by Tomoyuki Higuchi
How do you say “birthday” in Japanese?
Today’s phrase is :
Happy birthday!
誕生日おめでとう！
tanjoubi omedetou*
If you want to speak politely, you can say :
誕生日おめでとうございます！
tanjoubi omedetou* gozaimasu
*We do not clearly pronounce the vowels in the middle and at the end of a word. We pronounce “tanjoubi” like “tanjōbi”, “omedetou” like “omedetō”.
Pronunciation
“誕生日 (tanjoubi)” means “birthday”.
We say “おめでとう (omedetou)” when we want to wish someone a happy birthday or congratulate someone on their success.
