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:
- How to Wish Happy Birthday in Russian + Various Greetings
- How to Say Your Own Birthday in Russian
- 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
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!
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!
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!
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!
6. Best wishes and a wonderful Birthday!
- С наилучшими пожеланиями и замечательного дня рождения!
- S nailuchshimi pozhelaniyami i zamechatel’nogo dnya rozhdeniya!
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.
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!
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)
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!
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!
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!
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.
| Month | Russian [Pronunciation] |
| January | январь – [yanvar’] |
| February | февраль – [fevral’] |
| March | март – [mart] |
| April | апрель – [aprel’] |
| May | май – [mai/my] – yes, sounds like the word “my” in “my candy” |
| June | июнь – [eeyoon’] |
| July | июль – [eeyool’] |
| August | август – [Avgoost] |
| September | сентябрь – [sentyabr’] |
| October | октябрь – [aktyabr’] |
| November | ноябрь – [noyabr’] |
| December | декабрь – [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]
- change theь to – я [ya]
- 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]
- add an “a” to the end. yes, that’s it.
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
| 1-10 | 11-20 | 21-31 |
| 1 – один | 11 – одиннадцать | 21 – двадцать один |
| 2 – два | 12 – двенадцать | 22 – двадцать два |
| 3 – три | 13 – тринадцать | 23 – двадцать три |
| 4 – четыре | 14 – четырнадцать | 24 – двадцать четыре |
| 5 – пять | 15 – пятнадцать | 25 – двадцать пять |
| 6 – шесть | 16 – шестнадцать | 26 – двадцать шесть |
| 7 – семь | 17 – семнадцать | 27 – двадцать семь |
| 8 – восемь | 18 – восемнадцать | 28 – двадцать восемь |
| 9 – девять | 19 – девятнадцать | 29 – двадцать девять |
| 10 – десять | 20 – двадцать | 30 – 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
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