Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| お誕生日おめでとうございます | o-tanjōbi omedetō gozaimasu | [o̞tã̠ɲ̟d͡ʑo̞ːbʲi o̞me̞de̞to̞ː ɡo̞za̠ima̠sɨ̥] (narrow) | formal |
| 誕生日おめでとう | tanjōbi omedetō | [tã̠ɲ̟d͡ʑo̞ːbʲi o̞me̞de̞to̞ː] (narrow) | informal |
The phrase is used to offer good wishes for someone's birthday.
What does it mean word for word?
The formal phrase お誕生日おめでとうございます is composed of the honorific prefix o-, tanjōbi (birthday), omedetō (congratulations) and the polite auxiliary verb gozaimasu.
Which one should you use?
The formal version お誕生日おめでとうございます includes the honorific prefix o- and the polite verb gozaimasu, whereas the informal version 誕生日おめでとう omits them.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Use the full version お誕生日おめでとうございます when speaking to superiors, teachers or people older than you. The shorter version 誕生日おめでとう is used when speaking to friends, family members of the same or younger age or children.
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding the honorific o- to tanjōbi makes the noun itself more respectful, even if the sentence ends informally as in お誕生日おめでとう.
How do you pronounce it?
o-tanjōbi omedetō gozaimasu
Did you know?
- In many Japanese social media settings, people often omit the long polite phrase and simply type 誕おめ ('tan-ome'), a highly abbreviated slang version.
- If you use the full phrase お誕生日おめでとうございます to a close friend, they might think you are being sarcastic or making a joke because it is excessively formal.
- When celebrating a birthday, Japanese people might refer to the 'age' of the person using the word 歳 sai. However, traditionally, some celebrated the 'counting age' where a person is one year old at birth.
Examples in context
- トム、お誕生日おめでとう！Happy birthday, Tom!This sentence shows how to address a friend using the informal form 誕生日おめでとう.Tatoeba #9997297 by small_snow, translation #2337263 by Hybrid
- 誕生日おめでとうございます。Happy birthday to you!Tatoeba #127350 by bunbuku, translation #64233 by shekitten
- お誕生日おめでとうムーリエル！Happy birthday, Muiriel!This sentence shows the informal form 誕生日おめでとう used with a name.Tatoeba #4706 by bunbuku, translation #355041 by human600
- 16 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Misaki greets her boss, Yota, in the office.
- 美咲 Misaki陽太さん、お誕生日おめでとうございます。Yōta-san, o-tanjōbi omedetō gozaimasu.Happy birthday, Mr. Yota.
- 陽太 Yotaありがとう。嬉しいよ。Arigatō. Ureshii yo.Thank you. I'm happy.
- 美咲 Misakiいい一年になりますように。Ii ichinen ni narimasu yō ni.I hope you have a great year.
- 陽太 Yotaありがとう、美咲さん。Arigatō, Misaki-san.Thank you, Misaki.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “happy birthday” translations and entries お誕生日おめでとうございます, 誕生日おめでとう, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
