誕生日はいつ
tanjōbi wa itsu
The phrase "when your birthday is" in Japanese is 誕生日はいつ (tanjōbi wa itsu).
This phrase is used to ask someone for the date of their birth. To state your own birthday, you can use the patterns Watashi no tanjōbi wa ____ desu for a formal statement or Watashi no tanjōbi wa ____ da for an informal statement.
What does it mean word for word?
誕生日 (tanjōbi) means "birthday", which is composed of 誕生 (birth) and 日 (day). The particle は (wa) is a topic marker that marks "birthday" as the topic of the sentence, and いつ (itsu) is the interrogative meaning "when".
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding ですか to the end of the phrase makes it the polite version, 誕生日はいつですか.
How do you pronounce it?
tanjōbi wa itsu
Did you know?
- Before the modern era, Japanese people rarely tracked individual birthdays and instead celebrated 正月 (shōgatsu) or New Year's as a day when everyone aged by one year together.
- The concept of 'Kanreki', or the 60th birthday, is a major milestone in Japan because it marks the completion of one full cycle of the zodiac and is treated as a symbolic rebirth.
- When answering this question, Japanese speakers often use the counter 月 (gatsu) for months and 日 (nichi) for days, but specific dates like the 1st through 10th have unique, irregular pronunciations that do not follow standard numbering.
Examples in context
- 誕生日はいつですか？tanjoubi wa itsu desu ka?When is your birthday?
- 誕生日はいつ？tanjoubi wa itsu?When's your birthday?
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their upcoming celebrations.
- 蓮 Ren陽葵の誕生日はいつ？Himari no tanjoubi wa itsu?When is your birthday, Himari?
- 陽葵 Himari六月十日だよ。rokugatsu tooka dayo.It's June tenth.
- 蓮 Renそうなんだ！sou nanda!I see!
- 陽葵 Himari蓮の誕生日はいつ？Ren no tanjoubi wa itsu?When is your birthday, Ren?
