Happy Birthday in Spanish

In this lesson, you will learn some of the most common phrases in order to congratulate a birthday person, the Spanish Happy Birthday song (and some of its variations in different countries) and vocabulary when at the party!

Resources for further reading:

• How to improve your pronunciation of Spanish words
• How long does it take to become fluent in Spanish?

Our Rocket Record feature is your best ally in order to practice and perfect your pronunciation of Happy Birthday in Spanish, so please be sure to use it while taking the lesson; listen to the audio and follow the Spanish pronunciation. Please keep in mind that speaking aloud will help you feel more comfortable with your pronunciation.

First, the full 'Happy Birthday' song in Spanish

The lyrics to Happy Birthday in Spanish

• Feliz cumpleaños a ti
• feliz cumpleaños a ti
• feliz cumpleaños querido/a (name)
• feliz cumpleaños a ti.
• Ya queremos pastel
• Ya queremos pastel,
• Aunque sea un pedacito,
• pero queremos pastel.

In some countries, the song may vary a bit, here are some examples:

Singing Happy Birthday in Colombia:

• Cumpleaños feliz
• te deseamos a ti
• cumpleaños (name) -cumpleaños feliz.

• Que los cumpla feliz,
• que los vuelva a cumplir,
• que los siga cumpliendo,
• Hasta el año 3000.

Happy Birthday in Chile:

• Cumpleaños feliz
• te deseamos a ti
• feliz cumpleaños (name)
• que los cumplas feliz.

The Happy Birthday song in Spain / España:

• Cumpleaños feliz
• cumpleaños feliz
• te deseamos (name)
• cumpleaños feliz.

Las mañanitas

There is a popular song called 'Las mañanitas'. This song is usually sung with all the guests gathered around the birthday person before they blow out the candles.

• Estas son las mañanitas
• que cantaba el rey David
• A las muchachas/os bonitas/os,
• se las cantamos así.
• Despierta mi bien despierta
• Mira que ya amaneció
• Ya los pajarillos cantan -La luna ya se metió.

• El día en que tú naciste,
• nacieron todas las flores
• Y En la pila del bautismo
• cantaron los ruiseñores.
• Ya viene amaneciendo
• ya la luz del dia nos dió.
• Levantate de mañana,
• mira que ya amaneció.

Here are some helpful words that will come in handy at a Spanish Birthday party:

Some phrases commonly used to congratulate the person are:

If you are talking to the birthday person, some people may ask:

The length of the celebration may vary according to the type of person and where they celebrate it. When the party is for children, there is usually a piñata (a clay figure in different shapes, that contains candy). It hangs from a rope and usually an adult moves it up and down.

Children are blindfolded and spun around; then they are given a wooden stick which is used in order to break the piñata. People shout in order to confuse the children, shouting it is up or down, left or right.

Here’s some audio you will hear in a piñata or birthday parties for kids:

That’s it for today’s Spanish lesson on saying Happy Birthday. I hope you enjoyed it, that you learned new expressions, and improve your pronunciation!

Can’t get enough of Spanish? Here are some more free Spanish lessons to boost your Spanish:

• Learn how to speak about hobbies in Spanish and things you enjoy.
• Get to know your house in Spanish!
• Preparing for a job interview in Spanish?
• Click here for the lesson on money in Spanish.

¡Hasta la próxima!

Mauricio Evlampieff: Rocket Spanish