Happy Birthday in Japanese: Say Happy Birthday with These Phrases!

Maybe you've got a Japanese friend with a birthday coming up, or you're watching anime and want to learn Japanese and understand what characters are saying during birthday scenes. Whatever brought you here, I'm going to show you exactly how Japanese people actually wish each other happy birthday. As Japanese has different levels of formality, birthdays are one of those situations where choosing the right phrase actually matters. Let me break down everything you need to know about Japanese birthday greetings, from the super casual phrases you'd use with close friends to the formal ones for your boss or elderly relatives.

The main ways to say happy birthday

Otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu (お誕生日おめでとうございます)

This is your go-to phrase for most situations. means "birthday," means "congratulations," and is the polite ending that makes the whole thing respectful.

You'd use this with:

Otanjoubi omedetou (お誕生日おめでとう)

Drop the gozaimasu and you've got the casual version. This works perfectly for friends, siblings, or people you're close with. Same meaning, just less formal.

I've heard people debate whether this is "too casual" for certain situations, but honestly, if you're friends with someone and talk casually normally, this is the natural choice. Japanese people switch between formality levels all the time based on their relationship.

Tanjoubi omedetou (誕生日おめでとう)

You can actually drop the "o" prefix from otanjoubi to make it even more casual. Tanjoubi omedetou is what you'd text to a close friend or say to your younger sibling. The "o" at the beginning is called an honorific prefix, and removing it makes the phrase more direct and informal.

Can you shorten "tanjoubi omedetou"? Absolutely. Some people just say by itself when the context is obvious, like if you're already at a birthday party. Pretty convenient, right?

Omedetou (おめでとう)

Speaking of which, omedetou alone works in casual contexts where everyone already knows what you're congratulating someone for. At a birthday party, surrounded by cake and presents? Just saying "omedetou!" gets the message across.

But be careful, omedetou is a general congratulations word. You can use it for graduations, promotions, weddings, or any celebratory occasion. So outside of an obvious birthday setting, you'd want to specify tanjoubi omedetou to make it clear you're talking about their birthday.

Happy birthday in Japanese hiragana and writing systems

What is happy birthday in Japanese hiragana? The full phrase written entirely in hiragana is: .

However, Japanese people typically write it as , mixing kanji and hiragana. The kanji literally means "birth day," where 誕 means "birth," 生 means "life" or "birth," and 日 means "day."

You'll see different writing styles depending on the context:

The hiragana version is actually pretty common in contexts involving kids since they learn hiragana before kanji.

Adding extra birthday wishes

Want to go beyond just "happy birthday"? Here are some phrases Japanese people actually use:

Subarashii ichi-nen ni narimasu you ni (素晴らしい一年になりますように)

This means "I hope you have a wonderful year." means "wonderful," means "one year," and is a phrase expressing hope or wishes.

Yoi ichi-nen wo (良い一年を)

A shorter version meaning "Have a good year." means "good," and is a particle. This is more casual and flows naturally in conversation.

Kore kara mo yoroshiku (これからもよろしく)

This translates roughly to "Please continue to treat me well" or "Looking forward to another year with you." It's a very Japanese sentiment, expressing the desire to maintain your relationship. You'd use this with friends or colleagues you expect to keep seeing.

Itsumademo genki de ite ne (いつまでも元気でいてね)

"Stay healthy forever" or "Stay well always." means "forever," 元気 means "healthy/energetic," and is a casual way to say "please be/stay." This is sweet for family members or close friends, especially older people.

The Japanese birthday song

The birthday song in Japanese is actually pretty funny. Most Japanese people sing "Happy Birthday to You" in English, just like the Western version. Seriously.

There is a Japanese version though: . The lyrics go:

It follows the same melody as the English version. Some people mix both languages, singing parts in English and parts in Japanese. Kids' parties might use the Japanese version more consistently, but honestly, the English version dominates.

Birthday vocabulary you should know

If you're going to a Japanese birthday party or talking about birthdays in the Japanese language, here's the essential vocabulary:

Here's something cool about Japanese birthday culture: the 60th birthday, called kanreki, is a huge deal. It marks the completion of one full cycle of the Chinese zodiac calendar. People wear red clothing and have big celebrations. Other significant birthdays include 77 (kiju), 88 (beiju), and 99 (hakuju).

Regional and age variations

Japanese is pretty standardized when it comes to birthday greetings, but you might encounter some variations:

Kansai dialect speakers might say "Tanjoubi omedetou san" adding their characteristic "san" at the end (different from the name suffix, just a Kansai thing).

Older generations tend to be more formal across the board, so even with family, they might use the full otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu.

Younger people, especially teenagers, often shorten everything in texts: ！ or just 🎂 when the context is obvious.

Wrapping up the way to say happy birthday

Now you know how to say happy birthday in Japanese for basically any situation. Whether you're texting a friend, writing a card to a colleague, or singing along at a birthday party, you've got the phrases you need.

The core phrase otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu will serve you well in most situations, and you can adjust the formality up or down based on your relationship with the person. Add a wish for a wonderful year, and you've got a complete, natural-sounding birthday greeting in Japanese.

If you want to level up your Japanese beyond just birthday phrases, Migaku's browser extension and app let you learn from real content like shows, articles, and social media posts. You can look up words instantly and build your vocabulary from stuff you actually care about. There's a 10-day free trial if you want to check it out and start learning Japanese the way people actually use it.

FAQs

Now you can easily understand the phrases when celebrating a birthday

Be it in manga, anime, or dramas, birthday scenes are usually an important event marking the climax of the plots and characters' relationships. With the help of this article, maybe you can play any birthday scene of any video several times and try to understand the drama going on there!

Can't wait for the next birthday party!