re not quite sure of the best way to wish them a special day? Or is it that you will need to navigate having your birthday in a Spanish-speaking environment for the first time this year? Never fear, Clozemaster is here to help!
Here you will find all the ways to say “happy brthday” in Spanish, what else you can say to make someone’s birthday extra special, and what to expect from native Spanish speakers when it’s your birthday!
Ways to say “happy birthday” in Spanish
• Feliz cumpleaños – this is the literal translation of “happy birthday” in Spanish.
• Feliz cumple – cumple is a more colloquial way of saying birthday and is widely used in the Spanish-speaking world. So if you’re aiming to say “happy birthday” in Spanish in a more informal and friendly way, feel free to use this instead.
• Felicidades – felicidades literally means congratulations, but is widely used as a substitute for “feliz cumpleaños”. It is a more emphatic and emotional way to say “happy birthday” in Spanish.
• Felicitaciones – this can be translated as greetings, but also congratulations, like felicidades. However, this is slightly more nuanced and formal, so it is less commonly heard than the other three greetings.
The most common way to wish someone a happy birthday in Spanish is felicidades
How to pronounce “happy birthday” in Spanish
Click the play button next to each phrase to hear its pronunciation:
The word cumpleaños
The world cumpleaños is a compound word in Spanish, just as is the English word birthday. However, when we break them down in the most literal sense, the two words are not the same.
The Spanish word cumpleaños is made up of the words cumple and años. Cumple is a form of the verb cumplir, for which the closest English translation is to turn as in, “I’m turning 24 this year”. Años means years. So literally, we have “turns years”. Doesn’t sound great in English, but in Spanish it makes perfect sense.
So, cumpleaños has a very commonly used verb form: cumplir años. Cumplir can be treated as a regular -ir verb, and conjugated as necessary. This is a very diverse expression and can be translated in a variety of ways.
It can mean “to have a birthday”
Cumplir años can be translated as “to have a birthday”. In these circumstances, it is used in the same way as its English counterpart. For example:
• El niño cumplió años rodeado de sus mejores amigos. (The boy had his birthday surrounded by his best friends.)
• Mi madre siempre se siente ansiosa al cumplir años. (My mother always feels anxious when she has a birthday.)
It can replace the noun cumpleaños
Cumplir años is also often used where we would use the English “birthday” as a noun. Note that the noun cumpleaños could also be used in these sentences if you wanted a more literal translation of the English, but using cumplir años is just as common.
• Cumplo años el 30 de abril. (My birthday is the 30th of April.)
• Mi papá cumple años el sábado. (My Dad’s birthday is on Saturday.)
It can mean “to turn” an age
You can also add the age in between cumplir and años to express the meaning “turn X age”. In more informal Spanish, you can drop the años.
• Ella va a cumplir 30 años mañana. (She will turn 30 tomorrow.)
• Cuando cumpla 18, por fin voy a poder salir con mis amigos. (When I turn 18, I’ll finally be able to go out with my friends.)
Well wishes
Spanish speakers are generally very fond of expressing as much love and happiness with their language as they can. So along with saying “happy birthday”, it is very, very common in Spanish to add some well wishes or special messages to show how much you really do wish the person to have a happy birthday.
Important grammar note
You might notice that absolutely all of the well wishes below are formed using the present subjunctive tense. Check out this guide to Spanish subjunctive from Spanish Obsessed if you’d like to learn more about what this means. Essentially, these expressions show one of the main uses of the subjunctive, which is to express desire (deseo) or hope (esperanza).
As you can see, the general formula for these birthday expressions is que (that) + subjunctive verb + predicate.
As this structure isn’t used in English, these expressions might be a bit confusing to you. A simple way to think of them is as if this que is equivalent of the English “may”, which, in this context, it is. The idea is that giver of the well-wishing is unspecified. If it's still confusing to you, you could also add espero (I hope) before the que which would give essentially the same meaning, but then there is more emphasis on the giver of the message.
In any case, for those phrases below which might be a bit harder to decipher, I have added a literal translation under the meaning.
All of the following are very commonly heard on someone’s birthday in the Spanish-speaking world:
• “¡Que lo pases bien!”
Meaning: Have a good birthday!
Literal translation: May you spend it well!
• “¡Que tengas un dia especial!”
Meaning: Have a special day!
• “¡Que disfrutes tu dia!”
Meaning: Enjoy your day!
• “¡Que cumplas todos tus sueños!”
Meaning: Hope your dreams come true!
Literal translation: May you realise your dreams!
• “¡Que cumplas muchos más!”
