BirthdayWishes, gifts, and birthday cake in Spanish

These nouns help you talk about birthdays, guests and presents. Learn their articles together with the words.

Cumpleaños has the same form in the singular and plural: mi cumpleaños, los cumpleaños de mis amigos. Cake vocabulary varies by region: tarta, pastel and torta can all be used in different places. Use tener, not ser, to state someone’s age.

• Hoy es mi cumpleaños. — Today is my birthday.
• Hay diez invitados en la fiesta. — There are ten guests at the party.
• La tarta tiene ocho velas. — The cake has eight candles.
• Este regalo es para ti. — This present is for you.
• Mi hermana tiene doce años. — My sister is twelve years old.

Use these verbs to describe planning a birthday and celebrating with friends. Some useful expressions contain a verb and a noun that are normally used together.

Cumplir + number + años says how old someone turns. Invitar a alguien a una fiesta means to invite someone to a party. Divertirse is reflexive: me divierto, te diviertes, nos divertimos. Use voy a + infinitive to describe plans.

• Mañana cumplo veinte años. — Tomorrow I turn twenty.
• Voy a invitar a mis amigos a la fiesta. — I am going to invite my friends to the party.
• Mi abuela me regaló un libro. — My grandmother gave me a book as a gift.
• Pide un deseo antes de soplar las velas. — Make a wish before blowing out the candles.
• Nos divertimos mucho en la fiesta de ayer. — We had a lot of fun at yesterday’s party.

Adjectives help you describe the celebration, the presents and your feelings. Match an adjective to the gender and number of the noun or person it describes.

Use ser for a description and estar for a person’s feelings: la fiesta es divertida, estoy contenta. Adjectives ending in -e often have one form for both genders. The plural of feliz is felices.

• Fue un cumpleaños inolvidable. — It was an unforgettable birthday.
• La fiesta fue muy divertida. — The party was a lot of fun.
• Estoy muy agradecida por los regalos. — I am very grateful for the presents.
• El pastel está delicioso. — The cake is delicious.
• Los niños están felices. — The children are happy.
• Recibí una tarjeta muy bonita. — I received a lovely card.

The most direct birthday greeting is ¡Feliz cumpleaños! You can add a warm wish, thank the person inviting you, or write a short message on a card.

¡Felicidades! works for birthdays and other happy occasions. The expressions beginning with que express wishes; learn them as useful ready-made phrases. For a formal singular greeting, que cumplas becomes que cumpla.

• ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Ana! ¡Que cumplas muchos más! — Happy birthday, Ana! Many happy returns!
• Te deseo mucha felicidad en tu cumpleaños. — I wish you lots of happiness on your birthday.
• ¡Gracias! Me alegra que estés aquí. — Thank you! I am glad you are here.
• Muchas gracias por el regalo. — Thank you very much for the present.
• ¡Que tenga un día maravilloso! — Have a wonderful day! (formal)

When planning a party, talk about decorations, food and things for serving guests. Use hay to say what is available and necesitamos to say what still needs to be bought.

After a quantity, use de where appropriate: una botella de agua, un paquete de servilletas. Describe colors with adjectives that agree with the noun: globos rojos, servilletas rojas. Some color words have one gender form, such as azul.

• Necesitamos platos y vasos para doce personas. — We need plates and cups for twelve people.
• Hay globos azules y amarillos. — There are blue and yellow balloons.
• Voy a comprar un paquete de servilletas. — I am going to buy a packet of napkins.
• Las bebidas están en la mesa. — The drinks are on the table.
• ¿Quién trae las velas para la tarta? — Who is bringing the candles for the cake?