How do you say "birthday" in Chinese?

生日

shēng rì

Noun Hanzi

In Chinese, "birthday" is 生日 (shēng rì).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

"shēng rì" is spoken with "shēng" is flat and level, held steady (tone 1), then "rì" is falling fast and sharp, like a command (tone 4).

Writing and usage

生日 is written using hanzi. It's a noun, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.

Example sentence

她在生日那天吹灭了蜡烛。

tā zài shēng rì nà tiān chuī miè le là zhú 。

She blew out the candles on her birthday.

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How to remember 生日

Notice how "shēng rì" rolls off the tongue, and tie that feeling to a quick mental picture of "生日" (shēng rì).

Related words

Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.

Questions about 生日

How do you pronounce 生日?

"shēng rì" is spoken with "shēng" is flat and level, held steady (tone 1), then "rì" is falling fast and sharp, like a command (tone 4).

Is 生日 formal or casual?

生日 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.

How is 生日 used in Chinese?

生日 is used the same way as the equivalent English noun. For example: 她在生日那天吹灭了蜡烛。 (She blew out the candles on her birthday.).

Where can I practice Chinese words for free?

You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Birthday" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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