la fecha de tu cumpleaños
/la fet͡ʃa de tu kumpleaɲos/from spelling rules
In Spanish, your birthday date is la fecha de tu cumpleaños.
This phrase is used to refer to the specific day and month on which a person was born. While la fecha de tu cumpleaños is common in conversation, if you are filling out official documents or forms, the more standard term is tu fecha de nacimiento (your date of birth). To ask when someone's birthday is, you can say ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of la fecha (the date), de (of), tu (your) and cumpleaños (birthday).
How does it change in a sentence?
When mentioning the specific day of a birthday, it is common to use the article el before the day, such as in the example el 12 de julio. Additionally, remember that names of the months in Spanish are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.
How do you pronounce it?
/la fetʃa de tu kumpleaɲos/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers sometimes use el cumpleaños when they actually mean the calendar date. In Spanish, la fecha de tu cumpleaños specifically refers to the date, whereas el cumpleaños often refers to the entire celebration or the day itself.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, it is common to celebrate the cumpleaños with a mordida, where the birthday person's face is pushed into the cake.
- In some Latin American countries, it is a tradition to sing Las Mañanitas instead of the standard 'Happy Birthday' song to celebrate the cumpleaños.
- The word cumpleaños is a verb-object compound that literally translates to 'year-fulfiller'.
Examples in context
- Mi fecha de nacimiento es el [day] de [month] de [year].My date of birth is the [day] of [month] of [year].
- Nací el [day] de [month] de [year].I was born on the [day] of [month] of [year].
- Mi cumpleaños es el [day] de [month].My birthday is on the [day] of [month].
- el primeroThe first
- el segundoThe second
- No recuerdo la fecha de tu cumpleaños.I don't remember your birthday date.
- Escribe la fecha de tu cumpleaños en el formulario.Write your birthday date on the form.
Example conversation
Two friends are filling out a guest list for a party.
- MaríaNecesito la fecha de tu cumpleaños para la lista.I need your birthday date for the list.
- JavierEs el doce de mayo.It is May 12th.
- MaríaGracias, Javier. Ya lo tengo.Thanks, Javier. I have it now.
- JavierDe nada, María.You're welcome, María.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cumpleaños, de, fecha, la, tu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
