Happy Birthday in Spanish
Part of: Happy Birthday in Every Language
Happy birthday in Spanish is "feliz cumpleaños", pronounced feh-LEES koom-play-AH-nyos. In a text message most people shorten it to "feliz cumple". Both work everywhere Spanish is spoken, with anyone, at any level of formality — which makes Spanish one of the easiest languages to get this right in.
Tap Copy on any wish, then paste it into your message. Or turn one into an animated fireworks card you can send as a link.
Every phrase below has a Copy button. Tap it and paste straight into your message, card or post. The accents matter, so copying is safer than typing.
The phrase you need
| Spanish | Pronounced | Use it with |
|---|---|---|
| Feliz cumpleaños | feh-LEES koom-play-AH-nyos | Anyone, any situation |
| Feliz cumple | feh-LEES KOOM-play | Friends, family, texts |
| Felicidades | feh-lee-see-DAH-des | Anyone — also used for other occasions |
| Feliz día | feh-LEES DEE-ah | Casual, warm, works all day |
Spanish is unusually forgiving here. Unlike German, Japanese or Korean, there is no separate formal version you must switch to for a boss or an elder. "Feliz cumpleaños" is correct for your grandmother and your manager alike.
Copy these
¡Feliz cumpleaños!
¡Feliz cumple!
¡Felicidades!
¡Feliz cumpleaños! Que tengas un día maravilloso.
¡Feliz cumpleaños! Te deseo todo lo mejor.
Que cumplas muchos más.
¡Feliz cumpleaños! Espero que disfrutes tu día.
Te deseo un día lleno de alegría.
¡Feliz cumpleaños! Que se cumplan todos tus deseos.
Muchas felicidades en tu día especial.
For someone you love
Feliz cumpleaños, mi amor.
Feliz cumpleaños a la persona más importante de mi vida.
Cada año contigo es mejor que el anterior. Feliz cumpleaños.
Feliz cumpleaños, mi vida. Te amo.
Gracias por existir. Feliz cumpleaños.
For family
Feliz cumpleaños, mamá. Te quiero mucho.
Feliz cumpleaños, papá. Gracias por todo.
Feliz cumpleaños, hermana. Eres la mejor.
Feliz cumpleaños, abuela. Que Dios te bendiga.
Feliz cumpleaños, hijo. Estoy muy orgulloso de ti.
For work
Feliz cumpleaños. Que tengas un excelente día.
Te deseo todo lo mejor en tu cumpleaños.
Muchas felicidades y éxitos en este nuevo año.
Feliz cumpleaños de parte de todo el equipo.
The birthday song in Spanish
Spanish speakers rarely sing a translation of the English song. Most of Latin America sings "Las Mañanitas" or a local version of "Cumpleaños feliz". The short one, sung to the familiar tune, is:
Cumpleaños feliz, cumpleaños feliz, te deseamos todos, cumpleaños feliz.
In Mexico, "Las Mañanitas" is the traditional one and it is much older and slower. It is sung early in the morning, which is what the name means — the little mornings.
What is different about a Spanish birthday
Two things surprise English speakers.
A quinceañera is the fifteenth birthday of a girl, and in much of Latin America it is a far bigger event than an eighteenth or twenty-first. It is closer to a wedding in scale.
Many Catholic families also celebrate a día del santo, the feast day of the saint you were named after. It is a second, smaller celebration in the same year, and people wish "feliz santo" for it.
Party words worth knowing
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la fiesta | the party |
| el pastel / la torta | the cake |
| las velas | the candles |
| el regalo | the gift |
| pide un deseo | make a wish |
| que los cumplas feliz | may you have a happy one |
Send a card that says it in Spanish
Typing "feliz cumpleaños" without the tilde on the n changes the word — "año" means something quite different from "año". Copying the phrases above avoids that entirely.
To send something they can watch, type the greeting into the free fireworks card maker. It renders Spanish accents correctly and the letters explode into light one at a time, with real firework sound. Send it as a link and it plays the moment they open it.
Common questions
How do you say happy birthday in Spanish? "Feliz cumpleaños", pronounced feh-LEES koom-play-AH-nyos. In a text, "feliz cumple" is the common short form.
Is feliz cumpleaños formal or informal? Both. Spanish has no separate formal version for birthdays, so the same phrase works for a close friend and for your boss.
What is the difference between felicidades and feliz cumpleaños? "Felicidades" means congratulations and is used for weddings, promotions and births as well. "Feliz cumpleaños" is specific to birthdays.
How do you say happy belated birthday in Spanish? "Feliz cumpleaños atrasado". Adding "perdón por el retraso" apologises for being late.
Why does the n in cumpleaños have a tilde? The letter n with a tilde is a separate letter in Spanish with its own sound, roughly ny. Leaving it off changes the word entirely.