Whether you’re writing a birthday speech or simply want to express your birthday wishes for someone, it’s fun to know how to say “happy birthday” in different languages. Here, you’ll find 100 different ways to say these important words.
How to Say “Happy Birthday” in 100 Different Languages
From Afrikaans to Tagalog to Zazaki, here’s how you say “happy birthday” around the world:
Language | How to Say “Happy Birthday” |
Afrikaans | Gelukkige verjaarsdag! |
Albanian | Gëzuar ditëlindjen! |
Amharic | melikami lideti! |
Arabic | eid milad saeid! |
Armenian | Tsnundd shnorhavor! |
Azerbaijani | Ad günün mübarək! |
Bangla | Śubha janmadina! |
Basque | Zorionak! |
Belarusian | Z Dniom Naradžennia! |
Bosnian | Sretan rođendan! |
Bulgarian | Chestit Rozhden den! |
Burmese | pyawrwin hpwalrar mwaynae! |
Catalan | Feliç aniversari! |
Cebuano | Malipayong adlawng natawhan! |
Chinese | Shēngrì kuàilè! |
Corsican | Felice Anniversariu! |
Croatian | Sretan rođendan! |
Czech | Všechno nejlepší k narozeninám! |
Danish | Tillykke med fødselsdagen! |
Dutch | Gelukkige verjaardag! |
Esperanto | Feliĉan naskiĝtagon! |
Estonian | Palju õnne sünnipäevaks! |
Filipino | Maligayang kaarawan! |
Finnish | Hyvää syntymäpäivää! |
French | Joyeux anniversaire! |
Galician | Feliz Aniversario! |
Georgian | Გilotsav dabadebis dghes! |
German | Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! |
Greek | Charoúmena genéthlia! |
Gujarati | Janmadivasa nī śubhakāmanā! |
Haitian Creole | Bòn fèt! |
Hausa | Barka da ranar haihuwa! |
Hawaiian | Hauʻoli Lā Hānau! |
Hindi | janmadin mubaarak! |
Hmong | Zoo siab hnub yug! |
Hungarian | Boldog születésnapot! |
Icelandic | Til hamingju með afmælið! |
Igbo | Ezi ncheta ọmụmụ! |
Indonesian | Selamat ulang tahun! |
Irish | Lá breithe shona duit! |
Italian | Buon compleanno! |
Japanese | Otanjōbiomedetōgozaimasu! |
Javanese | Sugeng tanggap warsa! |
Kannada | Janmadinada śubhāśayagaḷu! |
Kazakh | Twğan küniñ quttı bolsın! |
Khmer | rikreay thngai kamnaet! |
Kinyarwanda | Isabukuru nziza! |
Korean | saeng-il chugha haeyo! |
Kurdish | Rojbûna te pîroz be! |
Kyrgyz | Tuulgan kunuŋuz menen kuttuktaym! |
Lao | suk san van koed! |
Latvian | Daudz laimes dzimšanas dienā! |
Lithuanian | Su gimtadieniu! |
Luxembourgish | Alles Guddes fir de Gebuertsdag! |
Macedonian | Sreḱen rodenden! |
Malagasy | Tratry ny tsingerintaona nahaterahana! |
Malay | Selamat Hari lahir! |
Malayalam | janmadināśansakaḷ! |
Maori | Kia rā whānau! |
Marathi | Vāḍhadivasācyā hārdika śubhēcchā! |
Mongolian | Törsön ödriin mend! |
Nepali | Janmadinakō śubhakāmanā! |
Norwegian | Gratulerer med dagen! |
Nyanja | Tsiku labwino lobadwa! |
Persian | تولدت مبارک! |
Polish | Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin! |
Portugese | Feliz Aniversário! |
Punjabi | Janamadina mubāraka! |
Romanian | La multi ani! |
Russian | S dnem rozhdeniya! |
Samoan | Manuia le aso fanau! |
Scottish Gaelic | Co-là-breith math! |
Serbian | Srećan rođendan! |
Shona | Bhavhadhe rinofadza! |
Sinhala | suba upandinayak vēvā! |
Slovak | Šťastné narodeniny! |
Slovenian | Vse najboljše! |
Somali | Dhalasho Wacan! |
Southern Sotho | Letsatsi le monate la tsoalo! |
Spanish | ¡Feliz cumpleaños! |
Sundanese | Wilujeung tepang taun! |
Swahili | Heri ya siku ya kuzaliwa! |
Swedish | Grattis på födelsedagen! |
Tagalog | Maligayang kaarawan! |
Tajik | Zodrūz muʙorak! |
Tamil | Piṟantanāḷ vāḻttukkaḷ! |
Tatar | Туган көн белән! |
Telugu | Puṭṭinarōju śubhākāṅkṣalu! |
Thai | S̄uk̄hs̄ạnt̒ wạn keid! |
Turkish | İyi ki doğdun! |
Turkmen | Doglan günüň bilen! |
Ukranian | Z Dnem Narodzhennya! |
Uzbek | Tug'ilgan kuning bilan! |
Vietnamese | Chúc mừng sinh nhật! |
Welsh | Penblwydd hapus! |
Western Frisian | Lokkige jierdei! |
Xhosa | Usuku lokuzalwa olumnandi! |
Yiddish | mzl deyn geburstog! |
Yoruba | O ku ojo ibi! |
Zulu | Usuku olumnandi lokuzalwa! |
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.
Longevity Noodles in China
In China, the person celebrating a birthday may eat a dish of "longevity noodles." These long wheat noodles symbolize a long life, so it's bad luck to cut them while eating them. This celebration is simply one way the Chinese say, "Shēngrì kuàilè!"
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.
Personalized Birthday Pie in Russia
In Russia, some people celebrate by making a personalized birthday pie instead of a cake. The pie features the name of the birthday person and may be filled with fruit.
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.
One Big Birthday in Vietnam
In Vietnam, people often skip celebrating individual birthdays on the anniversary of a person's birth. Instead, they all celebrate together as part of the new year.
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.