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- group birthday card
- Belated birthday in Spanish
Happy belated birthday in Spanish.
What to write.
The phrase is "Feliz cumpleaños con retraso" or "Perdona el retraso, feliz cumpleaños". Both land naturally with a Spanish-speaking friend.
The belated birthday messages below are sorted by language and occasion. Pick your group, add their name, and sign.
Create a cardRead a sample card
Everyone's words in one card.
Updated
Perdona el retraso. Feliz cumpleaños con todo mi cariño.
Perdona el retraso. Happy belated birthday from all of us.
We missed the date. Feliz cumpleaños con retraso, from all of us.
Pick a design
The question
Each writer gets a question.
One at a time, about Sam. They answer in their own words, or write without one.
- Something Sam did this year that you still think about.
- Words of Sam's that you have caught yourself using.
- A day Sam made better just by turning up.
- Something Sam taught you without meaning to.
- A small thing about Sam that nobody else would notice.
- The story about Sam you tell most.
- The moment you knew you had a proper friend in Sam.
- Something Sam did that only a friend would.
- A thing you still laugh about together.
- The time Sam turned up when it mattered.
- Something Sam knew about you before you said it.
- Something Sam did for the family that went unsaid.
- A habit of Sam's that you have caught yourself copying.
- A memory of Sam from when you were younger.
- Something Sam put up with from you.
- Something Sam taught you, mostly by example.
- A small thing Sam did that you noticed and never mentioned.
- The moment you knew.
- Something Sam did this year that made things easier for you.
- A thing about Sam you would not change.
- Something Sam carried that was yours to carry.
- The thing you go to Sam for.
- Something you picked up from working beside Sam.
- A bad day at work that Sam turned round.
- Something a new starter should be told about Sam.
- Something Sam did that made the job feel worth doing.
Or write without one.
Happy belated birthday messages in Spanish
Pick your group, add their name, and sign.
In Spanish
Perdona el retraso. Feliz cumpleaños con todo mi cariño.
Feliz cumpleaños con retraso. Espero que hayas tenido un día estupendo.
Sé que llego tarde, pero no podía dejar pasar tu cumpleaños. Felicidades.
Feliz cumpleaños atrasado. El abrazo llega hoy, aunque el día ya pasó.
Tardé, pero aquí estoy. Feliz cumpleaños. Que este año sea increíble para ti.
Bilingual
Happy belated birthday. Perdona el retraso, pero te lo mereces igual.
Feliz cumpleaños con retraso. Sorry I missed the day. Hope it was a good one.
Happy birthday, late but sincere. Felicidades y todo lo mejor este año.
Perdona el retraso. Happy belated birthday from all of us.
From the group
Happy belated birthday. We are late and we know it. Felicidades from everyone.
Perdona el retraso de todo el grupo. Feliz cumpleaños. We hope you celebrated well.
We missed the date. Feliz cumpleaños con retraso, from all of us.
Happy belated birthday. The card is late. The good wishes are not.
Short
Perdona el retraso. Feliz cumpleaños.
Happy belated birthday. Felicidades.
Late, but thinking of you. Feliz cumpleaños.
Feliz cumpleaños con retraso. Better late than never.
What to leave out
Do not over-apologise. A few words cover it. A long paragraph about how swamped you were in the weeks before their birthday turns a card about them into a story about you.
Usted or tú. Pick one and stay with it. Mixing formal and informal Spanish in the same message reads oddly, even to someone who speaks both languages fluently.
Do not write Spanish phonetically. Write it correctly or write in English instead.
The birthday wish still matters. Do not spend the whole card apologising for the delay and forget to actually say happy birthday.
One card from everyone
Friends, family, the whole group. One link, and it opens when you set it.
- 01
Set the date.
Pick today or a day they will open the card. It opens then and not before.
- 02
Share the link.
Each person adds their own message, in any language, in a browser. No app needed.
- 03
They read it all at once.
Every message signed with a name. Worth the wait.
Questions
How do you say happy belated birthday in Spanish?
"Perdona el retraso, feliz cumpleaños" is the most natural. "Feliz cumpleaños con retraso" works too, and reads more formally.
Can I mix English and Spanish in a birthday card?
Yes. A bilingual message is warm and personal if you know the person speaks both. Keep it short and make sure the Spanish is correct.
Is it rude to send a belated birthday card?
No. A late card is better than no card. A quick word about the delay is enough. Then get on with the birthday wish.
Somebody has a day coming up.
Everyone's words in one card.