![5 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Spanish Like a Native Speaker [Plus Birthday Vocabulary] | FluentU Spanish blog (1)](https://i0.wp.com/www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/happy-birthday-in-spanish-e1678112101632.jpg "5 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Spanish Like a Native Speaker [Plus Birthday Vocabulary] | FluentU Spanish blog (1)")
VonFrancisco J. Vare Last update:
Celebrating birthdays is just as important in Spanish culture as it is in English!
Knowing how to say “happy birthday” and send best wishes is an essential part of speaking the language.
In this post we will teach youhow to say "happy birthday" in spanishplus some extra birthday phrases and vocabulary to congratulate them on their big day!
Contents
- "Happy Birthday (in Spanish
- 1. Happy Birthday! -Happy Birthday!
- 2. Happy Birthday! -Happy Birthday!
- 3. Congratulations! -Happy Birthday!
- 4. Congratulations! -Happy Birthday!
- 5. Happy belated birthday! — Happy belated birthday!
- birthday wishes in spanish
- Basic Spanish vocabulary for a birthday
- Sing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish
- Birthday traditions in the Spanish-speaking world
Download:This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here for a copy. (Download)
"Happy Birthday (in Spanish
Here are the most popular phrases you can use to wish someone a happy birthday:
1.Happy Birthday!—Happy Birthday!
This is the most common way of wishing someone "happy birthday" in Spanish in the Spanish-speaking world.
Like "Happy Birthday!" In English you only need this sentence, adding a name is optional:
Happy birthday Juan!— Happy birthday, Juan!
Also, as you will see below, colloquialism sometimes over-abbreviates this expression"Happy Birthday!"which also means "happy birthday"!
2.Happy Birthday!- Happy Birthday!
is equivalent tois the short version ofBirthday.This is also very commonly used, although more informally than the first.
Note that both sentences contain a form of the verbto reach(fulfill)+ years.Literally translated, this means “to complete years”. So if you wish someoneHappy Birthday, you wish them a "happy ending to this year!"
3.Applause!- Happy Birthday!
Along withHappy Birthday,applauseis another popular birthday phrase. This phrase literally means "luck" in English and is used to say "congratulations" or "best wishes" in Spanish.Applause!is often used to wish someone a happy birthday.
Here are a few birthday phrases to includeApplause:
Applause!- Happy Birthday! / Congratulations!
Congratulations!- Many congratulations!
Congratulations on your day!- Best wishes for your birthday!
4.Congratulations! - Happy Birthday!
congratulationsused in Spanish to say "Congratulations". This phrase is less common than the others on this list and is considered a formal way of wishing someone a happy birthday.
It's worth addingcongratulationsto your Spanish vocabulary as this word can be used in many different situations:
Happy Birthday!- Happy Birthday! (literally "Happy Birthday")
Congratulations!- Congratulations! (general congratulations)
5.Happy belated birthday!— Happy belated birthday!
Have you ever forgotten a family member's birthday? Or maybe you overheard a conversation at work that your colleague's birthday was last weekend.
Even if you're good at remembering birthdays and important dates, these phrases are worth learning! Instead of pretending it never happened, let's say"Happy Belated Birthday"(Happy belated birthday).
You can also say these phrases that mean the same thing:
- Congratulations late!
- Happy belated birthday!
You know what they say:Better late than never!(Better late than never!)
birthday wishes in spanish
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| May you have many more! | May you celebrate many more birthdays! |
| Have a nice/nice day! | May you have a good day! |
| Enjoy your day. | Enjoy your day! |
| May all your dreams/wishes come true! | May all your dreams/wishes come true! |
| Have a good time / Have a great time! | Have a good time! |
| Have a special day! You deserve it! | I hope you have a special day! You deserve it! |
| My best wishes on your Birthday. | My best wishes on your Birthday. |
As you can see, there are many different ways to wish someone “happy birthday” in Spanish.
One of the best ways to get familiar with the phrases is throughImmerse yourself in native mediato see how they are used by native speakers. There are many ways you can do this, e.g. B. by watching native Spanish content on YouTube, or for more practice you can try a language tutorial likefluentU.
FluentU uses authentic content like movie clips, music videos, and interesting conversations to immerse you in the language so you can see how native speakers really use it in context. Each video includes interactive subtitles that you can hover over for definitions and more information about the words used.
By seeing the phrases and vocabulary used by native speakers, you'll quickly see their different meanings and know when to use them.
FluentU is available for accesson your browseror by downloading theiOSAndAndroidApp.
