Wish Your Loved Ones Happy Birthday in Spanish (2024)

Nothing is more remarkable than wishing your loved one’s happy birthday in Spanish!

When the time comes to celebrate our closest friends or family, we always want to please them with a different and innovative celebration full of surprises.

And we are sure that when it’s the birthday of a Spanish-speaking friend, you want to feel closer, wishing them congratulations in their mother tongue.

In this article, we want to give you a complete guide on how to say congratulations in Spanish with that special touch or to be closer to your Spanish-speaking friends.

Read on, and don’t miss a single detail!

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Basic Birthday Vocabulary in Spanish

Let’s start with the most important thing, the essential vocabulary you need to know in Spanish to understand the context of the celebration or the sentences.

Some words may vary depending on the region or country, but generally, these are the most used.

Read also: How To Introduce Yourself in Spanish

Spanish Phrases for Wishing Someone a Happy Birthday

A birthday celebration is one of the experiences that most people look forward to each year.

Undoubtedly, you will always have the opportunity to congratulate and celebrate another year of life with people.

So, we have also selected ready-to-use phrases and expressions common in these festivities to congratulate someone.

Even if you don’t know what to write in a birthday card or which happy birthday text to send your friend, here are some sentences to inspire you to use at your next celebration.

We recommend: The Sweetest Guide to Valentine’s Day Vocabulary in Spanish

Incorporating Birthday-Related Vocabulary in Spanish

When you think of celebrations and birthdays, there will always be a specific vocabulary that you must manage to communicate better.

Here we share some Spanish terms that will help you speak with the host or guests at a birthday party.

And these are some examples of how to use them in complete sentences:

¿Sabes donde venden piñatas? Necesito comprar una para el cumpleaños de mi hijo.

Do you know where they sell piñatas? I need to buy one for my son’s birthday.

¿Quieres candelas normales o las que tienen forma de números?

Do you want regular candles or the ones that are shaped like numbers?

Cada mesa tendrá 10 sillas.

Each table will have 10 chairs.

Here we share another series of words used to talk about food or what objects you find in a celebration.

This is how you can use some of them:

Después de la fiesta de cumpleaños, puedes enviarles notas de agradecimiento a los invitados por haberte acompañado en tu día especial.

After the birthday party, you can send thank you notes to the guests for joining you on your special day.

La comida del cumpleaños estuvo excelente.

The birthday meal was excellent.

Los meseros están sirviendo las bebidas.

The waiters are serving the beverages.

Fun Ways to Celebrate Birthdays in Spanish

Give a different touch to the birthday celebrations of your children, family, and friends by doing some Latin American activity or tradition.

Latinos are notorious for loving parties, and they also enjoy dancing, singing and are happy to join every celebration they can. Birthdays are not the exception.

The whole family gets together to make a carne asada, cook the favorite dish of the celebrated one, cut the cake, play games, sing karaoke, and many more.

For example, on birthdays in Mexico, children often break the piñata that’s filled with candies, sweets, toys, fruit, and other things.

Over time this was not limited only to children; now adults also break their piñata.

This tradition also spread throughout Central America, where the piñatas are shaped like famous characters from movies or cartoons.

Also, the happy birthday song sung by Mariachis is a must! Mariachis are a group of musicians dressed in traditional suits and sombreros.

In the Dominican Republic and other Latin American countries, girls celebrate “Los Quince.”

This celebration symbolizes the transition to womanhood, an ancient tradition that has evolved over the decades.

La fiesta de quince años (the fifteenth birthday party) is a big deal! America’s equivalent is the sweet sixteen parties.

For los quinces girls wear a very striking gala dress, and, in some cases, several outfit changes are chosen for the evening.

A mass is held in honor of the quinceañera, and then all the guests gather in a grand celebration where the birthday girl waltzes with her father. Then people make a toast, and then they eat and dance throughout the night.

You and your family can learn to sing the birthday song in Spanish for birthdays at home. People in Latin American often sing both the English and Spanish version.

The curious thing is there are many happy birthday songs in Spanish!

Here are two you have undoubtedly heard that are very easy to learn.

Cumpleaños Feliz

Cumpleaños feliz,

te deseamos a ti

Que los cumplas en tu día

Que los cumplas feliz

English translation:

We wish you a happy birthday

That your wishes come true on your day

That you have a happy one

Las Mañanitas

Las Mañanitas is mainly sung in Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, and Guatemala, and it has a lovely melody and lyrics.

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

Qué linda está la mañana

En que vengo a saludarte

Venimos todos con gusto

Y placer a felicitarte

El día en que tú naciste

Nacieron todas las flores

En la pila del bautismo

Cantaron los ruiseñores

Ya viene amaneciendo

Ya la luz del día nos dio

Levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció

Si yo pudiera bajarte, las estrellas y un lucero

Para poder demostrarte lo mucho que yo te quiero

Con jazmines y flores este día quiero adornar

Hoy por ser día de tu santo

e venimos a cantar.

English translation:

This is the morning song

that King David sang

Because today is your saint’s day

we’re singing it for you

Wake up, my dear, wake up,

look it is already dawn

The birds are already singing

and the moon has set

How lovely is the morning

in which I come to greet you

We all came here with joy

and pleasure to congratulate you.

The day you were born

all the flowers were born

On the baptismal fountain nightingales sang

The morning is coming now,

the sun is giving us its light

Get up in the morning,

look it is already dawn

If I could bring you down, the stars and a bright star

To be able to show you how much I love you

With jasmine and flowers this day I want to adorn

Today to be your saint’s day

We come to sing to you.

See also: How To Write Dates in Spanish

Celebrate Birthdays and Keep Practicing Your Spanish

Birthday celebrations are always an exceptional opportunity to share with your closest friends and dearest family.

If you learn the vocabulary of this type of celebration, you will surely get closer to your Spanish-speaking friends and create deeper connections.

By mastering this vocabulary perfectly, you will climb one more step in the Spanish ladder, and you will feel closer to your goal.

Remember to always combine these lessons with formal learning classes, with certified teachers.

At Homeschool Spanish Academy, Guatemalan Spanish teachers will help you learn this wonderful language and how to become more fluent.

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