¡Feliz cumpleaños!

In standard Spain Spanish, it is approximately:

feh-LEETH koom-pleh-AHN-yos

A more precise pronunciation is:

/feˈliθ kumpleˈaɲos/

A few useful points:

• z in feliz sounds like the th in think in most of Spain.
• ñ in cumpleaños sounds like ny in canyon.
• The stress falls on:
  • -liz in feliz
  • -a- in cumpleaños

So the rhythm is:

fe-LIZ cum-ple-A-ños

Spanish uses two exclamation marks:

• ¡ at the beginning
• ! at the end

So exclamations are written like this:

¡Feliz cumpleaños!

This helps the reader know from the start that the sentence is exclamatory. In informal texting, some people may skip the opening mark, but the correct standard writing includes both.

This is a very common question.

Cumpleaños literally comes from the idea of completing years. That is why it has a plural-looking form.

But when talking about one birthday, Spanish still uses cumpleaños:

• Hoy es mi cumpleaños. = Today is my birthday.

So even for one birthday, the word is cumpleaños.

It can function as either, but the form usually stays the same.

Examples:

• Mi cumpleaños es hoy. = singular
• Los cumpleaños de mis hijos son en mayo. = plural

So cumpleaños is an invariable noun in form: it often looks the same in singular and plural. The article, possessive, or context tells you whether it means one or more.

Because Feliz cumpleaños is the normal fixed greeting.

In Spanish, adjectives often come after the noun, but some expressions are set phrases, and greetings often put the adjective first:

• Feliz Navidad
• Feliz año nuevo
• Feliz cumpleaños

You may also know Cumpleaños feliz from the birthday song. That word order is mainly used because of the song’s rhythm and tradition. For the everyday greeting, Feliz cumpleaños is the usual choice.

It is completely natural and correct in Spain, but ¡Felicidades! is also extremely common.

A rough guide:

• ¡Feliz cumpleaños! = specifically Happy birthday
• ¡Felicidades! = Congratulations / Happy birthday, depending on context

In Spain, many people say either one, or even both together:

• ¡Feliz cumpleaños!
• ¡Felicidades!
• ¡Feliz cumpleaños, felicidades!

So yes, ¡Feliz cumpleaños! is good, but ¡Felicidades! is also very common in everyday Spain Spanish.

Yes. It works in both.

You can say it to:

• a friend
• a child
• a teacher
• a colleague
• a boss
• an older relative

The phrase itself is neutral and polite. If you want to make it warmer or more personal, you can add something:

• ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Marta!
• ¡Muy feliz cumpleaños!
• ¡Que pases un día estupendo!

Because this is a fixed greeting or formula, just like in English:

• Happy birthday!
• Merry Christmas!

Spanish often leaves out words that are understood from context. A longer version would be something like:

• Te deseo un feliz cumpleaños. = I wish you a happy birthday.

But in real life, people usually just say:

¡Feliz cumpleaños!

Normally, no.

In standard Spanish, you would usually write:

¡Feliz cumpleaños!

Only the first word is capitalized because it starts the sentence. The second word, cumpleaños, is not normally capitalized unless there is a special reason, such as a title or decorative style on a card.

The ñ is its own separate letter in Spanish. It does not sound like a normal n.

In cumpleaños, ñ sounds like ny in:

• canyon
• Kenya (for many English speakers)

So:

• años sounds roughly like AHN-yos, not AN-os

This sound is very important, because n and ñ can change meaning in Spanish.

Yes, very naturally.

Common examples:

• ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Ana!
• ¡Feliz cumpleaños, papá!
• ¡Feliz cumpleaños! Que lo pases muy bien.
• ¡Feliz cumpleaños! Que cumplas muchos más.

That last one is especially common and means something like Hope you have many more birthdays. It is a warm, natural addition in Spain.