8 ways to say happy birthday in Korean (to a friend, a boss, a late one)
A Korean birthday has its own small rituals: seaweed soup in the morning, a cake late in the evening, friends who insist on paying, and a wish-shaped sentence that shows up in every card. The greeting itself changes with who you are talking to, more than in English, because a boss and a best friend get different words for "birthday".
The phrases below run from polite to casual, and the notes say which is which. Most of the casual ones (반말) are what friends say to each other; the first two are the ones to use with anyone you are not on casual terms with.
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생일 축하해요.
saengil chukahaeyo.
Happy birthday.
Literally: Birthday, (I) congratulate.
The polite default for anyone you speak 요 to. Drop the 요 for a close friend (생일 축하해), and use 생일 축하합니다 for a card or a formal setting. 축하 is pronounced 추카, which the romanisation follows.
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생신 축하드려요.
saengsin chukadeuryeoyo.
Happy birthday (to someone senior).
생신 is the honorific word for birthday and 드리다 the humble 'give', so this is for parents, grandparents, a boss, or a friend's parents. Saying 생일 to your mother-in-law is not rude, exactly, but 생신 is what her own children say.
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미역국 먹었어?
miyeokguk meogeosseo?
Did you have your seaweed soup?
Koreans eat 미역국 on their birthday morning, traditionally made by their mother, so the question is itself a birthday greeting between friends. Casual speech (반말) as written; 미역국 드셨어요? is the respectful version for someone older.
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소원 빌어.
sowon bireo.
Make a wish.
Said just before the candles go out. 소원 is a wish and 빌다 is to pray for it. Casual, because the person blowing out candles is usually a friend; 소원 비세요 for the polite form.
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선물 뭐 받고 싶어?
seonmul mwo batgo sipeo?
What do you want for your birthday?
Literally: Gift, what do (you) want to receive?
Asking directly is normal among Korean friends, and so is answering directly. Casual speech; 받고 싶으세요? to someone older. Cash in an envelope is a perfectly good answer for family, less so between friends.
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오늘은 내가 살게.
oneureun naega salge.
Today's on me.
Literally: As for today, I will buy.
Friends treat the birthday person, and 사다 (to buy) is how Koreans say 'to treat'. The 은 after 오늘 says 'today specifically', with the implication that normal rules resume tomorrow. Casual speech; 제가 살게요 to someone you speak politely with.
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올해도 좋은 일만 가득하길.
olhaedo joeun ilman gadeukagil.
Wishing you a year full of only good things.
Literally: This year too, may only good things be full.
The sentence Koreans write in birthday cards and KakaoTalk messages. The -길 ending is a wish with the verb 바라다 (to hope) left off, which makes it softer and more written than spoken. Add 바랄게 or 바라요 to finish it aloud.
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늦었지만 생일 축하해.
neujeotjiman saengil chukahae.
Belated happy birthday.
Literally: Though (it is) late, happy birthday.
늦었지만 (although late) in front of any greeting makes it a belated one. Casual speech; 늦었지만 생일 축하해요 with 요 for anyone else. Koreans forget birthdays too, and KakaoTalk's reminder arrives on the day itself, so this gets a lot of use.
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If you only remember one distinction, make it 생일 versus 생신. The first is for peers and juniors, the second for anyone older or senior, and getting it right is the kind of small thing a Korean family notices. For everyone else, 생일 축하해요 with a cake emoji will never be wrong.