How to Say Happy Birthday in Spanish

The short answer: "¡Feliz cumpleaños!" (fay-LEES koom-play-AH-nyos) is how you say "Happy birthday" in Spanish, and it works everywhere — with close friends, coworkers, or someone you've just met. If you only remember one phrase from this page, that's the one.

Casually, especially among friends, you'll often hear the shortened "¡Feliz cumple!" (fay-LEES KOOM-play) — the Spanish equivalent of English's casual "happy b-day." A common addition, especially in spoken well-wishes, is "que cumplas muchos más" (may you have many more), tacked onto the main phrase as a warm extra blessing: "¡Feliz cumpleaños, que cumplas muchos más!"

Here's a cultural detail worth knowing, and one that sets Spanish apart from a lot of other languages: there are two genuinely different birthday songs in wide use. "Cumpleaños feliz" is the direct Spanish equivalent of "Happy Birthday to You," sung to the exact same familiar melody with the words reordered: "Cumpleaños feliz, cumpleaños feliz, te deseamos todos, cumpleaños feliz." But in Mexico and much of Latin America, "Las Mañanitas" is a completely separate, much older traditional song — different melody, different lyrics, and often considered the more meaningful, more traditional choice, sometimes sung instead of "Cumpleaños feliz" and sometimes alongside it. If you're celebrating with Mexican friends or family, don't be surprised if "Las Mañanitas" is the one that actually gets sung.

If you're the one being wished a happy birthday, the standard reply is simply "¡gracias!" — there's no special "you're welcome for my birthday" phrase in Spanish; ordinary thanks covers it.

These short, everyday phrases are exactly the kind of building block Passage's grammar and vocabulary sections are meant to support — once phrases like "feliz cumpleaños" feel automatic, the Grammar section is a natural next step for putting fuller sentences together.