If you want to wish someone a happy birthday in Hebrew, the words to use are “yom huledet sameach.”
Yom means “day,” huledet means “birth,” and sameach is “happy.”
You can sing the Hebrew words to the regular “happy birthday” tune, in this fashion:
Hebrew:
יוֹם הֻלֶּדֶת שָׂמֵחַ,
יוֹם הֻלֶּדֶת שָׂמֵחַ,
…יוֹם הֻלֶּדֶת שָׂמֵחַ לְ
יוֹם הֻלֶּדֶת שָׂמֵחַ
Transliteration:
Yom huledet sameach,
Yom huledet sameach
Yom huledet sameach le'[INSERT CHILD’S NAME HERE]
Yom huledet sameach
However! One of the most popular birthday songs in Israel is Ha’yom Yom Huledet, which means “today is [your] birthday.”
The lyrics are pretty simple, but since Hebrew is gendered, you will have to replace lo with la in the second verse if you are singing the song to a girl. Here’s how it goes:
Hebrew:
היום יום הולדת
היום יום הולדת
…היום יום הולדת ל
היום יום הולדת
היום יום הולדת
…היום יום הולדת ל
חג לו שמח
וזר לו פורח
…היום יום הולדת ל
חג לו שמח
וזר לו פורח
…היום יום הולדת ל
Transliteration:
Hayom yom huledet
Hayom yom huledet
Hayom yom huledet le'[INSERT CHILD’S NAME HERE]
Hayom yom huledet
Hayom yom huledet
Hayom yom huledet le'[INSERT CHILD’S NAME HERE]
Chag lo/la sameach
Ve’zer lo/la pore’ach
Hayom yom huledet le’ le'[INSERT CHILD’S NAME HERE]
Chag lo/la sameach
Ve’zer lo/la pore’ach
Hayom yom huledet le’ le'[INSERT CHILD’S NAME HERE]
Translation:
Today is the birthday
Today is the birthday
Today is the birthday of [INSERT CHILD’S NAME HERE]
Today is the birthday
Today is the birthday
Today is the birthday of [INSERT CHILD’S NAME HERE]
Happy holiday to him/her
And blooming wreath for him/her
Today is the birthday of [INSERT CHILD’S NAME HERE]
Happy holiday to him/her
And blooming wreath for him/her
Today is the birthday of [INSERT CHILD’S NAME HERE]
There are also other beautiful Hebrew happy birthday songs that you can share with your kids. In fact, here’s a lovely 20-minute medley of Hebrew birthday songs from the Israeli children’s channel, Hop, for your next birthday party soundtrack:
And of course, the best birthday greeting for a birthday boy or girl, aside from yom huledet sameach, is “mazal tov” — not to be confused with its Yiddish cousin, mazel tov — which means “congratulations!”
