How to Say Happy Birthday in German - Zum Geburtstag viel Glück

  • 8 years ago
How to Say Happy Birthday in German - Zum Geburtstag viel Glück

The most common ways of wishing “happy birthday” in German are "Alles Gute zum Geburtstag" and “ Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag.” However, there are also other ways to offer birthday wishes in German. Here are several examples you may find useful.

Method 1 - Basic German

1 - Exclaim "Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!"[1] This is the closest translation to “happy birthday” used in German, and it means something along the lines of “all the best for your birthday.”
Alles is a pronoun meaning "everything" or "all."
Gute is derived from the German adjective "gut," meaning "good," "fine," or "nice."
The term zum comes from the German preposition "zu," meaning "to" or "for."
Geburtstag means "birthday" in German.
Pronounce the entire birthday greeting as ah-less goo-teh tsuhm geh-buhrtz-tahg.

2 - Offer "Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag." This is an equally common, congratulatory birthday greeting.
It can be translated as "heartfelt congratulations for your birthday" or "many happy returns."
Herzlichen is derived from the German adjective "herzlich," meaning "heartfelt," "sincere," or "cordial."
Glückwunsch means "congratulation."
The term zum means "on" or "for," and Geburtstag means "birthday."
Pronounce the statement as hairtz-lich("ch" as in "aCH" NOT as in "CHair")-enn glook-vuhnsh tsoom geh-buhrtz-tahg.

3 - Say "Herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich" or "Nachträglich alles Gute zum Geburtstag" for late wishes. Both are equivalent to saying "happy belated birthday" in English.
Nachträglich means "later" or "belated."
Herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich means "heartfelt congratulations belated." Pronounce it as hairtz-lich("ch" as in "ach" NOT as in "CHair")-enn glook-vuhnsh nach("ch" as in "aCH" NOT as in "CHair")-traygh-lich("ch" as in "aCH" NOT as in "CHair").
"Nachträglich alles Gute zum Geburtstag" means "belated all the best for your birthday." Pronounce it as nach(again as in "aCH")-traygh-lich(again as in "aCH") ah-less goo-teh tsoom geh-buhrtz-tahg.

4 - State "Alles das Beste zum Geburtstag!" This is another way of saying "all the best for your birthday."
Alles means "all" or "everything," zum means "for," and Geburtstag means "birthday."
Das Beste means "the best."[2]
Pronounce this sentiment as ah-less dahss behsteh tsoom geh-buhrtz-tahg.

Method - 2 - Longer Birthday Wishes

1 - Say "Wir wünschen Ihnen einen wunderschönen Tag." Use this statement to wish the birthday boy or birthday girl a wonderful day.
Wir means "we" in English.
Wünschen is a German verb meaning "wish," "want," or "desire."
Ihnen is a polite way of saying "you." To make this statement informal or casual, replace Ihnen with Dir, the informal version of "you." Pronounce Dir as deahr.

Read more at: http://happybirthdaywishcats.blogspot.com/2016/12/how-to-say-happy-birthday-in-german.html
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W: www.happybirthdaycats.com

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