How To Say Happy Birthday In Arabic (And Sing The Song)

Wishing someone a happy birthday in Arabic is really easy. 🎂

The most widely understood phrase for “Happy Birthday” you’ll hear is:

ʿīd mīlād saʿīd (عِيد مِيلَاد سَعِيد) Play audio Listen

It sounds like: eed mee-lad sa-eed.

To break that down for you:

ʿīd (عِيد) means “festival” or “celebration”.
mīlād (مِيلَاد) means “birth”.
saʿīd (سَعِيد) means “happy”.

So, you’re literally saying “Happy celebration of birth”.

This is Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), so it’s perfect for writing in a birthday card or for a more formal setting.

However, in everyday conversation, you’ll more often hear a different, friendlier phrase.

The most common way to say happy birthday

Across the Arab world, from Egypt to the Levant, the most common birthday greeting is:

kul sana w inta/inti bikhayr (كُلّ سَنَة وِانْتَ / وِانْتِ بِخَيْر)

This phrase means “Every year, and you are well”. Think of it as saying, “I wish you well every year” or “Many happy returns”.

It’s important to use the correct gender:

To a boy/man: kul sana w inta bikhayr (كُلّ سَنَة وِانْتَ بِخَيْر)
To a girl/woman: kul sana w inti bikhayr (كُلّ سَنَة وِانْتِ بِخَيْر)

You might also hear a slight variation: kul sana w inta/inti ṭayyib/ṭayyibah (كُلّ سَنَة وِانْتَ طَيِّب / وِانْتِ طَيِّبَة), which means “Every year and you are good”.

It has the same identical meaning.

Quick Tip: Can you just say mabrūk (مَبْرُوك)? Absolutely. As I explained in my guide to saying congratulations, mabrūk works for almost any happy occasion, including birthdays. It’s a simple and perfectly acceptable way to offer your best wishes.

How to respond to birthday wishes

So, what do you say when someone wishes you a happy birthday?

You essentially say it right back to them.

أحمد: كُلّ سَنَة وِانْتِ بِخَيْر يَا فَاطِمَة!

kul sana w inti bikhayr yā fāṭima!

Ahmed: Happy birthday, Fatima!

فاطمة: وِانْتَ بِخَيْر، شُكْرًا!

w inta bikhayr, shukran!

Fatima: And you as well, thank you!

The response is w inta/inti bikhayr (وِانْتَ / وِانْتِ بِخَيْر), which means “And you are well”.

If the speaker is male, you say: w inta bikhayr (And you [m.] are well).
If the speaker is female, you say: w inti bikhayr (And you [f.] are well).

Find out your Arabic level by taking this quiz: Start quiz

The Arabic “Happy Birthday” song

Like most languages, there’s an Arabic version of the “Happy Birthday to You” song.

It’s sung to the same tune we all know.

The most common version is the Egyptian one, which is understood everywhere.

The main line is sana ḥilwa yā gamīl (سَنَة حِلْوَة يَا جَمِيل), which means “Sweet year, oh beautiful one”.

Here are the full lyrics:

Arabic	Transliteration	English Translation
سَنَة حِلْوَة يَا جَمِيل	sana ḥilwa yā gamīl	Sweet year, oh beautiful one
سَنَة حِلْوَة يَا جَمِيل	sana ḥilwa yā gamīl	Sweet year, oh beautiful one
سَنَة حِلْوَة, سَنَة حِلْوَة	sana ḥilwa, sana ḥilwa	Sweet year, sweet year
سَنَة حِلْوَة يَا [Name]	sana ḥilwa yā [Name]	Sweet year, oh [Name]

A quick note on the lyrics:

gamīl (جَمِيل) means “beautiful” or “handsome” for a male. If you’re singing to a female, you can use gamīla (جَمِيلَة), but to make song flow better, people often stick to the masculine form regardless.
It’s very common to just replace yā gamīl with the person’s name, e.g., sana ḥilwa yā Mohammed.

To sum it up:

Formal/Written: ʿīd mīlād saʿīd (عِيد مِيلَاد سَعِيد)
Common/Spoken: kul sana w inta/inti bikhayr (كُلّ سَنَة وِانْتَ / وِانْتِ بِخَيْر)
The Song: sana ḥilwa yā gamīl (سَنَة حِلْوَة يَا جَمِيل)

Now, don’t forget your friends’ birthdays. 😊

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