How to Say Happy Birthday in Russian

Birthdays are good occasions to celebrate and if you know how to say happy birthday in Russian, you will not only impress everyone around but will also show a Russian birthday boy or girl you sincerely care. The most common way to say happy birthday in Russian is ‘s dnyom rozhdeniya’. It is appropriate for any situation, from a formal down to the most informal one. In an informal setting you may also opt for ‘s dnyukhoy’. But mind that it is very colloquial, mostly used by younger people and among best friends. If you feel like memorizing a longer phrase, there is a way to say happy birthday in Russian for you, too. Add ‘pozdravlyayu’ before ‘s dnyom rozhdeniya’ and it will mean an elaborate ‘I congratulate you on your birthday’. Finally, a way to say happy birthday in Russian which will never make into serious textbooks — ‘s dnyom varenya’. While ‘varenya’ is a word for ‘home-made jam’, it rhymes perfectly with ‘rozhdeniya’ from the standard phrase. Some Russians regard this phrase as slightly childish, so say it to someone who is likely to understand and appreciate.