Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Spanish

Birthdays are very special to every individual whether or not it’s their 1st or 99th birthday. Birthdays aren’t just days where you have decorations, cake, games, and family and friends around – it is a reminder of another, rather a celebration of being another year older.

Happy Birthday in Spanish

If you were wishing happy birthday to your mother, you might say “¡Feliz cumpleaños, mi madre!”

If you were wishing happy birthday to your father, you might say “feliz cumpleaños papa”
If you were wishing happy birthday to your friend, you might say “Feliz cumpleaños mi amiga”
If you were wishing happy birthday to your sister, you might say “¡Feliz cumpleaños a mi querida hermana!”

Spanish Birthday Song

A birthday is not a birthday without a happy birthday song and there are many of them in Spanish.

Let’s first look at a few that follow the same tune of the “happy birthday” song in English:

Argentina

Que los cumplas feliz – That you turn them happily (the years)

Que los cumplas feliz 

Que los cumplas (name)

Que los cumplas feliz.

Chile

Cumpleaños feliz – Happy birthday

Te deseamos a ti – We wish to you

Cumpleaños (name) – Birthday (name)

Que los cumplas feliz. – That you turn them happily.

Guatemala

Feliz cumpleaños a ti – Happy birthday to you

Feliz cumpleaños a ti

Feliz cumpleaños (name)

Feliz cumpleaños a ti. 

Ya queremos pastel – Now we want cake

Ya queremos pastel

Aunque sea un pedacito – Even just a little piece

Pero queremos pastel. – But we want cake.

Now, a country where the birthday song doesn’t use the popular “happy birthday” tune:

México

In México, people get up really early to sing Las Mañanitas to wake up their loved ones on their birthdays. But the true Mexican spirit gets going when a group of friends, or maybe a romantic partner, stays awake until after midnight to hire a mariachi band  to sing Las Mañanitas outside the house of the birthday boy or girl.

Actually, Las Mañanitas is one of the top five mariachi songs of all time.

Estas son las mañanitas – These are the early mornings

Que cantaba el rey David – That King David used to sing

Hoy por ser día de tu santo – Today being the day of your saint

Te las cantamos a ti. – We sing them to you.

Despierta, (nombre), despierta – Wake up, (name), wake up

Mira que ya amaneció – Look it’s sunrise already

Ya los pajaritos cantan – The little birds are singing

La luna ya se metió. – The moon hid itself.

Las Mañanitas continue for a couple more stanzas, but most people only sing these first two.

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