Is one of your Spanish-speaking friends completing another lap around the sun? There is nothing better than making them feel extra special.
Today we will learn some special ways to wish someone a happy birthday in Spanish to show that you care about the person’s happiness and well-being.
¡Feliz cumpleaños!
¡Feliz cumpleaños! is the most common way to wish someone a happy birthday in Spanish-speaking countries. It’s the equivalent of the English phrase happy birthday. A not-so-common variation you might see is cumpleaños feliz with the same words but flipped around. You’ll also hear the sentence Te deseo un feliz cumpleños (I wish you a happy birthday.)
¡Feliz Cumple!
Spanish is known for shortening words, and it’s done for the word cumpleaños too. Feliz cumple is a colloquial and commonly used phrase used informally with friends.
The verb cumplir means to fulfill, and años means years. When you wish someone feliz cumpleaños, you are wishing them a happy completion of the year.
¡Felicidades!
Another popular phrase for saying happy birthday is felicidades, which literally translates to happiness in English. However, the equivalent translation would be congratulations because it is used to congratulate someone on their birthday or an accomplishment. You will often hear muchas (many) at the beginning as in ¡Muchas felicidades!
¡Felicitaciones!
Felicitaciones is the equivalent of saying congratulations or greetings in English. It’s a less common phrase to wish someone happy birthday and is quite formal.
¡Feliz aniversario!
Another way of wishing someone a happy birthday is feliz aniversario which translates to happy anniversary. This phrase isn’t as commonly said because it’s mostly left for weddings or relationship anniversaries or for congratulating someone on a year of something important or special.
¡Feliz cumpleaños atrasado!
If you forgot someone’s birthday, no problem. There is a Spanish phrase for it – feliz cumpleaños atrasado. It’s the English translation of happy belated birthday but the literal translation is happy late birthday.
¡Feliz día de tu santo!
¡Feliz día de tu santo! in English translates to Happy day of your saint. This phrase is associated with two things: the person’s actual birthday or the person’s Saint’s day.
Catholicism has a big influence in Spain, Italy, and many Latin American countries, so Saint’s Day is special to many people. If you were born on Saint’s Day or any day of a Saint, such as Día de San Juan, you are wished a ¡Feliz día de tu Santo! It’s like having a second birthday, but without the presents. People born on a Saint’s day will even be named after them.
Birthday Traditions
Saying feliz cumpleaños in Spanish is special, but what’s even more special in Latin America is how birthdays are celebrated. Typically, there are big parties with lots of loud music, dancing, and food. Traditions include breaking a piñata (a candy-filled figure that is smashed with a stick), singing Las Mañanitas to the birthday person early in the morning, the mordida where the birthday person takes a bite of the cake, and, last but not least, celebrating a 15-year-old girl with a grand quinceañera. Birthdays are undoubtedly important events in the Spanish-speaking world!
