{"id":79592,"date":"2023-01-05T17:19:06","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T22:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/happy-birthday-in-korean\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T11:03:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T15:03:59","slug":"happy-birthday-in-korean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/korean\/happy-birthday-in-korean\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Wish Someone a Happy Birthday in Korean"},"content":{"rendered":"

The clock strikes midnight, and already you feel a little bit different.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right! It\u2019s your birthday, and you know what to expect based on your own culture and upbringing.<\/p>\n

But now that you\u2019re studying Korean, you\u2019re probably curious about how Korean folks might have their own birthday bash.<\/p>\n

In this post, I’ll go over how you can wish someone a happy birthday in Korean<\/strong>, plus some special birthday customs<\/strong> you should expect.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]
\n<\/p>\n

How To Say Happy Birthday in Korean<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"little-asian-boy-makes-a-wish-on-his-birthday-with-his-family-around\"<\/p>\n

How you say happy birthday will largely depend on who you\u2019re saying it to. Understanding the relationship you have with your conversation partner is a big deal when it comes to talking in Korean<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are some different ways of saying it in descending levels of formality. Check out this post<\/a> on honorifics and titles, and if in doubt, always use a more formal version of the phrase!<\/p>\n

1. \uc0dd\uc2e0\uc744 \ucd95\ud558\ub4dc\ub9bd\ub2c8\ub2e4 \u00a0<\/h3>\n

Romanization: <\/strong>Seng-shin-eul chook-ha-deu-rim-ni-da
\n<\/em>Formality: <\/strong>Formal<\/p>\n

This is a formal way of wishing someone a happy birthday. \uc0dd\uc2e0 is the more respectful way of saying birthday in Korean (we’re show you the more common word below).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ending of \ub4dc\ub9bd\ub2c8\ub2e4 may have already clued you to the formality, if you’re familiar with verb conjugation based on formality level<\/a>. It\u2019s appropriate to use for your elders or those in a higher position, such as your boss or teacher.<\/p>\n

As you’ll see in several examples below, in Korean you usually use titles to address others rather than names.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\uc0dd\uc2e0\uc744 \ucd95\ud558\ub4dc\ub9bd\ub2c8\ub2e4, \ub300\ud45c\ub2d8! \uc624\ub298 \uc800\ud76c \ud68c\uc0ac\uc5d0\uc11c \uc774 \uacfc\uc77c \ubc14\uad6c\ub2c8\ub97c \uc0dd\uc2e0 \uc120\ubb3c\ub85c \uac00\uc838\uc654\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4.
\nHappy birthday, Ms. CEO! Our company brought this fruit basket for you today as a birthday gift.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. \uc0dd\uc2e0 \ucd95\ud558\ub4dc\ub824\uc694 <\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Romanization: <\/strong>Seng-shin chook-ha-deu-ryuh-yo
\n<\/em>Formality: <\/strong>Formal<\/p>\n

You could alternatively say this one instead of the first one. All this phrase is doing is taking the formality level one notch down by replacing \ub4dc\ub9bd\ub2c8\ub2e4 with \ub4dc\ub824\uc694 part, although it might be slightly harder to pronounce!<\/p>\n

Since \uc0dd\uc2e0 is still used here, it’s nonetheless extremely polite. You can still use this one with elders, bosses and teachers, although perhaps you know them slightly better than the people in the previous phrase.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\uc0dd\uc2e0 \ucd95\ud558\ub4dc\ub824\uc694, \uad50\uc218\ub2d8! \ud30c\ud2f0\ub97c \ud558\uc2e4 \uac70\uc608\uc694?\u00a0
\nHappy birthday, Professor! Are you going to have a party?<\/p>\n

3. \uc0dd\uc77c \ucd95\ud558\ud569\ub2c8\ub2e4 \u00a0<\/h3>\n

Romanization: <\/strong>S<\/em>eng-il chook-ha-ham-ni-da
\n<\/em>Formality: <\/strong>Formal<\/p>\n

This is likely the most common happy birthday phrase you\u2019ll hear. Note the difference in the wording compared to the more formal variant. \uc0dd\uc77c literally translates to \u201cbirthday\u201d (\uc0dd meaning birth, \uc77c meaning day).\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s polite in tone and appropriate for most occasions, whether you\u2019re using it for acquaintances or those older than or close to your age.<\/p>\n

\uc0dd\uc77c \ucd95\ud558\ud569\ub2c8\ub2e4, \uc120\uc0dd\ub2d8! \uc624\ub298 \uc6b0\ub9ac\uc5d0\uac8c \ub9ce\uc740 \uc219\uc81c\ub97c \uc8fc\uc9c0 \ub9c8\uc138\uc694.
\nHappy birthday, teacher! Please don’t give us a lot of homework today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

4. \uc0dd\uc77c \ucd95\ud558\ud574\uc694 <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Romanization: <\/strong>S<\/em>eng-il chook-ha-hae-yo
\n<\/em>Formality: <\/strong>Polite<\/p>\n

This is the next most common one. It too is polite in tone (evidenced by the presence of \uc694), although I\u2019d say it\u2019s a bit less formal than \uc0dd\uc77c \ucd95\ud558\ud569\ub2c8\ub2e4.<\/p>\n

This might be a good one suited for peers or people who are younger than you, but you work with them or are not necessarily friends or extremely close.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\uc0dd\uc77c \ucd95\ud558\ud574\uc694, \uc774\ud0dc\ubbfc\uc528! \uc624\ub298 \uc88b\uc740 \ud558\ub8e8 \ub418\uc138\uc694!
\nHappy birthday, Mr. Lee! Have a nice day today!<\/p>\n

5. \uc0dd\uc77c \ucd95\ud558\ud574 \u00a0<\/h3>\n

Romanization: <\/strong>Seng-il chook-ha-heh
\n<\/em>Formality: <\/strong>Informal<\/p>\n

Notice the lack of honorific language in the phrase\u2013it implies that you don\u2019t have to be so uptight or respectful to the birthday boy or girl.<\/p>\n

This is informal in nature and is appropriate for your friends and casual acquaintances around your age or younger. You could use it with people you are pretty close with, such as your family as well. Although some families stick to being more polite!<\/p>\n

\uc0dd\uc77c \ucd95\ud558\ud574, \uc9c0\uc5f0\uc544! \uc0dd\uc77c \ud30c\ud2f0\ub294 \uba87 \uc2dc\uc57c?
\nHappy birthday, Ji-yeon! What time is the birthday party?<\/p>\n

6. \uc0dd\ucd95 \u00a0<\/h3>\n

Romanization: <\/strong>Seng-chook
\n<\/em>Formality: <\/strong>Very informal<\/p>\n

This is a slang variant<\/a> that is just a greatly abbreviated version of the typical happy birthday phrase. You may see it in text<\/a> or online. Another abbreviation you might encounter is \uc0dd\uc77c \u314a\u314b\u314a\u314b, read as seng-il choo-ka choo-ka<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s common in Korean social media to simply shorten familiar phrases into singular Hangul letters<\/a>. Since this is slang we\u2019re talking about, you should reserve these specific happy birthday phrases for close friends or online pals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\uc21c\uc601\uc544, \uc0dd\ucd95!! \uc6b0\ub9ac \ub098\uc911\uc5d0 \ub9cc\ub098\ub294 \uac70\uc9c0? \uc0dd\uc77c \u314a\u314b\u314a\u314b!
\nSoon-yeong, happy birthday!! We’re going to meet later, right? HBD!<\/p>\n

One way to practice all these sentences is through a language learning program such as FluentU<\/a>, which shows you how the language is really used by native speakers in different situations.<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

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