# Happy birthday



## Nikola74

Hi, I want to wish a happy birthday to a friend of mine.
On the internet I found this 誕生日おめでとう but I also found this お誕生日おめでとう, what are the differnces? which one should I use?
I wanted to write that on a card, can I write it on two lines?  I was thinking to write 誕生日 on the top line and おめでとう on the line below. can I do that in the Japanese reading system? or Have I to write in vertical form?
Thank you!!!


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## wind-sky-wind

"誕生日おめでとう" and "お誕生日おめでとう" are both fine and make little difference.
"お誕生日..." might be a bit more polite.
You can write it horizontally. Or, writing it vertically would make it look quite weird (actually, archaic).


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## Nikola74

thank you! If I want to also add the name of the person, should I add it at the end or at the beginning?


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## karlalou

If it's for your friend, there's not much rules for it. Do a little Google Image search with お誕生日おめでとう as keyword and have fun looking at them. 

Just


> ○○○さんへ
> お誕生日おめでとう！
> ○○○より


would do. For detail take a look at this page.


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## spu001

Hi, Nikola74,



> On the internet I found this 誕生日おめでとう but I also found this お誕生日おめでとう, what are the differnces? which one should I use?



First thing first, let me explain what お here is:
お(in another form ご/御) is a polite prefix(in Japanese, called "美化語 - bikago"). Usage of this prefix is quite idiomatic, that is, we can't add お or ご to every noun -- there's a thin line between right and wrong words to which it's added.
E.g. お花(o-hana: flower) お花瓶(o-kabin: vase) ; お車(o-kuruma: car) お自転車(o-jitensha: bike) ; 御厚意(go-kōi: favor) 御熱意(go-netsui: passion,) etc.
(NB: Since that is quite ambiguous, some wrong uses might be accepted by some people; might be called "mistakes" by some other people. But some other uses must be frowned upon by most of Japanese people, e.g. おビール(o-bīru: beer,) etc. That's why its usage is idiomatic -- we should get used to that through real Japanese conversations.)
And girls use that prefix more than guys. If guys say "o-hana" it sounds effeminate but they do use お店(o-mise: shop/store/restaurant,) お金(o-kane: money,) etc. all the same.

Let's talk about the difference between 誕生日 and お誕生日,
Point is, this is a happy medium -- if you write a b-day message to a friend, the difference between with or without it is not big.
But if you write to older people or your boss, simply put, if you need to use 'keigo' with the person you're sending a message, you must say "お誕生日おめでとうございます".



> I wanted to write that on a card, can I write it on two lines?





> If I want to also add the name of the person, should I add it at the end or at the beginning?



I second Karlalou's comment -- don't worry, if you're writing to your friend.



			
				wind-sky-wind said:
			
		

> You can write it horizontally. Or, writing it vertically would make it look quite weird (actually, archaic).



Since this is about a b-day card, the vertical writing style is nowhere near "would make it look _quite _weird," not to mention, let alone _archaic._
Especially if you're planning to add Japanese-themed pictures on your craft, it could be the icing on the cake.

I found these ones,









Wouldn't they be indeed nice? 

Hope that helps,
Spu


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## Nikola74

Thank you so much spu!!


spu001 said:


> Let's talk about the difference between 誕生日 and お誕生日,
> Point is, this is a happy medium -- if you write a b-day message to a friend, the difference between with or without it is not big.
> But if you write to older people or your boss, simply put, if you need to use 'keigo' with the person you're sending a message, you must say "お誕生日おめでとうございます".


She is a friend of mine but she is also older than me, what do you think would be the most suitable form in this case?


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## spu001

You're welcome, Nikola,

Depends,
If you use polite Japanese words (keigo: honorific language) when you talk with her, then I recommend you to use "お誕生日おめでとうございます."
If she's really familiar to you and you think that to speak in keigo could make the relationship aloof, then I think it's good to use "誕生日おめでとう."
Even if the above is the case, you'd be better off using "お誕生日おめでとうございます" -- if you respect her and want to give props to her.
As I wrote in the previous comment, girls often add お to ”誕生日おめでとう," even though there's no big difference, as for "誕生日おめでとう."

Ciao!
Spu


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## Nikola74

Grazie Spu!
Actually we just talk in english, I don't know Japanese system


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## Nikola74

does "誕生日おめでとうございます" would work even withouth the intial 'お' ?
Or you suggest me to write just "お誕生日おめでとうございます" ?

Arigato gozaimasu Spu!


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## spu001

Yup, indeed, "誕生日おめでとうございます" works, too, without being less polite.
Guys prefer "誕生日おめでとうございます" to "お誕生日[...]", for the reason above.

And as for choices,
If the situation is that she's 40+ years old and you're much younger, you should use "[...]ございます."
If not, then it's up to your preference:
To give props to her on this opportunity, even if the relationship is that you usually joke with her.
Or,
To say "Hey, happy birthday! I hope it is well!" -- to give her affection.
If the former, "(お)誕生日おめでとうございます," and if the latter, "(お)誕生日おめでとう" -- I recommend.

Good luck!
Spu


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## Nikola74

Thank you so much Spu!
Yes, I am a bit younger than her but anyway, we get along well.
I wanted to show affection and to give props.
You said that "誕生日おめでとうございます" works even when there's a good friend relationship so I think I will use that!!
can I write that on two lines? like this:

誕生日おめでとう
ございます

I was just thinking about how to organize space in the sheet since I'll have to write it by hand =)


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## spu001

You're very welcome, Nikola

Absolutely, you can 
Unless you chop words like this: 誕生/日おめで/とうござ/います。-- this isn't a mistake, but a pain to read.
So, you can lay out the words freely if they're intact and in the right order.
ICYMI, when we write it vertically we have to write lines from right to left.

This one is in three lines.





I hope you please her, ciao!
Spu


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## Nikola74

Thank you again Spu, I wrote the card!!!


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## spu001

You're welcome. And congrats for completing it!


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