How do you say "birthday" in Japanese?

誕生日

tanjoubi

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "birthday" is 誕生日 (tanjoubi).

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Pronunciation

Tanjoubi carries a long 'ou', making it tan-jou-bi, with the middle syllable held slightly longer than the others.

Writing and usage

誕生日 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

誕生日にろうそくを吹き消したんだ。

tanjoubi nirousokuwo fuki keshi tanda.

She blew out the candles on her birthday.

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How to remember 誕生日

Tanjoubi almost hides 'January' in its shape -- picture a birthday falling in January to lock in the sound.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 誕生日

How do you pronounce 誕生日?

Tanjoubi carries a long 'ou', making it tan-jou-bi, with the middle syllable held slightly longer than the others.

Is 誕生日 formal or casual?

誕生日 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 誕生日 written in Japanese?

誕生日 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as tanjoubi.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

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

"Birthday" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese 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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