Breakdown of ¡Felicitaciones! Estoy feliz por ti.
feliz
happy
estar
to be (location/state)
ti
you
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
Questions & Answers about ¡Felicitaciones! Estoy feliz por ti.
Why is it por ti instead of para ti here?
Why do we use estoy with feliz instead of soy?
You can actually use both, but they mean different things! Soy feliz means "I am a happy person" (a general trait). Estoy feliz, as used here, means "I am feeling happy right now" (a temporary reaction to their good news).
Is there a difference between ¡Felicitaciones! and ¡Felicidades!?
Both mean "Congratulations!" and are often used interchangeably. However, in Latin America, ¡Felicitaciones! is mostly used to praise a personal achievement (like a promotion or graduation), while ¡Felicidades! is usually for recurring events like birthdays or anniversaries.
Since this lesson is about ¡Que... wishes, why doesn't this sentence use that structure?
The structure ¡Que + subjunctive is used when you are wishing for something to happen (like ¡Que tengas buen día! for "Have a good day!"). Here, you are simply stating a fact about how you feel right now (Estoy feliz) and offering a standard greeting, so no subjunctive wish is needed.