遅ればせながらお誕生日おめでとう
okurebasenagara otanjōbi omedetō
The English phrase "happy belated birthday" is translated into Japanese as 遅ればせながらお誕生日おめでとう (okurebasenagara otanjōbi omedetō).
This phrase is used as a greeting to wish someone a happy birthday after their actual birthday has already passed.
What does it mean word for word?
The first part, 遅ればせながら, literally means "even though I am late" or "belatedly".
Which one should you use?
If you use the phrase お誕生日おめでとう without the 遅ればせながら prefix, it simply means "happy birthday" and does not acknowledge that the date has passed.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
You can make the phrase more formal and suitable for superiors or elders by adding ございます to the end, resulting in 遅ればせながらお誕生日おめでとうございます.
How do you pronounce it?
okurebasenagara otanjōbi omedetō
Did you know?
- The grammar in 遅ればせながら contains an archaic ending that is rarely used in modern spoken Japanese outside of set phrases like this one.
- In Japanese business culture, using 遅ればせながら (okurebasenagara) is seen as a way to show humility. It implies that you are apologizing for your own slowness, rather than just stating a fact about the date.
- The word おめでとう comes from the verb めでたい, which originally described things that were auspicious or celebratory rather than just 'happy'.
Examples in context
- 遅ればせながらお誕生日おめでとう。Okurebasenagara otanjoubi omedetou.Happy belated birthday.
- 遅ればせながらお誕生日おめでとう！プレゼントは後で送るね。Okurebasenagara otanjoubi omedetou! Purezento wa ato de okuru ne.Happy belated birthday! I'll send the present later.
- 遅ればせながらお誕生日おめでとうございます。Okurebasenagara otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu.Happy belated birthday (polite).
Example conversation
A woman congratulates her male friend on his birthday after the date has passed.
- 結衣 Yui大翔くん、遅ればせながらお誕生日おめでとう！Hiroto-kun, okurebasenagara otanjoubi omedetou!Hiroto, happy belated birthday!
- 大翔 Hiroto結衣ちゃん、ありがとう！覚えててくれたんだね。Yui-chan, arigatou! Oboetete kureta n da ne.Yui, thank you! You remembered.
- 結衣 Yuiもちろん！素敵な一年になりますように。Mochiron! Suteki na ichinen ni narimasu you ni.Of course! I hope you have a wonderful year.
- 大翔 Hiroto本当にありがとう。すごく嬉しいよ。Hontou ni arigatou. Sugoku ureshii yo.Thank you so much. I'm really happy.
