How to Say "Happy Birthday" in Russian
By Daily Cyrillic · Updated
“Happy Birthday” in Russian is с днём рождения (s dnyom rozhdéniya). Use this expression as your starting point, then check the examples for tone, formality and context. Listen to the pronunciation, notice the stressed syllable and compare the common variants before choosing the wording that fits your conversation.
Reading time: about 2 min.
- Russian
- с днём рождения
- Transliteration
- s dnyom rozhdéniya
- Meaning
- happy birthday
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In Russian
s dnyom rozhdéniya - happy birthday
Variants & registers
- поздравляю с днём рождения!pozdravlyáyu s dnyom rozhdéniya
happy birthday! - the full "I congratulate you"
warm - с днюхой!s dnyúkhoy
happy b-day - very casual slang
slang - желаю счастья и здоровьяzheláyu schástya i zdoróvya
I wish you happiness and health
heartfelt - с праздником!s prázdnikom
happy holiday - the same с + instrumental pattern
neutral
Breakdown & pronunciation
Word by word
- сswith / on (congratulations on)
- днёмdnyomday (instrumental of день)
- рожденияrozhdéniyaof birth (genitive of рождение)
Pronunciation
Say z-DNYOM razh-DYE-ni-ya. The с is pronounced "z" before the voiced д. днём is one syllable; рождения is stressed on the ДЕ: razh-DYE-ni-ya.
Example sentences
С днём рождения! Желаю счастья.
S dnyom rozhdéniya! Zheláyu schástya.
Happy birthday! I wish you happiness.
Поздравляю с днём рождения!
Pozdravlyáyu s dnyom rozhdéniya!
Happy birthday (I congratulate you)!
С днём рождения, дорогая!
S dnyom rozhdéniya, dorogáya!
Happy birthday, dear!
Желаю здоровья и успехов!
Zheláyu zdoróvya i uspékhov!
I wish you health and success!
Usage & etiquette
Russian builds congratulations with с + the instrumental case: с днём рождения ("on your birthday"), с Новым годом ("happy New Year"), с праздником ("happy holiday"). The pattern is the same every time.
For a fuller, warmer greeting, open with поздравляю ("I congratulate you") and follow with a wish such as желаю счастья и здоровья ("I wish you happiness and health").
Practice
Practice deck
1 / 5FAQ
How do you say "happy birthday" in Russian?
Why does с днём рождения use the instrumental case?
Turn this guide into words you can use
Build a free Russian set for this topic, with examples and ElevenLabs AI audio.
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