Happy birthday in Japanese: お誕生日おめでとう (otanjōbi omedetō)
Happy birthday in Japanese is お誕生日おめでとう (おたんじょうびおめでとう, otanjōbi omedetō, “happy birthday!”), literally "congratulations on your birthday". To a teacher, a boss or anyone older, add ございます: お誕生日おめでとうございます (おたんじょうびおめでとうございます, otanjōbi omedetō gozaimasu).
The phrase has three parts:
- お, a polite prefix. The dictionary lists お誕生日 (おたんじょうび, otanjōbi) as the polite form of 誕生日 (たんじょうび, tanjōbi, “birthday”).
- 誕生日, "birthday", written with three kanji: 誕, 生 and 日.
- おめでとう (omedetō, “congratulations!”).
So you write お in hiragana, then 誕生日, then おめでとう. The dictionary marks おめでとう as usually written in kana. Its kanji spelling, 御目出度う, is marked rare and ateji (kanji picked for their sound). Write it in hiragana.
Both tanjōbi and omedetō have a long o, written じょう and とう in kana. That's why you'll also see tanjoubi, tanjoobi and omedetou online. They're all the same word.
Casual and polite: omedetō vs omedetō gozaimasu
Pick the form by who you're talking to:
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| お誕生日おめでとう | おたんじょうびおめでとう | otanjōbi omedetō | happy birthday! | Friends, family, classmates |
| お誕生日おめでとうございます | おたんじょうびおめでとうございます | otanjōbi omedetō gozaimasu | happy birthday | Teachers, bosses, older people, clients; the dictionary marks it polite |
| 誕生日おめでとうございます | たんじょうびおめでとうございます | tanjōbi omedetō gozaimasu | Happy Birthday | Also polite, without お |
| おめでとう | おめでとう | omedetō | congratulations!; well done!; best wishes! | Just "congrats!", on its own |
| おめでとうございます | おめでとうございます | omedetō gozaimasu | congratulations | The polite "congratulations", for any good news |
Can you drop the お? Yes, with close friends. A native speaker on HiNative answers with 誕生日おめでとう, and itranslate says you can drop the お among close friends. Keep it for people you're close to.
Someone older? Wishing them happy birthday is fine. Use the ございます form.
The English way. Japanese also borrows the English: ハッピーバースデー (happī bāsudē, “happy birthday!”), and the short slang ハピバ (hapiba). Both are written in katakana, starting with ハ. There's a Japanese short form too: おたおめ (otaome, “happy birthday!”), short for お誕生日おめでとう. The dictionary marks ハピバ and おたおめ as abbreviations and slang, so keep them for messages to friends.
How to write happy birthday on a card
Write お誕生日おめでとう, or the ございます form for someone older. For a young child, many people write it all in hiragana, おたんじょうびおめでとう, which is easier to read.
Add their age. 歳 (さい, sai, “... years old”) after a number gives an age. itranslate suggests the age, then 歳, then おめでとう, for "congratulations on turning ...". Twenty has its own word: 二十歳 (はたち, hatachi, “20 years old”). See counting people and saying your age for the other ages.
To and from. A バースデーカード (bāsudē kādo, “birthday card”) often starts with the person's name and へ (he, “to”) at the top. The name often takes さん, or ちゃん (chan, “suffix for familiar person”) for a child or a close friend. As a particle, へ is read e, not he. The card ends with your own name and より (yori, “from”) at the bottom.
Practise ages in Japanese
一歳 to 十歳 and 二十歳 (はたち), with sound changes like いっさい and はっさい, so you can write and say someone's new age.
How to reply to happy birthday in Japanese
Say thank you: ありがとう (arigatō, “thank you”) with friends, and ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu) to anyone older or senior. There are more ways in Thank you in Japanese.
How birthdays work in Japan
For a long time, many Japanese people counted age with 数え年 (かぞえどし, kazoedoshi). A baby was one at birth, and everyone added a year at New Year, not on their own birthday. Laws in 1902 and 1950 pushed people towards 満年齢 (まんねんれい, mannenrei), age in completed years. The second law was issued on 24 May 1949 and took effect on 1 January 1950. Before it, people had kept using 数え年 in daily life for nearly fifty years.
Birthdays were celebrated long before then. The oldest record is from 775: for Emperor Kōnin's birthday, killing animals was banned for the day and his court was given a feast.
Today, birthdays mean cake, parties and presents:
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 誕生日ケーキ | たんじょうびケーキ | tanjōbi kēki | birthday cake | |
| 誕生日パーティー | たんじょうびパーティー | tanjōbi pātī | birthday party | |
| 誕生日プレゼント | たんじょうびプレゼント | tanjōbi purezento | birthday present | |
| お誕生日席 | おたんじょうびせき | otanjōbi seki | (seat at) the head of the table; seat of honour (honor) | The seat at the short end of a long table, named after where the birthday person sits; used for other meals too |
A word you'll hear around birthdays is お祝い (おいわい, oiwai, “congratulation”): congratulations, or a celebration. Its second meaning in the dictionary is "congratulatory gift".