Meaning: Hope you have many more birthdays!
Literal translation: May you turn many more!
If those expressions are not enough…
Maybe you’ve got someone extra special in mind and you really want to send them a beautiful, heartfelt birthday message in Spanish. But you don’t trust your ability to sound sweet and articulate in Spanish.
Here's a cool website where you can find a bunch of different birthday messages. You can be sure the message will be appropriate because they are categorized according to your relationship to the person!
Spanish questions you might be asked around your birthday time
Is it you who will be the birthday boy or girl and you want to know how to deal in the Spanish-speaking world around this time of year?
In response to “happy birthday” in Spanish, a simple “gracias” will usually suffice. You might be asked some other questions around the time of your birthday, so here’s how to deal with those conversations.
• ¿Cuántos años vas a cumplir?
• Meaning: How old are you turning?
Response: Voy a cumplir X años. (I’m turning X.)
OR: No me gusta decir mi edad. (I don’t like to say my age.)
• ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
• Meaning: When is your birthday?
Response: Mi cumpleaños es el X(number) de Y(month) (My birthday is the X of Y.)
• ¿Qué quieres para tu cumpleaños?
• Meaning: What do you want for your birthday?
Response: No necesito nada, pero muchísimas gracias. (I don’t need anything, but thank you so much.)
OR: Me puedes regalar… (Can you get me…)
• ¿Qué vas a hacer para/en tu cumpleaños?
• Meaning: What are you going to do for/on your birthday?
Response: Voy a… (I’m going to…)
OR: No tengo planes. (I don’t have plans.)
Birthday traditions in Spanish
When it comes to birthdays, the culture in Spanish-speaking countries is quite similar to English-speaking countries. By this I mean parties, cake and presents are all commonplace. In saying that, there are some regional traditions which vary country by country.
In Latin American countries, girls have a big birthday party and celebration when they turn 15 – it is sort of traditionally regarded as becoming a woman. This party is known as the quinciañera. For guys, the bigger celebration happens at the age of 18.
“Happy birthday” song in Spanish
The Spanish-speaking world is so diverse and vibrant that there is no one universal “happy birthday” song in Spanish. Instead, most countries have different variations of the song. At least they all seem to follow the same “happy birthday” tune we know and love – so if in doubt, you can just hum along!
In saying that (just to make things even more complicated), a lot of countries have their own traditional song as well as the more well-known tune.
Quick note: Cumpleaños feliz or feliz cumpleaños?
Some people get confused and think the correct way to say “happy birthday” in Spanish is cumpleaños feliz because that’s how it’s sung in the song. In fact, cumpleaños feliz is just a poetic version of the standard feliz cumpleaños. It’s probably been worded the other way around in the song because it fits better into the tune.
So in short, you wouldn’t just say cumpleaños feliz to a friend casually.
Below is the Spanish “happy birthday” song I am familiar with from spending time with Colombians. Lyrics for most Spanish-speaking nations’ versions for the song can be found here.
But for now, read the lyrics of this version and see if you can understand the meaning. The translation is provided to the right.
Cumpleaños feliz
te deseamos a ti
cumpleaños (name)
cumpleaños felizQue los cumpla feliz
Que los vuelva a cumplir
Que los siga cumpliendo
Hasta el año 3 mil.
Happy birthday
We wish you
Birthday (name)
Happy birthdayMay you have a happy birthday
May you have more birthdays
May you keep having birthdays
Until the year 3000.
Learn Spanish in context with Clozemaster
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Sample Wishes
Expressing Birthday Wishes
Talking about Birthdays
Singing the Happy Birthday Song
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The most direct way to say “happy birthday” in Italian is “buon compleanno,” but there are actually several expressions commonly used to express birthday wishes. You may also wish to familiarize yourself with other phrases related to birthdays and the Italian version of the birthday song.
Sample Wishes
Sample Italian Birthday Wishes
Part of 3:
Expressing Birthday WishesExclaim "buon compleanno!" X Research source This is the most direct way to say "happy birthday" in Italian, and the expression literally translates into "good birthday."
• Buon means "good" and compleanno means "birthday.
• Pronounce the entire expression as: bwon kom-pleh-ahn-noh
Wish "tanti auguri!" X Research source This expression does not translate into "happy birthday." In fact, the Italian word for "birthday" (compleanno) does not appear in this phrase at all. Nonetheless, the expression means "best wishes" and is a popular Italian way to express goodwill to someone on his or her birthday.
• Tanti means "many" and auguri is the plural form of the noun augurio, meaning "wish." The entire phrase literally translates into "many wishes."
