Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (2024)

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (1)

Hi Junkies!

You are reading this because you want to learn to say Happy Birthday in Russian. Good! In this quick and juicy lesson, you will learn all of this:

  1. How to Wish Happy Birthday in Russian + Various Greetings
  2. How to Say Your Own Birthday in Russian
  3. The Months and Days to Help You Say Your Birthday

I will explain everything as clearly as possible. So, take this lesson and…

  • Review & read out loud
  • Print out to keep for yourself
  • Listen to the FREE Audio Lesson included below as well

…Oh, if you want to learn Russian with a complete Russian learning program — 1000+ audio/video lessons by real teachers – click here to visit RussianPod101 and try them for yourself. I recommend the site.

Part 1: How to Wish Happy Birthday in Russian + Various Greetings

Let’s start with phrases that will help you to congratulate a person on their birthday. There are a lot of phrases. You will learn different variations. Why? So you that you know more Russian and have a greater range of expression.

1. Happy Birthday!

  • С днем рождения!
  • Pronunciation: S dnem rozhdeniya

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (2)

If you only remember one thing from here, remember this. This the most common way to wish someone a happy birthday in Russian. You can use it in casual and formal situations. Anything below this is more complex. But, if you want to sound smart, let’s move on.

2. Wishing you a Happy Birthday!

  • Желаю вам счастливого дня рождения!
  • Zhelayu vam schastlivogo dnya rozhdeniya!

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (3)

This is another good phrase to use. However, it’s not as casual as the last one. Use it if you want to sound polite. The rest of the phrases will get much more polite and creative.

3. Congratulations and best wishes on your Birthday!

  • Поздравления и наилучшие пожелания в твой День Рождения!
  • Pozdravleniya i nailuchshiye pozhelaniya v tvoy Den’ Rozhdeniya!

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (4)

4. From the bottom of my heart I wish you Happy Birthday!

  • От всего сердца желаю вам счастливого Дня Рождения!
  • Ot vsego serdtsa zhelayu vam shastlivogo Dnya Rozhdeniya!

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (5)

5. I wish you a Happy Birthday! Have a great time today!

  • Я желаю вам счастливого дня рождения! Желаю отлично провести сегодня время!
  • Ya zhelayu vam schastlivogo dnya rozhdeniya! Zhelayu otlichno provesti segodnya vremya!

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (6)

6. Best wishes and a wonderful Birthday!

  • С наилучшими пожеланиями и замечательного дня рождения!
  • S nailuchshimi pozhelaniyami i zamechatel’nogo dnya rozhdeniya!

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (7)

7. Hope your special day brings you all you want! Happy Birthday!

  • Надеюсь, что ваш особый день принесет вам все, что вы хотите! С днем рождения!
  • Nadeyus’, chto vash osobyy den’ prineset vam vse, chto vy khotite! S dnem rozhdeniya.

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (8)

8. May all your dreams come true! Happy Birthday to you!

  • Пусть все твои желания сбудутся! С Днем Рождения тебя!
  • Pust’ vse tvoi zhelaniya sbudutsya! S Dnem Rozhdeniya tebya!

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (9)

9. Wishing you a Birthday which is as special as you are!

  • Желаю(ем) тебе Дня Рождения такого же особенного как ты сам(сама)!
  • Zhelayu(em) tebe Dnya Rozhdeniya takogo zhe osobennogo kak ty sam(a)

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (10)

Are you wondering why this Happy Birthday in Russian phrase has (em) and (a)? You’d use Желаю if the wish is coming from you; the verb here is singular. Желаем is plural which means you’re saying this on behalf of a group. As for сам(сама), you use сам if you’re taking to a male and сама when talking to a female.

Obviously, this message is too strong, since you’re calling them special, so keep it for loved ones and good friends.

10. Wishing you the Best Birthday Ever! Have fun! Cheers!

  • Желаю вам самого лучшего дня рождения! Повеселись! Ура!
  • Zhelayu vam samogo luchshego dnya rozhdeniya! Poveselis’! Ura!

