Mi cumpleaños es el
/mi kumpleaɲos es el/from spelling rules
The Spanish phrase for "my birthday is on" is Mi cumpleaños es el.
Note that in Spanish, days and months are written with lowercase letters.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, Mi cumpleaños es el translates to "My birthday is the". This is because Spanish uses the definite article instead of the preposition "on" when stating dates.
How does it change in a sentence?
When stating a date, you must include the masculine article el before the number of the day.
How do you pronounce it?
/mi kumpleaɲos es el/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the preposition en (on) instead of the article el (the) when saying this phrase.
Did you know?
- In some Latin American countries, the birthday is celebrated with la mordida, where the birthday person's face is pushed into the cake after the first bite.
- The word cumpleaños is a clever linguistic construction that literally means 'fulfills years'. It treats a birthday not just as a date, but as the act of completing a cycle of time.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, you might hear people say ¡Felicidades! instead of 'Feliz cumpleaños' when celebrating a birthday. While the latter is literal, the former is a common way to offer congratulations on the milestone.
Examples in context
- Mi cumpleaños es el veinte de julio.My birthday is on the twentieth of July.Tatoeba #12927337 by ecorralest101, translation #4903388 by AlanF_US
- Mi cumpleaños es el veintidós de enero.My birthday is on the twenty-second of January.Tatoeba #10810658 by carlosalberto, translation #10810650 by carlosalberto
- Mi cumpleaños es el 25 de diciembreMy birthday is on December 25th.
- Mi cumpleaños es el 5 de marzoMy birthday is on March 5th.
- El día de mi cumpleaños es el 10 de febreroThe day of my birthday is February 10th.
- Mi cumpleaños es el cinco de marzo.My birthday is on March fifth.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing their upcoming celebrations.
- Javier¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños, Elena?When is your birthday, Elena?
- ElenaMi cumpleaños es el diez de mayo.My birthday is on May tenth.
- Javier¡Qué bien! Mi cumpleaños es el doce de mayo.That's great! My birthday is on May twelfth.
- Elena¡Celebraremos juntos entonces!We will celebrate together then!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cumpleaños, el, es, mi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
