You have never been to Hungary and still want to express congratulations to Hungarian people in their national language? Then you’ve come to the right place, because you’ll find various ways to congratulate Hungarians on their birthdays. There is also a small overview of Hungarian gifts and gift wishes as well as birthday celebrations in Hungary.
Happy Birthday in Hungarian
Happy birthday in Hungarian means: Boldog születésnapot ! However, this formal term is used quite rarely. Other expressions (mostly abbreviated or informal) are much more common on Facebook.
4 ways to wish a Hungarian “all the best”
- Boldog szülinapot! (Happy birthday, abbreviated version for the chat)
- Boldog születésnapot! (Happy birthday , not abbreviated)
- Boldog születésnapot kívánok! (I wish you a happy birthday)
- Minden jót! (Everything Good)
- Születésnapodra kívánok minden jót! (Wishing you a happy birthday!)
- Legyen szép az új esztendőd! (May the new year be beautiful for you!)
- Az egészségedre koccintunk! (We toast your health!)
- Sok boldogságot, szeretetet és egészséget kívánok! (I wish you good luck, love and health!)
It is best to apply your knowledge straight away and surprise a Hungarian friend, acquaintance or relative with a “Happy Birthday” in Hungarian. And don’t forget: variety makes life more beautiful and impressive – so you have several options to congratulate a Hungarian.
Birthday celebrations in Hungary
The way in which birthdays are celebrated in Hungary is in many ways similar to the tradition common in other Western (European) countries.
Traditionally, Hungarians celebrate birthdays with friends and family, with gifts, food and drink, and (often traditional) music and dancing. A typical birthday cake in Hungary is the Dobos cake, which consists of several layers of chocolate cake and buttercream, often topped with caramelized sugar cubes. This is also an excellent gift if you enjoy baking and decorating cakes.
In Hungary – as in many other countries – there are also some traditional customs associated with birthdays. One of these is the “pull up,” where the birthday boy is lifted into the air on the morning of the birthday by friends and family to wish them happiness and health for the year ahead.
Another tradition in Hungary is the “Szülinapi Köszöntő”, where the birthday boy is visited by his friends and family members, who serenade him and give him a small gift.
As a rule, however, the birthday party depends very much on the personal preferences and cultural background of the birthday child.
Birthday gifts for Hungary
In addition to the classic gifts such as gifts of money, vouchers, books and the like, Hungarians also enjoy technical items and culinary delights. It depends on regional high-quality products, which you can of course mix across countries.
If you need exactly ideas for great Hungarian birthday gifts, here are some for you:
- Unicum: This is a famous Hungarian herbal liqueur
- Handmade ceramics: Hungary is known for its handmade ceramics – personalized this makes a unique gift
- Tokaj wine: Tokaj wine is an exclusive Hungarian wine and a great gift idea for wine lovers
- Kürtőskalács: A traditional Hungarian dessert consisting of sweet dough wrapped around a skewer and then baked. This is of course a delicious idea – preferably freshly baked!
- Pálinka: This is a fruit brandy that is very popular in Hungary
- Handcrafted Products: Hungary is known for its handcrafted products such as embroidery, carvings and jewellery
- Books by Hungarian authors: Of course, book lovers can also convince themselves with a book by a Hungarian author
I hope the list helps you to find the right gift. If you have any other ideas, please feel free to mention them in the comments.
Birthday cards and birthday sayings for Hungary
Below I would like to provide you with some birthday sayings for birthday cards, which you are welcome to use. Birthday cards are among the gifts in Hungary, so you should write a few loving lines. The birthday child is particularly happy about this.
- Happy Birthday! I wish you a year full of happiness, love and success. (Boldog születésnapot! Kívánom, hogy az új év boldogsággal, szeretettel és sikerrel teljen.)
- Happy Birthday! May all your wishes come true. (Minden jót a születésnapodra! Reméljük, hogy minden vágyad teljesül.)
- I wish you health, joy and many unforgettable moments on your birthday. (Sok egészséget, boldogságot és felejthetetlen pillanatokat kívánok a születésnapodon.)
- I wish you a life full of laughter, love and happiness. Happy Birthday! (Boldog születésnapot! Kívánom, hogy az életed tele legyen nevetéssel, szeretettel és boldogsággal.)
- May all your dreams come true and your life be full of success and joy. Happy Birthday! (Reméljük, hogy minden álmod valóra válik, és az életed tele van sikerrel és boldogsággal. Boldog születésnapot!)
- I wish you all the best on your birthday and a year full of adventures and challenges that make you grow. (Boldog születésnapot és egy évet telis-teli kalandokkal és kihívásokkal, amelyek segítenek neked a fejlődésben.)
- On your birthday, may you be surrounded by loved ones and experience lots of love and happiness. (Legyen a születésnapod szeretteid körében, és tapasztald meg a szeretetet és a boldogságot!)
You now have many different Hungarian birthday sayings, so you shouldn’t have any problem writing a personalized birthday card.
Hungarian birthday songs
In Hungary people like to dance, heal and make music on birthdays. For this reason, there are also some (well-known) Hungarian birthday songs and birthday serenades that people like to sing. I would like to name a few here so that you can practice them in advance:
- Születésnapi dal (Birthday song) – a traditional Hungarian birthday song, often sung when the birthday boy cuts the cake
- Boldog születésnapot (Happy Birthday) – the Hungarian version of the well-known song “Happy Birthday”
- Én úgy szeretnék most születni (I wish to be born now) – a well-known Hungarian birthday song
- Én a születésnapomra (On my birthday) – another popular Hungarian birthday song, which is very often played at parties
- Három almafa (Three apple trees) – a traditional Hungarian children’s song – mainly sung at children’s birthday parties
- Kicsi, gesztenye, nagy gesztenye (Little chestnut, big chestnut) – a fun Hungarian children’s song, also played at birthday parties
This should give you enough ideas about what songs are sung for birthdays in Hungary.
More resources in Hungarian
In this post you can find more Hungarian language expressions and lessons or do you want another language?
Happy birthday in other languages
Here you will find a post list about Birthday wishes in many other languages. In addition to birthday wishes, there are also wishes for a name day, Happy Easter, Happy New Year and Merry Christmas.
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