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (11)

11. With lots of love I am sending you sweet Birthday wishes! Have a very Happy Birthday!

  • С большой любовью, я посылаю тебе самые замечательные пожелания! Счастливого Дня Рождения!
  • S bol’shoy lyubov’yu, ya posylayu tebe samyye zamechatel’nyye pozhelaniya! Schastlivogo Dnya Rozhdeniya!

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (12)

Another strong Happy Birthday in Russian phrase. You should use it for family, close friends and lovers.

12. Thinking of you on your Birthday and wishing you happiness! Have a great day!

  • Думаю(ем) о тебе в твой День Рождения и желаю(ем) тебе счастья! Пусть это день будет замечательным!
  • Dumayu(yem) o tebe v tvoy Den’ Rozhdeniya i zhelayu(yem) tebe schast’ya! Pust’ eto den’ budet zamechatel’nym!

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (13)

Now you know 12 ways to say happy birthday in Russian. What about your birthday? Let’s move on to the next part.

Part 2: How to Say Your Own Birthday in Russian

Now, how do you say your own birthday in Russian? Here’s how. You don’t have to add the year in if you want to keep it casual. We mostly care about the days and months. Just be sure to plug in your month and date.

  • My birthday is January 10 (+ add year if you want)
    • Мой день рождения 10 января (…. года)
    • Moy den’ rozhdeniya 10 yanvarya (… goda)

Another variation — might sound odd in English but it’s perfect in Russian — is this next one. There’s no huge difference in meaning compared to the last one. You can use both freely.

  • (As for me), my birthday is on January 10 (…. year);
    • У меня день рождения 10 января (….года}
    • U menya den’ rozhdeniya 10 yanvarya (…. goda).

Oh, you don’t know how to say months in Russian? Let’s move on to part 3.

Part 3: The Months and Days in Russian

Now, to say YOUR birthday in Russian, you need to know 1) the Russian months of the year and 2) numbers up to 31.

MonthRussian [Pronunciation]
Januaryянварь – [yanvar’]
Februaryфевраль – [fevral’]
Marchмарт – [mart]
Aprilапрель – [aprel’]
Mayмай – [mai/my] – yes, sounds like the word “my” in “my candy”
Juneиюнь – [eeyoon’]
Julyиюль – [eeyool’]
Augustавгуст – [Avgoost]
Septemberсентябрь – [sentyabr’]
Octoberоктябрь – [aktyabr’]
Novemberноябрь – [noyabr’]
Decemberдекабрь – [deekabr’]

But wait! Look at the example I gave in Part 2.

  • My birthday is January 10
  • Мой день рождения 10 января
  • Moy den’ rozhdeniya 10 yanvarya

The month, January, is written as января (yanvarya), but in the fancy chart of the months above, it’s январь – [yanvar’]. They’re different! Here’s why:

  • The months in the chart below are the proper names for the months. They’re not conjugated.
  • Russian, as you know, has a lot of fun conjugation rules.
  • The month, January, in the example phrase is conjugated, and so the ending is different.

Here’s how you need conjugate the months for this case.

  • For months ending in ь (all except March, May, August)
    • change theь to – я [ya]
      • April is апрель [aprel] and it becomes апреля [aprelya]
      • June is июнь – [eeyoon] and it becomes июня [eeyoonya]
      • December is декабрь [deekabr] and it becomes декабря [deekabrya]
  • For months March, May and August
    • add an “a” to the end. yes, that’s it.
      • Mart март [mart] becomes мартa [marta]
      • May: май [my] becomes майa [maya]
        • I went from “my” to “maya” because in Russian, May sounds like “My” as in “My book.” But if I added the “a” and made it “mya,” it would sound odd; like a cat meow. So, “maya” makes more sense to help you understand the pronuncation.
      • August: август [Avgoost] becomes aвгустa [avgoosta]

Great! Now, that you know the months, you can start sticking them in and writing out your birthday in Russian. Oh, and the numbers?

Numbers 1 to 31.

You don’t really need to know the words for the numbers to write your birthday in Russian. You can write the numbers. This is just in case you want say your birthday out loud, learn a little more and be a hotshot.

