How to Say Happy Birthday in Irish

Last Updated: September 16, 2021

Celebrating an Irish birthday? Here's how to say Happy Birthday to somebody in Irish.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:
Saying Happy Birthday

1
Be aware that it is possible to use one of two ways to say Happy Birthday to others. In Irish, you can use two different words for "birthday":^{[1]
X
Research source}
- Lá breithe; or
- Breithlá.
2
Learn how to say Happy Birthday using the two different methods:^{[2]
X
Research source}
- Say "Lá breithe shona duit" - Happy birthday to you - Law breh-ha shun-ah ditch
- Say "Breithlá shona duit" - Happy birthday to you - Breh-law shun-ah ditch.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:
Singing the Birthday Song

1
Learn the Irish version of the Happy Birthday song. Here's how the song goes:^{[3]
X
Research source}
- Lá breithe shona duit, lá breithe shona duit, lá breithe shona [name], lá breithe shona duit.
2
Here's the pronunciation:^{[4]
X
Research source}
- Law breh-ha hun-ah ditch - Lá breithe shona duit
- Law breh-ha hun-ah [name] - Lá breithe shona [name]
3
Learn other relevant exclamations. For example:
- Hip-Hip Hooray! - Heip-heip abú! - Hep hep aboo.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I say, "Happy birthday, Patrick!" in Gaelic?

Keelan

Community Answer

Translation: "Lá breithe shona duit, a Phádraig!"
Question

It's "La breithe sona", not "shona" because la is masculine. If that were correct, I'd use this resource in my class.

Bookwormara

Community Answer

We will change this article to reflect your suggestions. Thanks for your input!
Question

How do I say, "Happy Birthday, my Irish Love"?

Keelan

Community Answer

Lá breithe shona duit, a chroí Ghaelach.
Question

How do I say, "Happy birthday, Mike" in Gaelic?

Community Answer

Happy birthday, Mike in Gaelic is: Lá breithe sásta, Mike.
Question

How do I write "Happy Birthday Dave" in Irish?

HappyUnicorn

Community Answer

To say "Happy Birthday Dave" in Irish, you write on a nice birthday card: "Dave lá breithe sásta," then for "From [your name]," you put "ó [your name]." You don't need to write your name differently for this.
Question

How do I say "Happy birthday Kim" in Gaelic?

Community Answer

"Deagh Chliù-breith Kim!" is how you would say "Happy birthday Kim" in Gaelic.
Question

How do I say, "Happy birthday, cousin Michael, enjoy your celebration."

Bookwormara

Community Answer

"Cóisín lá breithe sonav Mícheál do cheiliúradh" is a rough translation.
Question

How do I say, "Happy birthday, my nephew"?

Bookwormara

Community Answer

"Lá breithe sásta mo mhac" is a rough translation.
Question

How do you say "Happy Birthday to my partner in crime"?

Community Answer

In the Irish language, It goes like this: "Breithlá Sona do mo Chomhpháirtí sa Choireacht!"
Question

How to say 'thank you' in Irish?

Community Answer

It is basically "go raibh maith agat". Check out the pronunciation in an online video.

You Might Also Like

References

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 11 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 125,515 times.

91 votes - 77%

Co-authors: 11

Updated: September 16, 2021

Views: 125,515

Categories: World Languages | Birthdays

Article SummaryX

There are 2 ways to say happy birthday in Irish. You can either say, “Lá breithe” or “Breithlá.” To say “Happy birthday to you,” say, “Lá breithe shona duit,” or “Breithlá shona duit.” For more tips, including how to sing the birthday song in Irish, read on!

Did this summary help you?