Chinese word

生日

Pronunciation

Pinyinshēng rì

Meaning

  • nounbirthday

Example

祝你生日快乐。zhù nǐ shēng rì kuài lè

Happy birthday.

Illustration for 生日 (birthday)

More examples

我和家人一起过生日。wǒ hé jiā rén yì qǐ guò shēng rì

I celebrate my birthday with my family.

Core concept

The day that links a person's beginning of life to a yearly moment for marking it.

Common phrases

  • 过生日guò shēng rì

    celebrate one's birthday

  • 和家人过生日hé jiā rén guò shēng rì

    celebrate one's birthday with one's family

  • 祝你生日快乐zhù nǐ shēng rì kuài lè

    happy birthday

Similar words

纪念日jì niàn rì: A yearly day for remembering and celebrating a person or important event.
诞辰dàn chén: A formal expression for someone's birth date, often used in historical writing.

Definition in Chinese

指某人出生时的日期，也常用来指每年纪念这一天而举行的庆祝活动或那一天本身。zhǐ mǒu rén chū shēng shí de rì qī yě cháng yòng lái zhǐ měi nián jì niàn zhè yì tiān ér jǔ xíng de qìng zhù huó dòng huò nà yì tiān běn shēn

Word origin

生日 (shēngrì, "birthday") combines 生 (shēng, "be born") + 日 (rì, "day"), giving the clear idea of the day connected with a person's birth.

Usage tips

  • A child's age is normally given with a separate age expression, so this word should not be used as the number of years the child has lived.

Word lists with this word