If you are hoping to say something a bit fancier than just “happy birthday,” you have a variety of expressions to choose from. Often, which expression you use depends on the age and gender of the person you’re addressing. Some of the more common ones are listed below: 祝您生日快乐，长命百岁！(zhù nín shēngrì kuàilè, cháng mìng bǎi suì!) Translation: “Happy birthday! May you live to be a hundred years old!” Explanation: The first part of this greeting is the polite version of 祝你生日快乐 (zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè, meaning “happy birthday”) with the informal 你 (nǐ or “you”) changed to the more respectful 您 (nín or “you”). The second part, 长命百岁 (chángmìngbǎisuì), is an idiomatic expression which means “may you live to be a hundred years old.” This definition makes sense if you consider the fact that 长 (cháng) means “long,” 命 (mìng) means “life” and 百岁 (bǎi suì) means “100 years old.” 祝你生日快乐，青春永驻！(zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè, qīng chūn yǒng zhù!) Translation: “Happy Birthday! May you stay young forever!” Explanation: The first part of this greeting is the informal version of 祝你生日快乐 (zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè), meaning “happy birthday”. The second part, 青春永驻 (qīngchūnyǒngzhù), is an idiomatic expression meaning “to stay young forever.” It’s possible to guess the meaning of this expression if you know that 青春 (qīngchūn) means “youth” and 永驻 (yǒngzhù) means “eternal.” 祝你生日快乐，事业有成！(zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè, shì yè yǒu chéng!) Translation: “Happy birthday! Wishing you professional success!” Explanation: The first part of this greeting also exclaims “happy birthday!” The second part, 事业有成 (shìyèyǒuchéng) is a wish for achievement of professional success. This is evident when we consider that 事业 (shìyè) means “career” and 有成 (yǒuchéng) means “to achieve success.” 祝你生日快乐，天天开心，幸福美满！(zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè, tiāntiān kāixīn, xìng fú měi mǎn!) Translation: “Happy birthday! Hope you will be happy every day! May you achieve perfect happiness!” Explanation: The first part of this greeting also says “happy birthday!” The second part, 天天开心 (tiāntiān kāixīn), is a relatively informal-sounding greeting which means, “may you be happy every day!” The third part, 幸福美满 (xìngfúměimǎn), sounds a bit more formal and means “may you achieve perfect happiness.” This becomes clear when we consider that 幸福 (xìngfú) means “happiness” and 美满 (měimǎn) means either “happy” or “perfectly satisfactory.” 祝你生日快乐，学业有成！(zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè, xué yè yǒu chéng!) Translation: “Happy birthday! May you achieve success in your studies!” Explanation: The first part of this expression also exclaims “happy birthday!” The second part, 学业有成 (xuéyèyǒuchéng), is an idiomatic expression which means “to be successful in one’s studies.” We can infer this meaning since 学业 (xuéyè) means “studies” and 有成 (yǒuchéng) means “to achieve success.” |
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