Learning how to say “happy birthday” in Spanish is a great way to show your Spanish-speaking friends and family members some love on their special day. And if you’re considering moving to a Spanish-speaking country, it’s a useful thing to know for social occasions.
On that note, let’s learn some different happy birthday quotes in Spanish. There are many ways to say “happy birthday” in Spanish, and they range from simple messages to traditional songs.
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Happy birthday messages in Spanish
Saying “happy birthday” in Spanish is very similar to English! You can refer to the following generic birthday messages when you need to fill in a blank greeting card for somebody’s birthday. They are all multipurpose and appropriate with friends, family, romantic partners and coworkers.
| English | Spanish |
| Happy birthday! | ¡Feliz cumpleaños! |
| Happy b-day! | ¡Feliz cumple! |
| Belated happy birthday! | ¡Feliz cumpleaños atrasado! |
| Another year around the sun! | ¡Otro año alrededor del sol! |
| Wishing you a very happy birthday! | ¡Te deseo un muy feliz cumpleaños! |
| Best wishes on your birthday! | ¡Mis mejores deseos en tu cumpleaños! |
| Have a good one! | ¡Que la pases bien! |
| I hope you enjoy your day! | ¡Espero que disfrutes tu día! |
Spanish happy birthday wishes
Sometimes, we want to say more than just feliz cumpleaños. A more personalized birthday wish can be more meaningful or clever than the generic message you’ll find in a typical greeting card.
If you’d like to try your hand at some humor or write an extra-special wish to a friend, these sayings might be more your style. Just remember to include the phrase ¡Feliz cumpleaños! along with each of the wishes below.
| English | Spanish |
| Everyone gets to be young once. Today it’s official, your turn is over. | Todos tienen la oportunidad de ser jóvenes alguna vez. Hoy es oficial, tu turno ha terminado. |
| Older? Definitely. Wiser? Debatable. | ¿Mayor? Definitivamente. ¿Más sabio? Discutible. |
| A true friend remembers your birthday, but not your age. | Un verdadero amigo se acuerda de tu cumpleaños, pero no de tu edad. |
| May you live so long your wrinkles have wrinkles. | Que vivas tanto que tus arrugas tengan sus propias arrugas. |
| Happy birthday! But please stop growing up, it’s a trap! | ¡Feliz cumpleaños! Pero, por favor deja de crecer, ¡es una trampa! |
| Didn’t we just celebrate this, like, a year ago? | ¿Qué no celebramos esto hace como un año? |
| Today’s a great excuse for you to make some bad decisions. Let’s party! | Hoy es una gran excusa para que tomes malas decisiones. ¡Vámonos de fiesta! |
| Remember that growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional! | Recuerda que crecer es obligatorio, pero ¡madurar es opcional! |
Spanish birthday tips
Saying feliz cumpleaños is certainly nice, but if you really want to make a birthday special, you need to warm up your vocal cords. Singing your happy birthday wishes in Spanish is probably as common as saying them — if not more!
Fortunately, it’s not that difficult. The classic English “Happy Birthday” song is even used in some Spanish-speaking countries. It’s generally translated almost word-for-word, but you might hear some variations on the original.
This is the version my family uses in Chile:
Cumpleaños feliz
Te deseamos a ti
Cumpleaños a [birthday person’s name]
Que los cumpla feliz
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This straightforward version is used in Peru:
Feliz cumpleaños a ti
Feliz cumpleaños a ti
Feliz cumpleaños [birthday person’s name]
Feliz cumpleaños a ti
Check out the versions from other countries.
In Mexico, there is a unique birthday song called Las Mañanitas. This version is nothing like the English-language “Happy Birthday” song. If you are planning to spend time in Mexico, you should definitely consider learning this song. You never know when you’ll be invited to a birthday party!
This version by Vicente Fernández is very popular. Follow along with the lyrics below:
Estas son las mañanitas
Que cantaba el rey David
Hoy por ser día de tu santo
Te las cantamos aquí
Despierta, mi bien, despierta
Mira que ya amaneció
Ya los pajaritos cantan
La luna ya se metió
There are four more verses, but these two are enough to get by at a party.
In Mexico, most birthday parties will have a piñata. A piñata is a papier-mâché figure. It can be a shape such as a star, an animal or a popular cartoon character. It is typically stuffed with candy, and guests (usually kids) take turns hitting the piñata with a stick until it breaks. All the candy falls to the ground and everyone scrambles to grab as much candy as they can. US-born piñata fans may be surprised to learn that, in Mexico, there is a special song for this activity. Check out this kids’ YouTube video to learn the piñata song in Spanish.
Finally, beware of la mordida (the bite). After the birthday song, someone usually tries to shove the birthday person’s face into the birthday cake! Why? No one knows. Watch Salma Hayek explain la mordida.
¡Feliz cumpleaños!
Birthdays happen every day. Now you know some happy birthday quotes in Spanish and the common birthday wishes in Spanish — plus some funny ones, for good measure. The next step is to practice saying your favorite Spanish happy birthday message out loud so you are ready when someone invites you to a party. Why not take a Spanish class to practice?
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Alison Maciejewski Cortez
Alison Maciejewski Cortez is Chilean-American, born and raised in California. She studied abroad in Spain, has lived in multiple countries, and now calls Mexico home. She believes that learning how to order a beer in a new language reveals a lot about local culture. Alison speaks English, Spanish, and Thai fluently and studies Czech and Turkish. Her tech copywriting business takes her around the world and she is excited to share language tips as part of the Lingoda team. Follow her culinary and cultural experiences on X.
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