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Ready to discover everything you ever wanted to know about the basic phrase “Joyeux anniversaire”?
This include a detailed guide of what it is and how to use it in a casual conversation with an audio example. And because we want you to learn efficiently, we also added some useful informations like dialogue example, slow pronunciation audio, synonym and more!
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“Joyeux anniversaire” is the common way to say “Happy birthday” in French. (We also use “Bon anniversaire” frequently.)
To keep it simple, use one of these:
For a complete sentence in an informal context, use instead:
And for a formal context, use:
Finally, if you want to amplify your wish, you can add “très” (very) before “bon“. Example: “Je te souhaite un très bon anniversaire” (I wish you a very good birthday)
To wish someone a happy birthday in Quebec, you should use instead “Joyeuse fête“. (Which doesn’t work in France)
Also, when singing to wish someone a happy birthday in France, we use exactly the same melody as the song “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you *name* (…)“. So it becomes “Joyeux anniversaire, joyeux anniversaire *name* (…)“