生年月日
seinengappi
The Japanese phrase for "your birthday date" is 生年月日 (seinengappi).
生年月日 is used to refer specifically to the calendar date of birth, including the year, month and day. You will typically encounter this term on applications, bank forms, government IDs and in medical or legal contexts, rather than hearing it in casual conversation.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of the characters 生 (birth), 年 (year), 月 (month) and 日 (day).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
生年月日 is a formal, technical term used primarily on official documents and forms.
How do you pronounce it?
seinengappi
Did you know?
- While 生年月日 is used for bureaucracy, Japanese culture has a traditional 'birthday' called 数え年 where a person is considered one year old from the moment of birth.
- In official records, a person's 生年月日 might be recorded using the Japanese era system, which resets the year count every time a new Emperor ascends the throne.
- The character 生 in 生年月日 is the same character used to describe 'raw' fish in 'sashimi' or 'raw' beer, as both refer to something in its natural, unprocessed state.
Examples in context
- 生年月日を教えてください。Seinen gappi o oshiete kudasai.Please tell me your date of birth.
- 書類に生年月日を記入してください。Shorui ni seinen gappi o kinyu shite kudasai.Please enter your date of birth on the form.
- 生年月日はいつですか？Seinen gappi wa itsu desu ka?When is your date of birth?
Example conversation
Misaki is helping Daito fill out a registration form.
- 美咲 Misaki大翔さん、この欄に生年月日を書いてね。Daito-san, kono ran ni seinnengappi o kaite ne.Daito, write your date of birth in this section.
- 大翔 Hirotoわかった。西暦で書けばいいのかな。Wakatta. Seireki de kakeba ii no kana.Got it. Should I write it in the Western calendar?
- 美咲 Misakiうん、西暦でお願いね。Un, seireki de onegai ne.Yes, please use the Western calendar.
- 大翔 Hirotoはい、書き終わったよ。Hai, kakiowatta yo.Okay, I'm finished writing it.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 生年月日, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
