生年月日
seinengappi
The Japanese phrase for birthday date is 生年月日 (seinengappi).
生年月日 is used to refer to the specific calendar date on which a person was born.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a compound of 生 (birth), 年 (year), 月 (month) and 日 (day).
Which one should you use?
While 生年月日 refers to the specific calendar date of one's birth (often for administrative use), 誕生日 refers to the celebration or the concept of one's birthday.
How do you pronounce it?
seinengappi
When do people say it?
When wishing someone a happy birthday in an informal setting, you can say Tanjoubi omedetou.
Did you know?
- In official forms requiring 生年月日, you may see the option to provide the date using the 和暦 (Wareki) system, which marks years by the era of the reigning Emperor instead of the Gregorian calendar.
- The word 生 in 生年月日 is a versatile kanji that can mean 'life', 'raw' or 'birth' depending on the context, but it is the only character used to denote the act of being born in this phrase.
- The word 日 (day) at the end of 生年月日 also serves as the character for 'sun', linking the concept of a 'day' to celestial movements.
Examples in context
- 生年月日を教えてください。Seinen gappi o oshiete kudasai.Please tell me your date of birth.
- 書類に生年月日を書いてください。Shorui ni seinen gappi o kaite kudasai.Please write your date of birth on the document.
- 生年月日を間違えました。Seinen gappi o machigaemashita.I entered the wrong date of birth.
Example conversation
At a doctor's clinic reception desk.
- 美咲 Misaki生年月日はいつですか？Seinen gappi wa itsu desu ka?What is your date of birth?
- 陽太 Yota1995年5月10日です。Sen kyūhyaku kyūjū-go nen go gatsu tōka desu.It is May 10th, 1995.
- 美咲 Misaki承知いたしました、陽太さん。Shōchi itashimashita, Yōta-san.Understood, Yota.
- 陽太 Yotaよろしくお願いします。Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.Thank you.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 生年月日, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
