Happy Birthday in Persian: Wishes, Card Messages and the Birthday Song

To say happy birthday in Persian, say تولدت مبارک (tavallodet mobârak), literally “your birth is blessed.” This is the form for friends, family and children. For someone you address politely, say تولدتون مبارک (tavallodetun mobârak) in speech, or write تولدتان مبارک (tavallodetân mobârak). A favorite wish to add is صد سال به این سال‌ها (sad sâl be in sâl-hâ).

Below you will find all the ways to say it, short wishes and full card messages for different people, how to reply when someone wishes you a happy birthday, the Persian birthday song, how to talk about your age, and how birthdays work with the Persian calendar. Every phrase has pronunciation and a note on when to use it.

Happy birthday in Persian: the main forms

تولد (tavallod) Listen means “birth” and also “birthday,” and مبارک (mobârak) means “blessed” or “congratulations.” The small ending in the middle tells you who you are talking to. See our vocabulary page on tavallod (تولد), the Persian word for birth and birthday for more examples.

تولدت مبارک (tavallodet mobârak) Listen is by far the most common. The -et ending means “your” for the familiar you (تو, to). The polite spoken form تولدتون مبارک (tavallodetun mobârak) Listen uses -etun, and the written form uses -etân. If you are not sure whether to use the familiar or polite form, our lesson on polite Persian: shomâ instead of to will help you decide.

You can make it warmer with a term of endearment:

• تولدت مبارک عزیزم (tavallodet mobârak azizam): happy birthday, my dear Listen
• تولدت مبارک رفیق (tavallodet mobârak rafigh): happy birthday, buddy (spoken, between friends)
• مامان عزیزم، تولدت مبارک (mâmân-e azizam, tavallodet mobârak): happy birthday, dear Mom

Birthday wishes in Persian

After “happy birthday,” Iranians usually add a wish. These are the ones you will hear and read most.

صد سال به این سال‌ها (sad sâl be in sâl-hâ) Listen literally means “a hundred years to these years,” a wish for a long life with many more birthdays. You can use it alone or after tavallodet mobârak. The spoken ایشالا صد ساله بشی (ishâllâ sad sâle beshi) Listen has the same meaning; ishâllâ is the everyday pronunciation of ان‌شاءالله (enshâallâh), “God willing,” and many people write the short form in texts. If you prefer a wish with no religious word, use امیدوارم (omidvâram, “I hope”) instead.

Birthday card and text messages

Here are complete messages you can copy into a card or a text. Spoken-style messages are normal in texts and social media between friends; use the written style in cards for elders and colleagues. Our free online Persian keyboard lets you type them if you do not have a Persian layout installed.

For a friend (spoken style)

تولدت مبارک عزیزم. امیدوارم امسال بهترین سال زندگیت باشه.
(tavallodet mobârak azizam. omidvâram emsâl behtarin sâl-e zendegit bâshe.)
Happy birthday, dear. I hope this year is the best year of your life.

For a partner

تولدت مبارک عشقم. خیلی دوستت دارم.
(tavallodet mobârak eshgham. kheyli dustet dâram.)
Happy birthday, my love. I love you so much.

For a parent

مامان عزیزم، تولدت مبارک. صد سال به این سال‌ها.
(mâmân-e azizam, tavallodet mobârak. sad sâl be in sâl-hâ.)
Dear Mom, happy birthday. Many happy returns.

For a colleague or teacher (written, polite)

تولدتان مبارک. برایتان سالی پر از سلامتی و موفقیت آرزو می‌کنم.
(tavallodetân mobârak. barâyetân sâli por az salâmati va movaffaghiyat ârezu mikonam.)
Happy birthday. I wish you a year full of health and success.

For a child

تولدت مبارک گلم. چند ساله شدی؟
(tavallodet mobârak golam. chand sâle shodi?)
Happy birthday, sweetie. How old are you now?

گلم (golam), “my flower,” is a very common affectionate word for children and loved ones.

How to reply to “happy birthday” in Persian

When someone wishes you a happy birthday, thank them. These replies are all common.

When a guest hands you a gift, they will often say قابلی نداره (ghâbeli nadâre), “it’s nothing (worthy of you).” That is polite modesty; answer with خیلی ممنون، زحمت کشیدی (kheyli mamnun, zahmat keshidi). For more replies like these, see our post on taarof and Persian politeness.

Birthday party words

Birthdays in Iran are usually celebrated with family and friends at home or in a cafe or restaurant, with a cake, candles and presents. These are the words you will need.

