There comes a time in every man or woman’s life where he or she must speak a little Yiddish. It’s like adding salt and pepper to an egg. Saying Happy Birthday in Yiddish is a sure way of getting all eyes and ears on you at your friend’s birthday party.
So how do you say “happy birthday” in Yiddish… well “א פריילעכן געבורצטאג” or “a freylekhn geburstag!” It means “a good birthday!” and you can add ” tsu ir” at the end to make it “a freylekhn geburstog tsu ir” which literally means “a good birthday to you”
But that’s not all… after doing some digging I actually found out there’s more to it than just that.
Birthdays and Celebrations in Yiddish
Yiddish has a lot of cool idioms and it’s kind of why everyone needs to add a little bit of the language into their daily lives.
The Many Yiddish Ways of Saying Happy Birthday
So you can actually just wish someone a bunch of idioms.
!זאלסט זיך מערן אין פריידן “zultsu zikh meren in freyden” which means “May you increase in years with joy” or simply “rejoice” It’s like a toast.
!ביז הונדערט און צוואנציק “biz hundert un tsvantsik” which means”Until one hundred and twenty!”
“מאַזל – טאָוו” “mozel tov” which in both Yiddish and Hebrew means “congratulations”
” א פריילעכן געבורצטאג +ן” same as above “a freylekhn geburstag” but langer nun. You insert someone’s name and ad a nun (n) at the end. For instance, “a freylekhn geburstag dovidn” it’s kind of a teasing way to wish someone a happy birthday to a friend.
Are You Looking to Learn Yiddish?
If you’re interested in learning Yiddish, we have an entire article about how you can get started, set yourself goals, and progress in your understanding of the Jewish language. Read: How to Learn and Speak Yiddish
