Three original birthday messages
| Situation | German message | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| Short text | Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Lea! Hab einen schönen Tag. | Happy birthday, Lea! Have a lovely day. |
| Warm card to a friend | Liebe Lea, alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Ich freue mich auf unser nächstes Treffen. Lass dich feiern! Liebe Grüße, Alex | Dear Lea, happy birthday! I’m looking forward to our next meeting. Enjoy being celebrated! Best wishes, Alex. |
| Formal work card | Sehr geehrter Herr Wagner, wir wünschen Ihnen alles Gute zum Geburtstag und einen schönen Tag. Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Ihr Team | Dear Mr Wagner, we wish you all the best for your birthday and a lovely day. Kind regards, your team. |
“Lass dich feiern” is informal and means roughly “Enjoy being celebrated.” It is an option, not a requirement. Leave out age jokes, references to children or promises about health unless you know that wording is welcome. A personal message should not depend on assumptions about someone’s life.
For the work example, a warmer Lieber Herr Wagner may suit an established relationship. The formal Ihnen can remain. A friendly salutation and formal pronouns are not inherently contradictory.
Who sends the card, and who receives it?
Decide these separately. A card signed by a whole team uses wir. If it is addressed to one colleague you call du, it still uses dir. Euch is for several informally addressed recipients, not for several signatures.
| Sender and recipient | Original German sentence | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| You to one friend | Ich wünsche dir einen schönen Geburtstag. | I wish you a lovely birthday. |
| A team to one familiar colleague | Wir wünschen dir alles Gute zum Geburtstag. | We wish you all the best for your birthday. |
| You to a formal contact | Ich wünsche Ihnen alles Gute zum Geburtstag. | I wish you all the best for your birthday. |
| A team to one formal contact | Wir gratulieren Ihnen herzlich zum Geburtstag. | We warmly congratulate you on your birthday. |
Continue using the form of address already established between you. A workplace can use du or Sie; “colleague” is not enough information on its own. See German greetings and forms of address if you need a starting point.
A quick check
Group card: Five people write to one colleague they call du. Complete Wir wünschen ___ alles Gute zum Geburtstag. Answer: dir. The five senders explain wir, not euch.
Two worked examples
These additional examples and checks were written for this focused lesson.
Liebe Sina, wir wünschen dir alles Gute zum Geburtstag. Herzliche Grüße, dein Team
Dear Sina, we wish you all the best for your birthday. Warm wishes, your team. Several senders can still address one familiar recipient with dir.
Sehr geehrter Herr Roth, ich gratuliere Ihnen herzlich zum Geburtstag. Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Ada Keller
Dear Mr Roth, warm congratulations on your birthday. Kind regards, Ada Keller. Ihnen keeps formal address; gratulieren takes a dative recipient.
Check the situation
A team writes to one colleague addressed as du. Does the number of signatures require euch?
Show answer
No. Write Wir wünschen dir … . Euch would address several familiar recipients, not several senders.
You use Sie with the recipient. Which fits: Wir gratulieren dir or Wir gratulieren Ihnen?
Show answer
Wir gratulieren Ihnen. Keep the established address form through the wish and closing.
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