German · A1 · Family moment
Happy birthday! in German
Celebrate a child's birthday in German with simple phrases for candles, wishes, presents and songs. Learn how to say someone's age and give a birthday date.
What you'll learn
- Wish someone a happy birthday.
- Use friendly instructions with a child.
- Say how old a child is turning.
- Use ordinal numbers to give birthday dates.
German phrases for happy birthday!
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!
Happy birthday!
The usual German birthday greeting.
Du wirst heute vier.
You are four today.
German naturally says 'You are turning four today.'
Puste die Kerzen aus.
Blow out the candles.
A friendly instruction to one child.
Wünsch dir was.
Make a wish.
A natural, informal phrase. 'Was' is short for 'etwas' (something).
Hier ist dein Geschenk.
Here is your present.
'Dein' means 'your' when speaking to one child.
Pack es aus!
Open it!
For a present, German naturally uses 'auspacken' (to unwrap).
Lass uns ein Lied singen.
Let's sing a song.
'Lass uns …' introduces something you suggest doing together.
Danke, dass du gekommen bist.
Thank you for coming.
Said to one person who has come to the celebration. Learn this as a complete phrase.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Geburtstag; plural: die Geburtstage
birthday
'Zum Geburtstag' means 'for your birthday' in the birthday greeting.
die Kerze; plural: die Kerzen
candle
'Die Kerzen' means 'the candles'.
der Wunsch; plural: die Wünsche
wish
Related to 'wünschen' (to wish).
das Geschenk; plural: die Geschenke
present; gift
Use 'dein Geschenk' for 'your present'.
das Lied; plural: die Lieder
song
'Ein Lied singen' means 'to sing a song'.
der Kuchen; plural: die Kuchen
cake
The singular and plural noun forms are the same.
heute
today
Write it with a lowercase letter unless it starts a sentence.
Age: four, not fourth
Use an ordinary counting number for age. 'Du wirst …' means 'You are turning …'. 'Du bist … Jahre alt' tells someone's current age.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Turning four | du wirst + number | Du wirst heute vier. — You are turning four today. |
| Being four | du bist + number + Jahre alt | Du bist vier Jahre alt. — You are four years old. |
Birthday dates and ordinal numbers
Dates use ordinal numbers, such as 'first' and 'fourth'. To say 'on' a date, use 'am'. After 'am', most day numbers from 1 to 19 end in '-ten'; from 20 onward, they end in '-sten'. Learn special forms such as 'ersten' (first), 'dritten' (third) and 'siebten' (seventh). A dot after a written day number marks it as an ordinal.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| On the first | am ersten Mai = am 1. Mai | Ich habe am ersten Mai Geburtstag. — My birthday is on May 1. |
| On the third | am dritten Juni = am 3. Juni | Ich habe am dritten Juni Geburtstag. — My birthday is on June 3. |
| On the fourth | am vierten Oktober = am 4. Oktober | Du hast am vierten Oktober Geburtstag. — Your birthday is on October 4. |
| On the twentieth | am zwanzigsten Mai = am 20. Mai | Ich habe am zwanzigsten Mai Geburtstag. — My birthday is on May 20. |
Simple instructions
When giving a familiar instruction to one child, usually leave out 'du'. With separable verbs such as 'auspusten' and 'auspacken', 'aus' moves to the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Blow out | auspusten → Puste … aus. | Puste die Kerzen aus. — Blow out the candles. |
| Unwrap | auspacken → Pack … aus. | Pack es aus! — Open it! |
More examples
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Du wirst heute vier.
Happy birthday! You are four today.
Combine the greeting with the child's new age.
Wünsch dir was! Puste die Kerzen aus.
Make a wish! Blow out the candles.
Two short instructions for the birthday cake moment.
Hier ist dein Geschenk. Pack es aus!
Here is your present. Open it!
'Es' refers to 'das Geschenk'.
Wann hast du Geburtstag? — Am vierten Oktober.
When is your birthday? — On October 4.
Use 'am' and an ordinal number to answer with a date.