  • How to Count In Russian From 1-100 in 5 Minutes
1-1011-2021-31
1 – один11 – одиннадцать21 – двадцать один
2 – два12 – двенадцать22 – двадцать два
3 – три13 – тринадцать23 – двадцать три
4 – четыре14 – четырнадцать24 – двадцать четыре
5 – пять15 – пятнадцать25 – двадцать пять
6 – шесть16 – шестнадцать26 – двадцать шесть
7 – семь17 – семнадцать27 – двадцать семь
8 – восемь18 – восемнадцать28 – двадцать восемь
9 – девять19 – девятнадцать29 – двадцать девять
10 – десять20 – двадцать30 – тридцать

31 – тридцать один

Part 4: Conclusion

Now you know how to wish someone a happy birthday in Russian and all the greetings. And on top of it, you can write your birthday in Russian… if you stick around for this long. Hey, if you did, thank you for reading because this took time to write. Leave a comment and tell us when your birthday is!

  • For Russian TextBooks: The Top 10 Russian Textbooks
  • For Audio Lessons:6 FREE Lessons for Beginners

– The Main Junkie

P.S. If you REALLY want to learn Russian with effective Audio & Video lessons by real teachers – Sign up for free at RussianPod101.com (click here) and start learning!

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (14)

Learn 12 Ways to Say Happy Birthday in Russian, Greetings, Wishes (2024)

FAQs

How do Russians wish a happy birthday? ›

1. С днём рождения — Happy Birthday (Traditional) С днём рождения is the simplest and most traditional birthday greeting in Russian. It's the one that's most commonly used, and you can use it for a person of any age.

How do Russians write their birthday? ›

In Russia, dates are usually written in "day month year" (DMY) order. This order is used in both the all-numeric date (for example "28.08. 17") and the expanded form (for example "28 августа 2017 г.".

What is the correct way to wish happy birthday? ›

Wishing you a day filled with happiness and a year filled with joy. Happy birthday!” “Sending you smiles for every moment of your special day…Have a wonderful time and a very happy birthday!” “Hope your special day brings you all that your heart desires!

What is best wishes in Russian? ›

Wishing someone all the best (best wishes) in Russian would be: Всего лучшего!

What do Russians do on their birthday? ›

If the scale of the celebration is not so large, then they come up with contests and games on their own. Of the most common: forfeits, “Crocodile”, musical battles. And there will definitely be dancing. Another fun part is pulling the ears of the birthday person.

What is a typical greeting in Russia? ›

Initial Greetings
RussianEnglish equivalentContext
Здравствуйте!Hello!A classic greeting you can't possibly go wrong with
Привет!Hi!Anytime, anywhere
Чао!Ciao!A slightly informal greeting taken from Italian; can also be used as a farewell
Здоро́во!Howdy!Slangish
5 more rows

Do Russians sing happy birthday? ›

Russians do sing this at birthday celebrations, however, if you ask a Russian what the birthday song is, they might respond with Песенка крокодила Гены. It's great to learn both!

What day is Russia's birthday? ›

It has been celebrated annually on 12 June since 1992. The day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) on 12 June 1990.

Am I Russian if I was born in Russia? ›

Any person born in Russia automatically receives Russian citizenship by birth if at least one parent is a Russian citizen. Individuals born in the country to two foreign parents only receive Russian citizenship by birth if they cannot acquire the citizenship of either parent.

What is the most unique way to say "Happy Birthday"? ›

Clever and Funny Ways to Say Happy Birthday
  • “Have a fan-cake-tastic day!”
  • “You're the icing on the cake of life – sweet and oh-so-special!”
  • “Hope your birthday is a blast – just like you!”
  • “Wishing you a whale of a time on your birthday!”
  • “Have a purr-fect birthday, full of love and cat-itude!”
May 18, 2023

What is a famous Russian saying? ›

Russian Proverbs About Friendship

Old friends are better than new ones, and plenty is even better, but business and pleasure are kept far apart. Trust, but verify, is a well-known idiom loved by former President Ronald Reagan, who was taught it by the writer Suzanne Massey.

How do you say I wish you happiness in Russian? ›

I wish you happiness, ma'am. Я желаю вам счастья, мэм.

How do you express happiness in Russian? ›

To express happiness in Russian: Круто!

This popular Russian saying is used to express enthusiasm and happiness. For example, after receiving good news, you could say: Круто! You can also use the similarly meaningful expression здорово!

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