Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 生日快樂 / 生日快乐 | shēngrì kuàilè |
| 祝你生日快樂 / 祝你生日快乐 | zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè |
The phrase is used to express good wishes for someone's birthday. The version 生日快乐 is the most common way to say Happy Birthday in Chinese Simplified. You can use the shorter version 生日快樂 / 生日快乐 as a standalone exclamation or when writing on cards, whereas the longer version 祝你生日快樂 / 祝你生日快乐 translates to "I wish you a happy birthday."
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 生日 (birthday) and 快樂 (happy).
Which one should you use?
生日快樂 / 生日快乐 serves as a common standalone exclamation. In contrast, the full sentence 祝你生日快樂 / 祝你生日快乐 is used to address someone directly by saying "I wish you a happy birthday."
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding 祝你 (wish you) before the phrase makes it a complete sentence. To be more respectful toward elders or superiors, you can replace 你 (nǐ) with the polite form 您 (nín) to say 祝您生日快樂.
How do you pronounce it?
shēngrì kuàilè
Did you know?
- While 生日快樂 is the standard wish, it is common for Chinese people to avoid celebrating the 40th birthday because the number four sounds like the word for 'death'.
- When celebrating a birthday in China, it is common to eat 'longevity noodles' (长寿面, chángshòumiàn), which are long, uncut noodles symbolizing a long and healthy life.
- When wishing a very old person a happy birthday, people often use the phrase 福如東海, 壽比南山, which compares their happiness to the East Sea and their life to the Southern Mountains.
Examples in context
- 生日快乐，张先生。Happy Birthday, Mr. Zhang.
- 祝你生日快乐，李教授。I wish you a happy birthday, Professor Li.
- 生日快乐啊，小明！Happy Birthday, Xiao Ming!
- 祝你生日快快乐乐，宝贝姐姐！I wish you a very happy birthday, darling sister!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “happy birthday” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
