So you have a Vietnamese friend or family that you wish to say happy birthday to.
Or do you want to impress him or her even more by singing the "happy birthday" song in Vietnamese?
In this article, let's learn everything about birthdays in Vietnamese, from the word itself to the birthday wishes and song!
'Birthday' in Vietnamese
First, let's start with the Vietnamese word for 'birthday'.
Sinh nhật
- The word sinh means "to be born" or "to give birth".
- And the word nhật refers to "day". So sinh nhật has the meaning of "the day you were born".
- In the Southern dialect, some people would pronounce the word sinh as sanh. So make sure you know that they mean the same thing!
To talk specifically about the 'day', 'month', or 'year' of birth, you can say:
ngày sinh
day of birth / date of birth
tháng sinh
month of birth
năm sinh
year of birth
How to ask when someone’s birthday is in Vietnamese
Although there is no difference between the formal and informal ways of asking about birthday in Vietnamese, you still have to use the appropriate personal pronoun when applying these common phrases.
1. Sinh nhật của bạn ngày mấy?
- It means "What day is your birthday?"
- This question is very polite, which you can use to ask someone older than you, as well as a younger person.
- The phrase sinh nhật của bạn translates to "your birthday", and ngày mấy is the question "what day" or "what date".
2. Bạn sinh ngày mấy?
- Meaning "What date were you born?", with the literal translation of "You were born what date?"
- This question is more suitable to ask someone who is around your age or younger, as well as people who you're close with like a family member.
How to say when your birthday is in Vietnamese
First, here's how to talk about 'dates' in Vietnamese.
- Ngày ..., tháng ..., năm...
Ngày means "day", tháng means "month", and năm means "year".
For example:
ngày 15, tháng 3, năm 92
ngày mười lăm, tháng ba, năm chín
15 March 1992
Here are how you can respond when someone asks about your birthday:
- Sinh nhật của mình ngày ..., tháng ..., năm ...
- Mình sinh ngày ..., tháng ..., năm ...
How to say ‘happy birthday’ in Vietnamese
Like any other Vietnamese topics, in order to wish someone "happy birthday", you'll have to know how to address them appropriately in Vietnamese.
If you don't know the correct term of address to use, I have the complete lesson on personal pronouns with great details and explanation.
1. Chúc mừng sinh nhật
- This is the standard phrase to wish anyone happy birthday in Vietnamese, including friends and family members.
- The word chúc means "to wish", and mừng means "glad" or "joyful". Chúc mừng together has the meaning of "to congratulate" in Vietnamese.
- If you want to make it more formal or respectful towards someone, you have to place the personal pronoun at the end of the phrase.
- For example, "Chúc mừng sinh nhật + ông/bà/ba/mẹ/cô/chú/..."
2. Sinh nhật vui vẻ
- This is a more casual phrase to wish someone a happy birthday.
- The word vui vẻ literally means "to be happy".
- Again, to be more specific or respectful towards an older person, you would say "Chúc + [pronoun] + sinh nhật vui vẻ".
- For example, "Chúc ông/bà/ba/mẹ/cô/chú sinh nhật vui vẻ"
Common Birthday Wishes in Vietnamese
Besides a simple "Happy birthday", you can express yourself better and show the other person how important they are to you by giving them a birthday message.
You can use the following wishes to wish your friend or family members face-to-face or via messages.
Birthday Wishes to a Friend
If the person is a casual friend, you can call him or her bạn, and call yourself mình.
If it's your close friend or best friend, use cậu or mày to call the person, and use tớ or tao to call yourself.
All the examples below use cậu-tớ pair of pronoun for "You-I".
1. Sinh nhật vui vẻ nhé, bạn tốt của tớ!
- Happy birthday, my good friend!
2. Cảm ơn cậu vì cậu đã luôn bên cạnh tớ.
2. Thank you for always being by my side.
3. Chúc cậu luôn thành công trong cuộc sống nhé!
3. Wish you always succeed in life!
4. Chúc cậu có một ngày sinh nhật thật ý nghĩa.
4. Wish you ave a meaningful birthday.
5. Chúc cậu có một ngày sinh nhật ngập tràn niềm vui, tiếng cười và sự yêu thương.
5. Wish you have a birthday filled with joy, laughter, and love.
6. Nhớ tận hưởng ngày hôm nay thật trọn vẹn nhé! Một năm mới có một lần thôi đó!
6. Remember to enjoy today fully! It's only once a year!
Birthday Wishes to your parents
When talking to your parent, ba - dad, mẹ - mom, you would address yourself as con.
7. Chúc ba/mẹ trẻ mãi không già.
7. Wish dad/mom forever young never gets old.
8. Mẹ à, mẹ là người quan trọng nhất trong cuộc đời của con. Con yêu mẹ.
8. Mom, you are the most important person in my life. I love you, Mom.
9. Con là người may mắn nhất vì có mẹ là mẹ của con.
9. I'm the luckiest person because you have you as my mom.
10. Chúc ba/mẹ mạnh khoẻ, yêu đời, và sống mãi bên cạnh con cháu.
10. I wish you good health, enjoy life, and live with your children and grandchildren forever.
How to Sing ‘Happy Birthday’ in Vietnamese
Vietnamese birthday song
Mừng ngày sinh nhật của [name]
Mừng ngày sinh nhật của [name]
Mừng ngày đó [name] sinh ra đời
Happy birthday to you!
English translation
Happy birthday to [name]
Happy birthday to [name]
Happy that day [name] was born
Happy birthday to you!
Must-know Birthday words in Vietnamese
bánh kem / bánh ga-tô
cream cake
bánh sinh nhật
birthday cake
nến
candle
hoa
flowers
quà
present, gift
tặng quà
to give present
mở quà
to open present
hát chúc mừng sinh nhật
to sing happy birthday
tổ chức sinh nhật
to organize a birthday
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