Basic Spanish vocabulary for a birthday
Aside from learning how to wish someone “happy birthday” in Spanish, it's also useful to know some basic birthday words and phrases to use when speaking Spanish with native speakers.
birthday words
| Spanish | English | Example sentences |
|---|---|---|
| The birthday party | birthday party | He invited me to his birthday party. (He invited me to his birthday party.) |
| The wishes | Wishes | May all your wishes come true. (May all your wishes come true.) |
| The balloon | Ballon | We need to buy more balloons. (We need to buy more balloons.) |
| The cake/the cake/the cake. | Cake | I love this chocolate cake. (I love this chocolate cake) |
| Gifts | Gifts | She received many gifts. (She received many presents.) |
| The confetti | confetti | Did you bring the confetti? (Did you buy the confetti?) |
| Celebrate | Celebrate | Let's celebrate on Friday. (We will celebrate on Friday.) |
| give a gift | To make a present | Have you given Pablo the gift yet? (Have you given Pablo the gift yet?) |
| the birthday song | birthday song | This is my favorite birthday song. (This is my favorite birthday song.) |
| Die Pinata | Piñata | There was a piñata at Maria's birthday party. (There was a piñata at Maria's birthday party.) |
| The guests | Guests | At least 50 guests will come. (There are at least 50 guests.) |
| surprise party | surprise party | He will love the surprise party. (He'll love the surprise party.) |
| Make a wish | To make a wish | Make a wish! (Make a wish!) |
| The candles | candles | How many candles are there? (How many candles are there?) |
Birthday phrases
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Congratulations Congratulations! | Congratulations! |
| How old are you? | How old will you be? |
| When is your birthday? | When is your birthday? |
| What you wish for birthday? | What you wish for birthday? |
| What are you going to do on your birthday? | What are you going to do on your birthday? |
Sing "Happy Birthday" in Spanish
A birthday party isn't complete without singing "Happy Birthday"! It is an integral part of the celebration, as is the case in many different cultures around the world.
There are several birthday songs in Spanish that you can choose from.
"Happy Birthday"(Happy Birthday)
Of course we have the traditional "Happy Birthday to You" song ("Happy Birthday"song) very popular in Spain:
Happy Birthday!(Happy Birthday!)
Happy Birthday!(Happy Birthday!)
We all wish you(We all wish you,)
Happy Birthday!(Happy Birthday!)
Note that in this Castilian-Spanish version of the song"Happy Birthday"was switched"Happy Birthday."
you could learn toothis variant of the same song:
Happy Birthday!(Happy Birthday!)
We wish you!(We wish you!)
May you fulfill them on your day!(May you celebrate on your day!)
Happy Birthday!(May you celebrate merrily!)
Whatever song you sing, make sure you sing out loud and make the person celebrating feel special on their birthday!
Birthday traditions in the Spanish-speaking world
With such a large Spanish-speaking world, you can imagine that traditions can vary. In this last section, we have listed some of the most popular birthday traditions in several countries:
- Argentina:One of the traditions of the people of Argentina is to pull a child's earlobe once, no matter how old it is. They also hold a largeQuinceaneraPartyWhen a girl turns 15.
- Chile:It is very common to see pineapple cakes at birthday parties in Chile. It is also very common for the birthday boy or girl to get frosting on their face while blowing out the candles.
- Dominican Republic:If it's your birthday, you can be sure that no matter how old you are, people will throw water at you!
- The saviour:You might find a cake at a birthday party in El Salvador, but you will definitely find itTamales,which are simply among the most delicious things in the world!
- Honduras:Eggs are thrown at people in Honduras on their birthdays. Guests crack an egg over the person's head and then throw flour and water at them.
- Mexico:A birthday party wouldn't be a proper birthday party in Mexico without a candy-filled piñata. Traditionally, children are blindfolded and given a bat or stick to hit the piñata until it pops, releasing all the candy for people to pick up!
- Peru:In Peru, it's common for guests (yes, guests!) to receive gifts, or rather souvenirs, at birthday parties. The two most common gifts are a gift bag and a pin made in honor of the event.
- Spain:One of the most interesting aspects of birthdays in Spain is that most people think of them as having two birthdays: the actual day of their birth and the day of their patron saint. For some, that means celebrating your birthday twice, or maybe just celebrating on Patron Saint's Day!
- Venezuela:Here people do their best to get your face in the birthday cake when it's your birthday. It's a lucky symbol, so don't try to resist!
From basic birthday vocabulary and phrases to songs and traditions, you now know how to celebrate birthdays in Spanish!
Download:This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here for a copy. (Download)