Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

happy birthday

/ˈhæp.i ˈbɝθˌdeɪ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.66 in modern English

Syllables
hap-py birth-day
IPA
/ˈhæp.i ˈbɝθˌdeɪ/
32
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

intj

Said or written to a person who is celebrating their birthday in order to convey the good wishes of the speaker or writer (literally, "may you have a happy birthday")

verb

To wish (someone) a happy birthday.

Colloquial; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈhæp.i ˈbɝθˌdeɪ/
  • British English: /ˈhæp.i ˈbɜːθ.deɪ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

happy birthdays (present, singular) happy birthdaying (participle, present) happy birthdayed (participle, past) happy birthdayed (past)

Phrases

belated happy birthday happy belated birthday happy birthday in heaven

Synonyms

many happy returns many happy returns of the day

Questions

How do you pronounce happy birthday?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhæp.i ˈbɝθˌdeɪ/.
What does happy birthday mean?
Said or written to a person who is celebrating their birthday in order to convey the good wishes of the speaker or writer (literally, "may you have a happy birthday")

How to pronounce happy birthday

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “happy birthday”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhæp.i ˈbɝθˌdeɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “happy birthday”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “happy birthday” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.