feliz cumpleaños por adelantado
/feliθ kumpleaɲos poɾ adelantado/from spelling rules
The English phrase "happy early birthday" is translated into Spanish as feliz cumpleaños por adelantado.
This phrase is used as a greeting to wish someone a happy birthday before their actual birth date has arrived.
What does it mean word for word?
The component por adelantado literally means "in advance" or "ahead of time".
Which one should you use?
You may encounter more casual variations. For example, the word cumple is a common informal shortening of cumpleaños used in casual conversation, resulting in the phrase ¡Feliz cumple por adelantado!
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, ¡Feliz Cumpleaños por adelantado! is commonly used. In some Latin American countries, such as Mexico, you can informally use ¡Feliz Cumple Adelantado! or ¡Feliz Cumple Anticipado!
How do you pronounce it?
/feliθ kumpleaɲos poɾ adelantado/
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking communities, the tradition of 'mordida' involves pushing the birthday person's face into the cake after they have been wished feliz cumpleaños.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, instead of saying 'happy birthday', people often say ¡Felicidades!, which means 'congratulations'. This focuses on celebrating the person's achievement of reaching a new age.
- The term adelantado shares a root with the Spanish word for 'forward', but in a historical context, an Adelantado was also a high-ranking colonial governor in the Spanish Empire.
Examples in context
- ¡Feliz cumpleaños por adelantado, amiga!Happy early birthday, friend!
- Te deseo un feliz cumpleaños por adelantado.I wish you a happy early birthday.
- ¡Feliz cumpleaños por adelantado para ti!Happy early birthday to you!
Example conversation
Alejandro sees Elena at a cafe a few days before her birthday.
- Alejandro¡Hola Elena! ¡Feliz cumpleaños por adelantado!Hi Elena! Happy early birthday!
- Elena¡Muchas gracias, Alejandro! Qué detallista eres.Thank you so much, Alejandro! How thoughtful of you.
- Alejandro¿Vas a hacer una fiesta este fin de semana?Are you going to have a party this weekend?
- ElenaNo, solo una cena pequeña con mi familia.No, just a small dinner with my family.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
