Want to know how to say ‘happy birthday’ in Greek? You’re in the right place.
It’s always nice to wish someone a happy birthday on their special day but why not do it in a language that means something to them.
As well as wishing your loved one a happy birthday in Greek, why not also sing the Greek version of the happy birthday song! Read on to learn more about this.
How To Say ‘Happy Birthday’ In Greek
To wish someone a happy birthday in Greek, you can say:
| English | Greek | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Happy birthday (lit. many years) | Χρόνια πολλά | Hronia pola |
This phrase literally means ‘many years’ and is a common phrase that you’ll hear on birthdays as well as other special days such as New Year’s and Easter.
It’s essentially wishing someone many more years of life and is the most common way to wish someone a happy birthday.
To hear the pronunciation of this phrase, check out the video below. Skip to 1:06 for ‘happy birthday’:
Alternatively, you can also use some of these phrases:
| English | Greek | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Happy birthday | χαρούμενα γενέθλια | Harumena yenethlia |
| May you reach 100 years old | Να τα εκατοστήσεις | Na ta eka-tos-ti-sis |
| May you reach 1000 years old | Να τα χιλιάσεις | Na ta hil-ia-sis |
| I wish for all your dreams to come true | Ό,τι επιθυμείς | Oh ti epith-ee-mis |
| Happy belated birthday | Χρόνια πολλά, έστω και καθυστερημένα | Hronia pola esto ke kathi-ster-ee-mena |
| I wish you many happy years | χρόνια πολλά και ευτυχισμένα | Hronia pola ke efti-his-mena |
As you can see, the Greeks have some fun phrases that are commonly used on birthdays. The phrase ‘may you reach 100 years old’ is a super common wish heard on birthdays.
However over the years, as living until 100 became more reachable, a new phrase also developed. This phrase is ‘may you reach 1000 years’.
If you’re speaking to someone special then you’ll want to know how to say I love you in Greek.
Check out the below video to hear the pronunciation of some of these phrases:
How To Sing Happy Birthday In Greek
If you want to go the extra mile for your loved one or friend, try singing the happy birthday song in Greek.
Check out the video below to hear the Greek birthday song. I’ve listed the lyrics below so you can sing along.
Here’s the lyrics so you can sing along:
“Να ζήσεις *name* και χρόνια πολλά,
μεγάλος/μεγάλη να γίνεις με άσπρα μαλλιά.
Παντού να σκορπίζεις της γνώσης το φως
και όλοι να λένε να ένας/μία σοφός.”
There are 2 variations of the song – one for males and one for females. You have to alter the song in 2 places (see words pairs in bold). Use megalos and enas if the birthday person is male. Use megali and mia if the birthday person is female.
The video above shows the female form of the song.
The song is pronounced as:
“Na zisis *name* ke hronia pola
megalos/megali na yinis me aspra mal-ah
pa-du na skorpi-zis tis gno-sis to fos
ke oli na lene na enas/mia sofos”
This translates to:
“May you live *name*, and many years,
May you become old with white hair.
May you spread the light of knowledge everywhere
And may everyone say, here is a wise one”
Thanks for reading this post on how to say ‘happy birthday’ in Greek.
It’s a great idea to make the effort to learn how to say this in someone’s native language or a language that means something to them.
Your loved one or friend will be so impressed!
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