Version #1: “Joyeux anniversaire”“Joyeux anniversaire” is the simplest and probably most commonly sung version of the French “Happy Birthday” song, and therefore the perfect one with which to start learning.
The most traditional way of saying “happy birthday” in French is “joyeux anniversaire“. Play the audio and note the liaison in “z” between the the silent “x” of “joyeux” and the “a” of “anniversaire“.
Different Ways to Say Happy Birthday
- Many happy returns of the day!
- Have a good one!
- Have a great birthday!
- All the best!
- Many more happy returns!
- I wish you a wonderful birthday!
- May your birthday be filled with laughter!
- I hope you have a wonderful birthday.
Happy birthday, dear!
- It is a wonderful thing to know that you are my sweetest companion for life. Let me use this moment to tell you that you will remain in my heart forever. Happy birthday, my love.
- Thanks a million times for sharing your life with me. I promise to make it my job to always put a smile on your face.
Happy Birthday in Modern Standard Arabic is, " Eid milad saeed". In Egypt they say, "Kol sana wa enta/ enty tayeb/ tayeba" it means may you be well or healthy every year. Sana helwa ya gamil is the Arabic version of the Happy Birthday song :) happy birthday : eid milad saeed.
Sorry. @canidmajor It sounds like “Bonne anniversaire”, because of the liaison between the consonant of the first word and the vowel of the second word. But it's properly written “Bon anniversaire”, because anniversaire is masculine.
As you mentioned, happiest is the superlative form of the adjective happy. If your happiest birthday was 10 years ago, you could say, "10 years ago today was the happiest birthday of my life." However, you don't usually say "Happiest birthday to you." when you wish someone a happy birthday.
A good French birthday celebration involves a party, some cake, blowing candles and presents.
Because it is a special day, we love them and want them to have a good year and to live to the next one in the best way possible. It's just customary, but it's a nice custom.
What does "votre" mean in French?
The second-person possessive adjectives also have formal and informal versions. Tu becomes ton, ta, tes (“your” in informal masculine, feminine and plural forms respectively) and vous becomes votre, vos (“your” in formal masculine/feminine, plural).
To say that something belongs to “you all” or “you guys” in colloquial English, French speakers use votre (your) for both masculine and feminine nouns. For plural nouns, however, you use vos. Où est votre stylo ? (Where is your pen?)
Common French Possessives
| Owner | Gender and Number of Object Owned | French Possessive |
|---|
| nous (we) | masculine and feminine singular | notre (our) |
| masculine and feminine plural | nos (our) |
| vous (you [singular formal or plural formal and informal]) | masculine and feminine singular | votre (your) |
| masculine and feminine plural | vos (your) |
