お父さん、誕生日おめでとう
otousan, tanjoubi omedetou
The English phrase "happy birthday dad" is translated into Japanese as お父さん、誕生日おめでとう (otousan, tanjoubi omedetou).
This phrase is a greeting used to wish one's father a happy birthday. In Japanese, it is natural to include the person's title, such as お父さん (otousan), at the beginning of the greeting, whereas English speakers often omit the word "dad" in the phrase.
What does it mean word for word?
The word for birthday, 誕生日 (tanjoubi), literally means "day of birth."
How do you pronounce it?
otousan, tanjoubi omedetou
Did you know?
- The word for 'birthday', 誕生日 (tanjoubi), contains the character for 'birth' and 'day', but the concept of celebrating a specific birth date is a relatively modern Western influence on Japanese culture.
- While お父さん is the standard term for 'dad', a man referring to his own father when speaking to others will often use the humbler term 父 (chichi).
- The greeting おめでとう (omedetou) comes from a root meaning 'congratulations'. In Japanese, wishing someone a happy birthday is conceptually closer to 'congratulations on your birthday' than the English 'happy' construction.
Examples in context
- お誕生日おめでとうございます、お父さん。Happy Birthday Dad
- お父さん、誕生日おめでとう。プレゼントだよ。Otousan, tanjoubi omedetou. Purezento dayo.Happy birthday, dad. This is a present for you.
- お父さん、誕生日おめでとうございます！Otousan, tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu!Happy birthday, dad! (polite/respectful)
Example conversation
Hiyori gives a present to her father, Ren.
- 陽葵 Himariお父さん、誕生日おめでとう！Otousan, tanjoubi omedetou!Happy birthday, Dad!
- 蓮 Renありがとう、陽葵。Arigatou, Hiyori.Thank you, Hiyori.
- 陽葵 Himariこれ、プレゼントだよ。Kore, purezento dayo.This is a present for you.
- 蓮 Ren嬉しいよ。ありがとう。Ureshii yo. Arigatou.I'm so happy. Thank you.
