How to Say “Happy birthday!” in Japanese

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.