How To Say Happy Birthday in German

Learn to say Happy Birthday in German with these ready-made phrases, perfect for use in birthday cards, emails or even – if you are feeling brave enough – making a quick call.

Today we have an exciting post for you ,which will help you to wish your friends , girlfriend/boyfriend or your close liaisons to wish them in an unique way , yeah say happy birthda in German to them. Don’t worry you don’t need to be proficient in German , still you can wish them happy birthday in German , just by learning few set of words or writing it down in chicken scratch manner will do.

Happy Birthday in German for Friends

At the end of this tutorial you will surely learn to wish your German friends or German teammates out there and will be obliged to wish them Happy birthday in German. But i would like to warn you on a serious note. Old Germans and many new people too get offended often if you wish them before their birthday. The reason they get offended is in their culture is is considered bad luck to wish them beforehand and your effort can be completely haste.

So better refrain yourself from doing it.And in-case if you are sending them birthday cards or gifts , make sure you send them exactly on their day of their birthday , which would be apt if they open on the same day. So lets begin our voyage to wish happy birthday in German language.

Happy Birthday German

Different Ways to say “Happy Birthday” in German

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag – Happy Birthday

(Literally: ‘Heartfelt congratulations on your birthday’)

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag – Happy Birthday
(Literally: “All the best on your birthday”)

Herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich – Happy Belated Birthday

Nachträglich alles Gute zum Geburtstag – Happy Belated Birthday

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum 18./21./40./60./ 80. Geburtstag – Happy 18th/21st/40th/60th/80th Birthday

Alles Gute zum 18./21./40./60./80. Geburtstag – Happy 18th/21st/40th/60th/80th Birthday

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag, lieber Neffe/liebe Nichte – Happy Birthday to a dear nephew/niece

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Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, lieber Onkel/liebe Tante – Happy Birthday to a dear Uncle/ Aunt

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag, für einen guten Freund – Happy Birthday to a lovely friend

Wir wünschen Dir einen wunderschönen Tag (Informal) -We hope you have a lovely day

Wir wünschen Ihnen einen wunderschönen Tag (Formal) – We hope you have a lovely day

Alles Liebe zum Geburtstag – Much love on your birthday

Man wird nicht älter, sondern besser! – You don’t get older, just better!

Auf dass Ihr/Dein Tag mit Liebe und Freude erfüllt ist
– May your day be filled with love and happiness (Formal = Ihr / Informal = Dein)

Schade, dass wir nicht mitfeiern können – Shame we can’t be there to celebrate with you

Wie geht’s dem Geburtstagkind? – How is the birthday boy / birthday girl?

Wann ist die Geburtstagsfeier? – When is the birthday party?

Haben Sie / Hast Du viele schöne Geschenke bekommen? – Did you have some nice presents? (Formal= Haben Sie / Informal= Hast Du)

Vielen Dank für das schöne Geschenk und die Karte – Thank you so much for my lovely present and card

Related: Happy birthday in german

Here are our Favorite Ways to Say Happy Birthday In German!

1.Exclaim “Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!“

This is the closest translation to “happy birthday” used in German, and it means something along the lines of “all the best for your birthday.”
Alles is a pronoun meaning “everything” or “all.”
Gute is derived from the German adjective “gut,” meaning “good,” “fine,” or “nice.”
The term zum comes from the German preposition “zu,” meaning “to” or “for.”
Geburtstag means “birthday” in German.
Pronounce the entire birthday greeting as ah-less goo-teh tsuhm geh-buhrtz-tahg.

2. Say “Herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich” or “Nachträglich alles Gute zum Geburtstag” for late wishes.

Both are equivalent to saying “happy belated birthday” in English.

  • Nachträglich means “later” or “belated.”
  • Herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich means “heartfelt congratulations belated.” Pronounce it as hairtz-lich(“ch” as in “ach” NOT as in “CHair”)-enn glook-vuhnsh nach(“ch” as in “aCH” NOT as in “CHair”)-traygh-lich(“ch” as in “aCH” NOT as in “CHair”).
  • “Nachträglich alles Gute zum Geburtstag” means “belated all the best for your birthday.” Pronounce it as nach(again as in “aCH”)-traygh-lich(again as in “aCH”) ah-less goo-teh tsoom geh-buhrtz-tahg.
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3. State “Alles das Beste zum Geburtstag!”

This is another way of saying “all the best for your birthday.”

  • Alles means “all” or “everything,” zum means “for,” and Geburtstag means “birthday.”
  • Das Beste means “the best.”[2]
  • Pronounce this sentiment as ah-less dahss behsteh tsoom geh-buhrtz-tahg.

4. Offer “Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag.”

This is an equally common, congratulatory birthday greeting. It can be translated as “heartfelt congratulations for your birthday” or “many happy returns.”

  • Herzlichen is derived from the German adjective “herzlich,” meaning “heartfelt,” “sincere,” or “cordial.”
  • Glückwunsch means “congratulation.”
  • The term zum means “on” or “for,” and Geburtstag means “birthday.”
  • Pronounce the statement as hairtz-lich(“ch” as in “aCH” NOT as in “CHair”)-enn glook-vuhnsh tsoom geh-buhrtz-tahg.

5. Also ask “Wie alt bist du?”

This question is used to ask someone’s age.

  • Wie means “how” and alt means “old.” Bist means “are.”
  • The term du means “you.” For a more polite form of the word “you,” use Sie”, prefixed by “sind” instead of “bist”, i.e. “Wie alt sind Sie?”
  • Pronounce the entire question as vee ahlt bist due (or “vee ahlt zindt zee”)

6. Tell someone “Schade, dass wir nicht mitfeiern können” when you cannot celebrate in person.

This phrase means “Shame we cannot be there to celebrate with you.” Use it over the phone, in a greeting card, or in an e-mail when you cannot give the individual birthday wishes in person.

  • Schade means “shame” or “pity.”
  • The word dass means “that” and wir means “we.”
  • The term nicht means “not,” and können means “can.”
  • Mitfeiern means “celebrate together.”
  • Pronounce the sentiment as shah-deh dahss veer neecht(“ch” as in “aCH” NOT as in “CHair” mitt-fy-ehrn keu-nenn.
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7. Say “Wir wünschen Ihnen einen wunderschönen Tag.”

Use this statement to wish the birthday boy or birthday girl a wonderful day.

  • Wir means “we” in English.
  • Wünschen is a German verb meaning “wish,” “want,” or “desire.”
  • Ihnen is a polite way of saying “you.” To make this statement informal
  • or casual, replace Ihnen with Dir, the informal version of “you.”
  • Pronounce Dir as deahr.
  • Einen means “one” or “a.”
  • Wunderschönen means “lovely,” “wonderful,” or “beautiful.”
  • Tag means “day.”
  • You should pronounce this sentence as veer vuhnshen ee-nen aye-nen vuhn-deher-shuhn-nen tahg.

Happy Birthday in German

8. Hopefully state “Auf dass Ihr Tag mit Liebe und Freude erfüllt ist.”

This phrase roughly means, “May your day be filled with love and happiness.”

  • Auf means “on” or “upon.”
  • Dass is a German conjunction meaning “that” in English.
  • Ihr is a polite way of saying “your.” For a more informal way of saying
  • “your,” use Dein, pronounced as dine.
  • Tag means “day.”
  • Mit means “with.”
  • Liebe means love. The term und means “and,” and Freude means “joy” or “happiness.”
  • The phrase erfüllt ist translates roughly into “filled with.”
  • Pronounce the whole thing as owf dahss eer tahg mitt lee-beh oond froy-deh ehr-foolt ist.

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