• Pronounce this expression as: tahn-tee ahw-goo-ree
Try "cento di questi giorni!" This is another Italian phrase that you can use to express birthday wishes even though it does not explicitly mention birthdays. Essentially, you're wishing the birthday boy or girl 100 years of birthdays, or a long life.
• Cento means "one hundred," di means "of," questi means "these," and giorni means "days." Translated directly, the expression says, "One hundred of these days!"
• Pronounce this phrase as: chehn-toh dee kweh-stee jeohr-nee
• Note that you can also shorten this to "cent’anni" or "a hundred years!"
• Pronounce this version of the expression as: chehn-tah-nee
Part of 3:
Talking about BirthdaysDirect your wishes to the "festeggiato." X Research source Using this Italian term would be the equivalent of calling someone the "birthday boy" or "birthday girl." Translated directly, though, it means "the celebrated."
• The term festeggiato is derived from the verb for "celebrate," festeggiare.
• Pronounce this term as: feh-steh-jia-toh
Ask about the person's age with "quanti anni hai?" This is an indirect way of asking someone how old he or she is, but the question doesn't translate directly into “how old are you?” Instead, it uses gentler phrasing, asking the birthday boy or girl, “how many years do you have?”
• Quanti means "how many," anni means "years," and hai means "have" in the second person singular form.
• Pronounce this question as: kwahn-tee ahn-nee ai
Describe an advanced age with "essere avanti con gli anni." This phrase essentially means that someone is "getting on in years," and you would use it in a complimentary way to imply that someone is growing in both age and wisdom.
• Essere means "to be," avanti means "forward," con means "with," gli means "the," and anni means "years." When strung together, the expression says, "to be going forward with the years," or less directly, "to be advancing in years."
• Pronounce this expression as: ehs-ser-eh ah-vahn-tee kohn ghlee ahn-nee
Announce your own birthday with "oggi compio gli anni." Indirectly, you're saying "today is my birthday," but a more direct translation would be "today I fulfill my years."
• Oggi means "today," compio is the first-person singular form of the verb "to fulfill" (compiere), gli means "the," and anni means "years."
• Pronounce this sentence as: oh-jee kohm-pioh ghlee ahn-nee
Declare your own age using the "sto per compiere ___ anni" form. You would generally use this phrasing to say that you're about to turn into a certain age (filling the blank), but it's more common among young people than older generations. More directly, it states, "I am to fulfill (number) years."
• To state your age, simply fill in the blank with your new age. For instance, if you're turning eighteen, you'd say "Sto per compiere diciotto anni."
• Sto means "I am," per means "to," compiere means "fulfill" or "complete," and anni means "years."
• Pronounce this expression as: stoh pehr kohm-pier-eh ___ ahn-nee
Part of 3:
Singing the Happy Birthday SongUse the familiar tune. Even though the words differ, you should still sing the Italian "happy birthday" song to the tune of the "happy birthday" song you likely learned in English.
Sing "tanti auguri" for several lines. The most commonly used lyrics for the "happy birthday" song don't actually mention birthdays at all. Instead, you're using the indirect "best wishes" expression in place of "happy birthday" in the standard tune.
• You'll follow the expression with "a te" (ah tee), meaning "to you."
• The song lyrics are: X Research source
• Tanti auguri a te,
• Tanti auguri a te,
• Tanti auguri a (NAME),
• Tanti auguri a te!
Consider switching to "buon compleanno" instead. While it isn't used quite as often, you can technically use the direct "happy birthday" expression in place of the English expression in the standard song.
• As with the "tanti auguri" version, you'll need to follow the phrase with "a te" (ah tee), meaning "to you."
• In this version, the lyrics are: X Research source
• Buon compleanno a te,
• Buon compleanno a te,
• Buon compleanno a (NAME),
• Buon compleanno a te!
Community Q&A
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How do I say "mother" in Italian?
You say "madre".
How do I say "Have a fabulous birthday" in Italian?
Favoloso compleanno.
How do I say 'I love you' in Italian?
Ti amo.
How do I say 'With love from" in Italian?
"With love from" in Italian is "Con amore da."
How do I say "very little" in Italian?
"Molto poco."
How do I say "and many more" in Italian?
Say "e molti altri".
How do I say "Happy Birthday" in French?
"Bonne Fete" is how you say "Happy Birthday" in Canadian French. It is pronounced "Bone-a Feta."
What does Bella mean in Italian?
It is the feminine form of "beautiful". Typically you would say "Bella" to a female and "Bello" to a male.
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