feliz cumpleaños amigo
/feliθ kumpleaɲos amiɡo/from spelling rules
The English phrase "happy birthday to a friend" is translated into Spanish as feliz cumpleaños amigo.
The most common and straightforward way to say "happy birthday" in general is ¡Feliz cumpleaños! If you want to wish them a great time on their birthday, you can say Que lo pases muy bien en tu cumpleaños.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase feliz cumpleaños literally translates to "happy birthday". The word cumpleaños is a compound of cumplir (to fulfill or complete) and años (years).
Which one should you use?
While feliz cumpleaños amigo specifies the recipient, it is very common to simply say feliz cumpleaños on its own. Additionally, you can use the colloquial, shortened version ¡Feliz cumple! for a more casual feel.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, you may use the phrase Que cumplas muchos más. to convey "May you have many more birthdays to come."
How does it change in a sentence?
The word for friend must change to the feminine form if the friend is female, resulting in feliz cumpleaños amiga.
How do you pronounce it?
/feliθ kumpleaɲos amiɡo/
Did you know?
- In some Latin American countries, a tradition called la mordida involves pushing the birthday person's face into the cake after they make a wish.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, it is common to sing Las Mañanitas instead of or in addition to the standard birthday song.
- If you want to be even more informal than feliz cumple, you might hear people simply say ¡Felicidades!, which means 'congratulations'.
Example conversation
Lucía sends a birthday message to Alejandro.
- Lucía¡Hola Alejandro, feliz cumpleaños amigo!Hi Alejandro, happy birthday friend!
- Alejandro¡Muchas gracias, Lucía!Thank you very much, Lucía!
- Lucía¿Vas a celebrar hoy?Are you going to celebrate today?
- AlejandroSí, voy a cenar con mi familia.Yes, I am going to have dinner with my family.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
