Somebody you care about has a birthday and “happy birthday” on its own feels thin. You want a line that sounds like you meant it.
Short answer: pick a line written for the person, not for birthdays in general. A wish for your mother should not work equally well for your boss. Everything below is grouped by who you are sending it to, and the Hindi–English table further down gives the natural English for the phrases most people are actually looking to translate.
On this page
- Hindi and Urdu birthday wishes, with the English that actually works
- Birthday wishes for your best friend
- Birthday wishes for your mother
- Birthday wishes for your father
- Birthday wishes for a brother
- Birthday wishes for a sister
- Birthday wishes for your husband, wife or partner
- Birthday wishes for your son or daughter
- Birthday wishes for a colleague or your boss
- Two-line birthday shayari for a status or caption
- What to actually write in the card
- Questions people ask
Every line on this page was written for this page. Fifty of them. Take one, change a word so it sounds like your voice, and send it.
Hindi and Urdu birthday wishes, with the English that actually works
Most people searching for a birthday wish “in English” are not looking for poetry. They know the Hindi or Urdu phrase they want and they need the version that sounds natural in English — not a word-for-word translation, which usually reads oddly.
These are the ones people ask for most:
| Hindi / Roman Urdu | Natural English |
|---|---|
| Janamdin ki hardik shubhkamnaye | Warmest wishes on your birthday |
| Janmdin ki bahut bahut badhai ho | Very many happy returns of the day |
| Hamesha khush raho | May you always be happy |
| Bhagwan aapko hamesha khush rakhe | May God keep you happy always |
| Allah aapko lambi umar de | May Allah give you a long life |
| Umar daraz ho | May your years be long |
| Salgirah mubarak ho | Happy birthday to you |
| Meri taraf se janamdin ki shubhkamnaye | Birthday wishes from me to you |
| Aap dono ko janamdin ki shubhkamnaye | Birthday wishes to you both |
| Dher saari shubhkamnaye | Wishing you all the very best |
A note on the last one people get wrong: “many many happy returns of the day” is very common in India and Pakistan but reads as dated elsewhere. “Many happy returns” — one “many” — is the correct form.
Birthday wishes for your best friend
Another year of you being impossible to replace. Happy birthday.
You have seen me at my worst and stayed anyway. That is the whole gift. Happy birthday.
Tera saath hi meri sabse purani aadat hai. Janamdin mubarak.
Happy birthday to the person who knows which stories never leave this room.
May this year give you everything you keep pretending you do not want.
Har saal thoda aur samajh aata hai ke tu kitna zaroori hai. Happy birthday.
Happy birthday. Grow older, not sensible.
Birthday wishes for your mother
Happy birthday, Maa. Everything I know about not giving up, I learned watching you.
Aaj aapka din hai — aur zindagi mein ek din bhi aisa nahi tha jo aapka nahi tha.
You spent years making sure the day was about somebody else. Not today.
Happy birthday to the person who worried so I would not have to.
Maa, aapki dua hi meri sabse badi jaydaad hai. Salgirah mubarak.
I hope today you are looked after the way you have looked after everyone.
Birthday wishes for your father
Happy birthday, Papa. You never said much. You did not have to.
Abbu, aapki khamoshi mein bhi hamesha hifazat thi. Janamdin mubarak.
Everything steady in me came from watching you go to work every single day.
Happy birthday to the man who taught me that showing up is most of it.
Papa, aap jaise banna abhi bhi seekh raha hoon. Salgirah mubarak.
Birthday wishes for a brother
Happy birthday to the first person I ever argued with and the first I would call.
Bhai, ladte bhi hum hi the, sambhalte bhi hum hi. Janamdin mubarak.
You got the height and I got the sense. Happy birthday anyway.
May this year be as good to you as you pretend every year already is.
Happy birthday, bhai. Nothing has changed and I hope nothing does.
Birthday wishes for a sister
Happy birthday to the one person who can tell when I am lying over text.
Behen, tu ghar ka wo hissa hai jo kabhi shift nahi hota. Janamdin mubarak.
You were the annoying one and somehow became the sensible one. Happy birthday.
May you get a year that asks less of you than the last one did.
Happy birthday. Still not sharing the last piece, but happy birthday.
Birthday wishes for your husband, wife or partner
Happy birthday. Of all the ordinary days, the ones with you are the good ones.
Tumhare saath umar guzarna koi qurbani nahi — sabse aasaan faisla hai. Salgirah mubarak.
I did not know what steady felt like until you. Happy birthday.
Happy birthday to my favourite person and my worst influence.
Har saal tumhe thoda aur samajhta hoon, aur thoda aur pasand karta hoon.
May this be the year you finally take the rest you keep promising yourself.
Birthday wishes for your son or daughter
Happy birthday. Watching you become yourself has been the best part of my life.
You will not remember this birthday. I will remember every one of them.
Allah tumhe wo sab de jo maine maanga bhi nahi. Janamdin mubarak, beta.
Happy birthday. Take your time. There is no hurry to be anything.
Birthday wishes for a colleague or your boss
Warm, short, and nothing that would be strange if forwarded.
Happy birthday. Hope the day is quieter than your calendar suggests.
Wishing you a very happy birthday and a year that goes your way.
Happy birthday. Thanks for making this place considerably more bearable.
Many happy returns. Hope you actually take the evening off.
Two-line birthday shayari for a status or caption
Ek aur saal, wahi dua — khush raho, salamat raho.
Older, wiser, and still not answering messages on time. Happy birthday.
Aaj ka din tumhare naam, baaki saal meri dua ke naam.
Same candles, better year. Happy birthday.
Umar badhti rahe, muskurahat wahi rahe.
One more trip around the sun and you still make it look easy.
Dua yeh hai ke har saal aaj ka din aise hi aaye.
Happy birthday. Do not act your age, act your mood.
What to actually write in the card
Most people freeze at the card, not the message. Three things make it easy.
Use their name in the first line. “Wishing you” is forgettable. “Sana —” is not.
Wish for one specific thing. Not “may all your dreams come true” — say what you actually hope for them this year. A specific small wish beats a grand vague one every time.
Sign it the way you talk. If you have never written “warm regards” in your life, do not start on a birthday card.
Sana —
I hope this is the year the job stops eating your weekends and you finally get to Skardu.
Happy birthday. Love always.
That is it. Three lines that could only have been written to one person.
Questions people ask
What is “janamdin ki hardik shubhkamnaye” in English?
The natural English is “warmest wishes on your birthday” or simply “many happy returns.” A word-for-word translation gives “heartfelt congratulations on your birthday,” which is correct but stiff — nobody says it that way in English.
Is it “many happy returns” or “many many happy returns”?
“Many happy returns” is the correct form. The doubled version is very common across India and Pakistan and everyone will understand it, but if you are writing for an international reader, use one “many.”
What should I write for someone I do not know well?
Keep it short and warm with nothing personal in it: “Happy birthday — wishing you a great year ahead.” Do not attempt a joke or claim a closeness you do not have. Short reads as respectful; long reads as strange.
Is it okay to send a birthday message a day late?
Yes, and it is far better than skipping it. Say you are late without a long explanation — “a day late and no less meant” — and carry on with the wish. Nobody counts the hours; they count whether you remembered.
Should I send a message or a forwarded image?
A message. A forwarded graphic with roses and a watermark tells the person they were on a list. Even one plain sentence typed by you is worth more than the most decorated image.
What do I write to someone I have not spoken to in years?
Acknowledge the silence in one line, name one specific memory, and ask for nothing in return. There is a full page on this — what to write to someone you have not spoken to in years — with messages for old friends, family you lost touch with, and exes.