In Japan, the Happy Birthday song is often sung with the English words before the candles are blown out. Japanese lyrics exist, but they're less common.
Some ages are milestones:
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 還暦 | かんれき | kanreki | kanreki; one's 60th birthday (or 61st in the traditional age reckoning system) when one has lived through a full sexagenary cycle | The 60-year cycle of the old calendar comes round again; red clothes, like a red padded jacket, are a traditional gift |
| 七五三 | しちごさん | shichigosan | shichi-go-san; 7-5-3 day; festival day for children aged 7, 5 and 3 held on or around November 15 | For children aged 7, 5 and 3 |
| 成人の日 | せいじんのひ | seijin no hi | Coming of Age Day (national holiday; second Monday in January); Adult's Day | Second Monday in January; most towns celebrate those turning 20 |
The traditional red jacket is a ちゃんちゃんこ (chanchanko, “padded sleeveless kimono jacket”). Red stands for a return to birth: Japanese Wikipedia explains that babies were once dressed in red to protect them.
Adulthood became 18 on 1 April 2022. Most towns still hold the ceremony at 20, because many 18-year-olds are busy in their last year of high school. Some people still use 数え年 to time 七五三 and 還暦.
Other omedetō phrases
おめでとう works for more than birthdays. The dictionary lists these:
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| あけましておめでとうございます | あけましておめでとうございます | akemashite omedetō gozaimasu | Happy New Year | Happy New Year, polite |
| あけおめ | あけおめ | akeome | Happy New Year | Happy New Year, short and casual; the dictionary marks it colloquial |
| 新年おめでとう | しんねんおめでとう | shinnen omedetō | Happy New Year | Happy New Year |
| おめでとうさん | おめでとうさん | omedetōsan | congratulations! | Congratulations; also おめでとさん |
Coto Academy notes that you can put a milestone before おめでとう, as in お誕生日おめでとう. Its examples use 結婚 (けっこん, kekkon, “marriage”), 合格 (ごうかく, gōkaku, “passing (an exam)”) and 卒業 (そつぎょう, sotsugyō, “graduation”). In the polite form, some take the prefix ご (go, “honorific/polite/humble prefix”), as 誕生日 takes お: Coto Academy gives ご結婚おめでとうございます.
Where the word comes from. おめでとう comes from めでたい (medetai, “happy”). The Daijisen dictionary traces めでたい to めでいたし: めで, from an old verb meaning "to love" (today's 愛でる (めでる, mederu, “to love”)), plus the old adjective いたし. おめでとう is お plus めでとう, the form めでたい takes before ございます.
Questions about happy birthday in Japanese
What is the most common birthday greeting in Japan?
お誕生日おめでとう (otanjōbi omedetō) is the usual way to say happy birthday. To someone older, say お誕生日おめでとうございます.
Is it okay to say tanjoubi omedetou?
Tanjōbi omedetō (誕生日おめでとう) is fine with close friends. Adding お makes it a little more polite.
What does otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu mean?
Otanjōbi omedetō gozaimasu means "happy birthday", said politely. Literally, it's "congratulations on your birthday", with ございます for politeness.
What is omedetou gozaimasu?
Omedetō gozaimasu is the polite way to say "congratulations". You can say it for any good news, not only birthdays.
How do you casually say happy birthday in Japanese?
With friends, say お誕生日おめでとう, 誕生日おめでとう or just おめでとう. In messages, some people write ハッピーバースデー, ハピバ or おたおめ.
Is it impolite to say happy birthday to an elder in Japan?
No, wishing an older person happy birthday is not rude. Use the polite お誕生日おめでとうございます.
What does otaome mean in Japanese?
おたおめ (otaome) is slang for "happy birthday", short for お誕生日おめでとう. Use it only in casual messages to friends.
How do you write happy birthday in Japanese?
Happy birthday is written お誕生日おめでとう: お in hiragana, the kanji 誕生日, then おめでとう in hiragana.
Sources
- Readings, meanings and tags: JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0), including お誕生日 and the ございます forms marked polite, おめでとう marked usually written in kana, ハピバ and おたおめ marked abbreviation and slang, and あけおめ and お誕生日席 marked colloquial.
- 誕生日おめでとう from a native speaker: HiNative, How do you say "Happy birthday" in Japanese?. Dropping お among close friends, and the age + 歳 + おめでとう pattern: itranslate, How to Say Happy Birthday in Japanese.
- おめでとう and おめでとうございます, a milestone before おめでとう, and ご結婚おめでとうございます: Coto Academy, Congratulations in Japanese.
- Where めでたい comes from: デジタル大辞泉, via Kotobank.
- 数え年 and its uses today: nippon.com, Kazoedoshi; Japanese Wikipedia, 数え年 and 年齢のとなえ方に関する法律.
- Early birthdays and お誕生日席: Japanese Wikipedia, 誕生日. The song: ハッピーバースデートゥーユー. Milestones and the red ちゃんちゃんこ: 還暦 and 成人の日.
- Reviewed by two independent reviews; the points about dropping お, where ございます starts, ハピバ and おたおめ, the song, card wording, お誕生日席, the age pattern and おめでとうさん are waiting for a native speaker's check.