誕生日

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 誕生日おめでとう。▶ —
   Happy birthday.
2. 誕生日にケーキを買った。▶ —
   I bought a cake on my birthday.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Tanjoubi (誕生日) is "birthday" — kanji "tan (be born) + sei (life) + hi (day)" with a quirky Japanese cultural development. Cluster: (1) o-tanjoubi (polite o-prefix, used to children, customers, and superiors); (2) tanjoubi omedetou (casual congrats; o-tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu polite); (3) baasudeekeeki (birthday cake — Japans standard is strawberry shortcake, cemented by Fujiya marketing in 1922, distinct from Western chocolate cake and doubled as Christmas cake); (4) happii baasudee (sung in English as-is — no Japanese lyrics version); (5) age culture code: Japan ran a double system — kazoe-doshi (1 at birth, +1 every New Year, the old way) and man-nenrei (0 at birth, +1 on birthday, Western way) — the 1950 Age Reckoning Act unified everything to "man" officially, though yakudoshi unlucky years and shichigosan still use kazoe. Korea has tteokguk-age, the 2023 "man" unification, and abolishment of "se-nun age"; Japan unified to "man" much earlier in 1950. JLPT N5 plus Japans personal-rite plus age-culture code.

Quick check

1. Japans standard birthday cake — uniquely Japanese?

   • Strawberry shortcake (whipped cream and strawberries) — cemented by Fujiya in 1922, distinct from Western chocolate cake
   • Western chocolate fudge
   • Cheesecake
   • Wagashi