Birthdays are a BIG deal in the Netherlands, so you'll want to know how to say happy birthday in Dutch. Birthdays are celebrated with family and friends with unique traditions. In Dutch culture, celebrating a birthday is very important. In fact, it's so important that the Dutch people keep birthday calendars so that no one ever forgets to wish happy birthday to anyone.
Want to impress your Dutch friends? Fortunately, various words and phrases are used to say happy birthday in Dutch. Let's learn more about it today!
Are you planning to visit for the first time to Netherlands, Belgium, or Suriname? Learning the basic greetings like this can certainly help you out. Greeting someone with a "happy birthday" in Dutch isn't the typical way of greeting the birthday person. Instead, a variation of Dutch words and phrases are used in the Netherlands to congratulate people on their birthdays.
The first birthday greeting to learn and the most simple way to wish someone from the Netherlands a happy birthday is, "Gefeliciteerd! - [Ghe-fu-lu- si- teert],” which translates roughly as, “Congratulations!”
This word comes from the original Dutch birthday greeting, “Gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag” - [ Ghe-fu-lu- si- teert-met-ge-veer-yar-da] which means, “Congratulations on your birthday.”
Nowadays, it's more common to use "Gefeliciteerd!" when wishing a happy birthday and this greeting is used to congratulate the birthday person, their family, and the host of the birthday celebration.
Another way to wish someone well on their birthday is to say, "Ik hoop dat je een fijne verjaardag hebt!" - [Ick-hope-dat-je-ine-fine-veer-yar-da-heb] means, "I hope you have a nice birthday!"
This birthday phrase can make good wishes to pretty well anyone.
Next up is a more formal way to communicate birthday well-wishes. This Dutch phrase is more appropriate for elders or wishing happy birthdays to your employer on their special day. "Nog vele jaren in goede gezondheid." - [Nokh fayle yaar-un in khoo-der kher-zont-heit] expresses, "Many happy returns in good health."
Another way to wish someone a pleasant birthday in Dutch is to say, "Gelukkige verjaardag." - [kher-luh-kikh-ge fer-yaar- dakh]. This birthday phrase's translation is roughly "Have a lucky birthday."
You may want to skip the 'happy birthday' part altogether and simply greet the birthday person with, "Een prettige dag gewenst" - [Ern preh-tikh-ge fer-yaar- dakh kher-venst]. This conveys that you are saying, "Wishing you an enjoyable day."
Simply saying, "Happy birthday!" to a person from the Netherlands isn't common, but it is used in conjunction with other Dutch words or phrases.
For example, "Fijne verjaardag." - [fine-fer-yaar- dakh] translates to "Happy birthday," but is more commonly used to celebrate with family members like so;
The following Dutch birthday greetings and wishes are appropriate for your closest friends and are even great ideas to write in a birthday card! Writing these birthday well-wishes on a card will also allow you to write in Dutch.
Ik wens u gezond en succesvol leven vooruit. Gelukkige Verjaardag!! Geniet van uw speciale dag!! -[Ick-vens-u-gchzond-an- success-vol-lve-voo-reich. kher-luh-kikh-ge fer-yaar- dakh.] This means, "I wish you a healthy and successful life ahead. Happy birthday! Enjoy your special day!"
Rozen zijn rood, viooltjes zijn blauw, alles wat ik wil zeggen is Gelukkige Verjaardag aan u! -{Ro-zen-zien-route-vee-otes-sien-blaou-all-is-vat-ick-vil-zegken-is-kher-luh-kikh-ge-fer-yaar- dakh-han-oo } This is a cute poem that translates to, "Roses are red, violets are blue, All I want to say is Happy birthday to you!"
Ik wens u heel veel liefde en geluk op je verjaardag. Gelukkige Verjaardag partner! -[Ick-vens-u-feel-lead-de-in-ge-luk-op - ge-fer-yaar- dakh. Kher-luh-kikh-ge-fer-yaar- dakh-part-ner] "I wish you lots of love and happiness on your birthday. Happy birthday friend!"
Ik hoop dat je van je nieuwe tijd. Gefeliciteerd mijn vriend!! -[Ick-hope-dat-ge-van-ge-nee-u-ew-jite. Ghe-fu-lu- si- teert-mein-freend] "I hope you love your new time. Happy birthday my friend!"
When it's time for your birthday, many people and friends will wish you a happy birthday in Dutch, and you'll receive many congratulations. So how do you politely respond? Here are a few phrases with pronunciation that you can use to reply to all your birthday wishes in the Netherlands:
As with many western cultures, singing a birthday song is a tradition in the Netherlands. You will attend many birthday celebrations, including your own, and it will be great if you can join in the happy birthday song in Dutch!
Here are two of the more popular Dutch birthday songs:
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Turn Up The Volume! Listen And Learn How To Sing Happy Birthday in Dutch
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You should be all set to go to your family and friends' birthday celebrations and parties in Dutch! If you'd like to learn even more Dutch, we can't recommend the Ling App enough. It is one of the fastest-growing language apps and has over 60 languages for you to learn in just 10-15 minutes a day. Oh, and did we mention it's actually fun to use and has plenty of exclusive features?! Check Ling out and discover why it is one of the featured apps on App Store!
But that's not all! To make your Dutch learning experience even more effective, we recommend you to take these beginner to intermediate online courses by Ramon Janssen. It will help you practice your speaking, listening, and writing skills in a comprehensive step-by-step way. Even if you aren't familiar with this language yet, you can follow these courses easily at your own pace! Sounds good? Try the free course today!
