How do you say sheng ri kuai le in Cantonese?

The characters stay the same: 生日快樂, read saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6 in Cantonese. To wish someone directly, say 祝你生日快樂 (zuk1 nei5 saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6).

How do you say celebrate a birthday in Cantonese?

做生日 (zou6 saang1 jat6) means to celebrate a birthday, where Mandarin says 過生日 (guò shēngrì). 慶生 (hing3 sang1) is the more formal, written way.

Is 樂 always read lok6?

No. In 快樂 (faai3 lok6) it means happy and is read lok6. In 音樂 (jam1 ngok6), music, the same character is read ngok6.

← Cantonese Dictionary

How to say sheng ri kuai le in Cantonese?

In Cantonese, 生日快樂 (shēngrì kuàilè) keeps the same four characters and is read saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6. The rule: nothing to swap, only the sounds change. Say the phrase on its own, or lead with 祝你 for a fuller wish: 祝你 zuk1 nei5 生日快樂. The pieces are 生日 saang1 jat6 (birthday) and 快樂 faai3 lok6 (happy). Use the pinyin converter to check the Mandarin tone marks while you compare.

If you'd say (Mandarin)	Say (Cantonese)	Notes
生日快樂 shēngrì kuàilè	生日快樂 saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6	Same characters
祝你生日快樂 zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè	祝你生日快樂 zuk1 nei5 saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6	Wishing you, the fuller version
過生日 guò shēngrì (celebrate a birthday)	做生日 zou6 saang1 jat6	過 becomes 做 for celebrating; 慶生 is the written, formal form
慶祝 qìngzhù (celebrate)	慶祝 hing3 zuk1	Same word, new reading
蛋糕 dàngāo (cake)	蛋糕 daan6 gou1	Same word; 生日蛋糕 is birthday cake
多少歲 duōshao suì (how old)	幾多歲 gei2 do1 seoi3	幾多 replaces 多少 (see the duōshao qián guide)
賀卡 hèkǎ (greeting card)	賀卡 ho6 kaat1	Same word, new reading
祝福 zhùfú (blessing)	祝福 zuk1 fuk1	Same word, new reading

Scenarios

Situation	Say	Why
Handing over a card	生日快樂	Short and always right
Toasting a friend at dinner	祝你生日快樂	"Wishing you a happy birthday"
Asking about plans	你點樣做生日呀	"How are you celebrating?"
Ordering a cake	生日蛋糕	Birthday cake
Writing in a card	生日快樂, 身體健康	Add a wish for good health; see the new year wishes
Saying it casually in Hong Kong	Happy birthday	English is also heard everywhere, and nobody minds

Variations

快樂 (faai3 lok6) uses lok6 for 樂, but 音樂 (jam1 ngok6, music) reads the same character ngok6.
Mandarin 過生日 becomes 做生日; the verb 做 replaces 過 here.
Written cards often use the whole line 祝你生日快樂，身體健康.
Tones differ from pinyin: shēngrì does not map to saang1 jat6 tone for tone, so learn the Cantonese reading as its own thing.

The mistake to avoid

Reading 快樂 as faai3 ngok6 because you know 音樂. The character 樂 has two readings and picks by word: lok6 for happy, ngok6 for music. The other slip is to translate 過生日 word for word. Hong Kong people 做生日, so a Cantonese speaker who hears 過生日 knows you learned Mandarin first, though they will still understand you.

More learner answers on the FAQ page; next Mandarin bridges: xīnnián kuàilè, xièxie, wǎn'ān, or browse all Mandarin-to-Cantonese guides.

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