How to Say Happy Birthday in Japanese

2023年8月20日

Happy birthday! It is one of the most important phrases for celebration.

Everybody definitely says this phrase when they are invited to a birthday party. It is totally okay to say Happy Birthday in English to Japanese people because they are familiar with the phrase.

But there are some Japanese happy birthday phrases that are good for certain situations and relationships. So let’s learn about them and have a great celebration with your friends!

Casual Way of Saying Happy Birthday

お誕生日おめでとう！

お誕生日おめでとう！
/otanjoubi-omedetou!/

This is the most common phrase for celebrating with family and friends. お誕生日(otanjoubi) means a birthday. おめでとう(omedetou) is a word for celebration, and you can use this word for any celebration, such as someone’s birthday, winning competitions, and graduations.

ハッピーバースデー！

ハッピーバースデー！
/happi-i-ba-a-sude-e/

Japanese people say ハッピーバースデー (literally happy birthday) to celebrate with friends. The point to watch out for is that you have to change the pronunciation of birthday to “ba-a-su-de-e.”

In Japanese, there is no “th” sound, and the “ei” sound changes to “ee.”

Formal Happy Birthday

お誕生日おめでとうございます！

お誕生日おめでとうございます！
/otanjoubi-omedetou-gozaimasu!/

In a formal situation, you change the part of おめでとう(omedetou) to おめでとうございます(omedetougozaimasu).

おめでとうございます(omedetou-gozaimasu) is a formal way of おめでとう(omedetou).

This phrase is for someone you respect or admire.

Social Media Slang of Happy Birthday

ハピバ(hapiba)

ハピバ(hapiba) is a shortened phrase of ハッピーバースデー(happy birthday).

おたおめ/たんおめ/おめたん(ota-ome/tan-ome/ome-tan)

These phrases are also shortened versions of お誕生日おめでとう(otanjoubi-omedetou).

Good Phrases with Happy Birthday

いい一年になりますように！

I hope this year will be happy for you!

いつもありがとう！

Thank you for everything!

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Usually people will say "Thank you for everything" after leaving someone's house after a long visit. Or, sometimes people will say this to a romantic partner to thank them for their relationship. But the Japanese phrase can be used with pretty much anyone in a casual way to thank them for caring about you.

また会おうね！

Let’s hang out again!

-Japanese

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