Я желаю тебе здоровья.

I wish you health.

Breakdown of Я желаю тебе здоровья.

• я: I
• здоровье: the health
• тебе: you
• желать: to wish

Questions & Answers about Я желаю тебе здоровья.

Why is it тебе and not ты?

Ты is the nominative form (used for the subject: “you do something”).
Тебе is the dative form (used for the indirect object: “to you / for you”).

The verb желать (“to wish”) normally follows the pattern:

• желать
  • кого́/чего́ (Genitive: what you wish)
• кому́ (Dative: to whom you wish it)

So in Я желаю тебе здоровья, тебе is dative and means “to you”:
I wish (to you) health.

What case is здоровья, and why is that case used?

Здоровья is in the genitive singular case. The base word is здоровье (“health”).

With желать, the thing being wished is put in the genitive case:

• Желать счастья – to wish (someone) happiness
• Желать удачи – to wish (someone) good luck
• Желать здоровья – to wish (someone) health

So здоровья is genitive because желать requires it:
желать чего? → здоровья.

Can you say Я желаю тебе здоровье with здоровье in the nominative?

No, that sounds ungrammatical or at least very unnatural in standard Russian.

With this meaning (“I wish you health”), Russian speakers expect the genitive:

• Правильно / natural: Я желаю тебе здоровья.
• Wrong / unnatural: Я желаю тебе здоровье.

The verb желать in this sense almost always takes the genitive for what is wished.

What exactly does желать mean? Is it just like “to want”?

Желать and хотеть both translate as “to want, to wish”, but they’re used differently:

• Желать is more formal / polite / ceremonial and often means “to wish (someone something)”:
  • Я желаю тебе здоровья. – I wish you health.
  • Желаю вам удачи. – I wish you good luck.
• Хотеть is more everyday “to want”:
  • Я хочу воды. – I want some water.
  • Я хочу быть здоровым. – I want to be healthy.

You can’t normally replace желать with хотеть in this sentence;
Я хочу тебе здоровья is not correct Russian.

What tense and aspect is желаю? How is it formed?

Желаю is:

• Present tense,
• Imperfective aspect,
• 1st person singular (“I wish”).

Infinitive: желать → drop -ть and add the personal ending:

• я жела́ю – I wish
• ты жела́ешь – you wish
• он/она жела́ет – he/she wishes
• etc.

The perfective partner is usually пожелать:

• Я пожела́ю тебе здоровья. – I will (at some point) wish you health / I’ll give you my good wishes.

In many contexts, though, the simple Желаю тебе здоровья is the normal way to give good wishes.

Can I drop я and just say Желаю тебе здоровья?

Yes, and that is very common and perfectly natural.

Russian often omits the subject pronoun when it’s clear from the verb ending:

• (Я) желаю тебе здоровья.
• Желаю тебе здоровья.

Without я, the sentence sounds a bit more like a standard formula or greeting, similar to just saying “Wish you good health.” in English.

Can I change the word order? For example, Тебе желаю здоровья or Здоровья желаю тебе?

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, and all of these can be grammatically correct:

• Я желаю тебе здоровья. – neutral, most typical.
• Тебе желаю здоровья. – emphasizes тебе (“to you I (specifically) wish health”).
• Здоровья желаю тебе. – emphasizes здоровья (“health is what I wish you”).
• Тебе здоровья желаю. – somewhat poetic or emphatic.

In most normal contexts, the basic version Желаю тебе здоровья is the default, but rearrangements are used for emphasis or style.

How would I say this formally to someone I address as “вы”?

You change тебе (informal singular) to the dative of вы: вам.

• Я желаю вам здоровья. – I wish you (formal / plural) health.

So:

• тебе → Dative, informal “you” (singular)
• вам → Dative, formal “you” (singular polite) or “you” plural

Is Я желаю тебе здоровья something people actually say, or is there a more natural phrase?

Yes, it’s natural, especially in more formal, written, or ceremonial contexts (cards, toasts, speeches).

However, in everyday speech you’ll also hear:

• Желаю тебе здоровья. – same meaning, without я.
• Крепкого здоровья! – “(I wish you) strong health!” (very common toast / wish).
• In a longer list: Желаю тебе счастья, здоровья и успехов. – I wish you happiness, health, and success.

So your sentence is correct and idiomatic; it just leans slightly formal/polite.

What is the stress and pronunciation of the words in this sentence?

Approximate stresses:

• Я жела́ю тебе́ здоро́вья.

Details:

• жела́ю – [же-ЛА-ю], stress on -ла́-
• тебе́ – [ти-БЕ], stress on -бе́
• здоро́вья – [зда-РОВ-ья], stress on -ро́в-

The stress in здоровье / здоровья stays on the same о in both forms:
здоро́вье → здоро́вья.

What are the dictionary forms of тебе and здоровья?

The dictionary (nominative singular) forms are:

• тебе ← ты (pronoun “you”, informal singular)

  • Cases of ты: ты, тебя, тебе, тебя, тобой, о тебе

• здоровья ← здоро́вье (noun “health”, neuter)

  • Some cases of здоровье (singular): здоровье, здоровья, здоровью, здоровье, здоровьем, о здоровье

Can желать be used with verbs, like “I wish you to get well soon”?

Yes, желать can be followed by an infinitive, but the structure changes slightly:

• With a noun:
  
  • Желаю тебе здоровья. – I wish you health.
• With a verb (action):
  
  • Желаю тебе скорее выздороветь. – I wish (for) you to get well soon.
  • Желаю тебе найти хорошую работу. – I wish you (to) find a good job.

So you can wish a state/thing (in genitive, like здоровья) or an action (infinitive, like выздороветь).