At the cake, people say آرزو کن (ârezu kon) Listen, “make a wish,” and then شمع‌ها رو فوت کن (sham’-hâ ro fut kon) Listen, “blow out the candles” (spoken). Inviting someone? Say جمعه جشن تولدمه، حتما بیا (jom’e jashn-e tavallodame, hatman biâ), “My birthday party is on Friday, be sure to come.” For a full lesson with dialogue, see Learn Farsi in 100 Days, Day 91: Birthday Party, and for presents, Day 58: To Give a Gift.

The Persian birthday song

Iranians sing a Persian birthday song when the cake comes out, usually with clapping. Its best-known line, which everyone joins in on, is:

تولد تولد تولدت مبارک Listen
(tavallod tavallod tavallodet mobârak)
Birthday, birthday, happy birthday to you.

Many families also sing the English “Happy Birthday to You,” sometimes right after the Persian song. If you learn only one line, learn this one, and you will be able to join in at an Iranian birthday.

Talking about age on your birthday

Birthdays bring age questions. Here are the essentials, in spoken and written form.

Persian uses “have” for age: سی سال دارم (si sâl dâram) Listen, “I have thirty years.” Useful round numbers: بیست (bist, 20), سی (si, 30), چهل (chehel, 40), پنجاه (panjâh, 50), شصت (shast, 60). For all the numbers, see Persian numbers 1 to 1,000, test yourself with the Persian numbers quiz, and practice age questions in Speak Persian Fast, Lesson 8: How old are you?

Asking an adult’s age directly can be a little personal, as in English. With children it is completely normal and expected.

Birthdays and the Persian calendar

Iran officially uses the Persian solar calendar (Solar Hijri), whose year begins at Nowruz in March. Iranian ID documents give the birth date in this calendar, and many Iranians think of their birthday as a Persian date, such as the 10th of Mehr, rather than a Western one.

• تولدت کیه؟ (tavallodet keye?): when is your birthday? (spoken)
• تولدم دهم مهره (tavallodam dahom-e mehre): my birthday is the 10th of Mehr (spoken)
• متولد چه سالی هستی؟ (motevalled-e che sâli hasti?): what year were you born?

The twelve months are فروردین (Farvardin), اردیبهشت (Ordibehesht), خرداد (Khordâd), تیر (Tir), مرداد (Mordâd), شهریور (Shahrivar), مهر (Mehr), آبان (Âbân), آذر (Âzar), دی (Dey), بهمن (Bahman) and اسفند (Esfand). Because leap years fall differently in the two calendars, a Persian date can land one day earlier or later on the Western calendar from year to year. To find your own Persian birthday, use our Persian date converter, and read more in Persian calendar: days, months and Nowruz.

You will also hear Iranians describe their generation by Persian decade: a دهه شصتی (dahe shasti) is someone born in the 1360s, roughly 1981 to 1991.

If you want ready-made phrases for many other celebrations and everyday moments, 1000 Most Common Farsi Phrases collects them by situation.

Common questions

How do you say happy birthday in Farsi?

Say تولدت مبارک (tavallodet mobârak) to a friend or family member. To someone you address politely, say تولدتون مبارک (tavallodetun mobârak), or write تولدتان مبارک (tavallodetân mobârak). Farsi and Persian are the same language.

How do you pronounce tavallodet mobarak?

Say ta-val-LOD-et mo-baa-RAK. The double l is held slightly longer, and the â in mobârak is a long “aa” as in “father.” The stress falls on the last syllable of each word itself (tavallod, mobârak); the ending -et (“your”) is not stressed.

What does “sad sal be in salha” mean?

صد سال به این سال‌ها (sad sâl be in sâl-hâ) means “a hundred years to these years.” It wishes the birthday person a long life with many more birthdays, much like “many happy returns.”

How do you say “happy birthday, my love” in Persian?

Say تولدت مبارک عشقم (tavallodet mobârak eshgham) or تولدت مبارک عزیزم (tavallodet mobârak azizam), “happy birthday, my dear.”

How do you reply to happy birthday in Persian?

Say مرسی (mersi) or ممنون (mamnun), “thanks.” Warmer replies are مرسی عزیزم (mersi azizam) and مرسی که یادت بود (mersi ke yâdet bud), “thanks for remembering.”

Is there a Persian happy birthday song?

Yes. Iranians sing a Persian birthday song whose chorus is تولد تولد تولدت مبارک (tavallod tavallod tavallodet mobârak), and many families also sing the English “Happy Birthday to You.”

Learn Persian with our bestseller

Study with the book

Learn Farsi in 100 Days: The Ultimate Crash Course to Learning Farsi Fast

PDF ebook, instant download. $26.99 Original price was: $26.99.$14.99Current price is: $14.99.

Add to cart See inside

Serious about Persian? Get all 30 of our Persian learning books for $199.99 (55% less than buying them one by one).

Browse all Persian learning books