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Written by Prashant Tiwari » Updated on: July 04th, 2025
There are a number of French speaking countries across the globe. Also, many people may be wondering how you say happy birthday in French. So let’s dive into 15 various ways to wish someone the best birthday, depending on who they are and your relationship with them. In addition, this article will also cover some French traditions related to French birthday parties and of course, the anniversary phrases in French. So, let's read about the occasion of birthdays in France.
Birthdays in France are celebrated like many other countries. They also include gifts (cadeaux), parties (fêtes) and of course, the happy birthday song (chanson d’anniversaire)! Some of the common French birthday traditions include the following:
Birthday cakes tend to be more modest in France than in the United States, for example. It’s also not common to have lots of icing on the cake, French birthday cakes tend to be more minimal, like a fruit tart.
Birthday cards are not as common as in other countries. Like the cake, birthday parties are less fancy or less over-the-top than other places. Moreover, a simple birthday dinner with a bottle of champagne and a birthday toast often suffice.
If you are taking online French lessons in the past or currently, you might already know that birthday wishes in French are crucial. Hence, below are some of the most common French terms and phrases used to wish someone a happy birthday:
The most general and flexible way to say Happy Birthday in French is Joyeux anniversaire (Happy birthday!). This phrase can further be used for friends, family, and between couples.
If you prefer a more dramatic option, you can use Heureux anniversaire (Happy birthday!). These wishes are the same in terms of content and register. So you can make use of any of them when wishing your family member, friend or partner a birthday in French.
Now, if you’re at somebody’s birthday at work, you will want to be a little more formal. e vous souhaite un très bon anniversaire (I wish you a very happy birthday) is the phrase that you can use to wish them. You can also use Que cette nouvelle année vous apporte plein de bonheur (May this new year bring you lots of happiness). Moreover, you can say La santé, l’amour et le bonheur (Health, love and happiness).
Next, let’s look at how you can say happy birthday in French to someone you don’t know very well, or within a formal context. For example, your boss. Thus, for a more formal or heartfelt greeting, you can consider Bon anniversaire (Good birthday!).
These are some of the other terms that you can further use in any situation to give best birthday wishes to someone.
Now that you are aware of the ways to say happy birthday in French, take a look at some other related phrases.
Birthday parties need you to know about the birthday song cakes, asking questions about other people’s age. Moreover, you also need to answer simple questions from the person celebrating and guests. In addition, you should have a few words on your birthday gift, if requested.
Hence, here are some crucial words and French phrases to know when attending French birthdays:
To sum up, this is all about how to say happy birthday in French along with the related customs. In this article, you have learnt the various ways in which you can wish others on their birthday. Also, you can connect with the tutors at Gradding to know more about their French classes for beginners. Here they provide lessons on days, months in French and more. It is a coaching centre that can help you ace this language and its grammar. Along with that they offer some of the most amazing offers for their students.
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