Is It Correct to Say “Happiest of Birthdays”?

You may have heard the phrase thrown around” happiest of birthdays”, or you may have received a card with it written inside. If you have ever doubted whether it is correct to say “happiest of birthdays”, then this page will explain whether it is accurate or not to say “happiest of birthdays.”

Is It Correct to Say “Happiest of Birthdays”?

The phrase “happiest of birthdays” is commonly used to wish someone a happy birthday. The term is an example of an elliptical sentence, where words are omitted from the sentence. So whilst “happiest of birthdays” is not grammatically “complete”, it is understood and accepted in English-speaking countries.

The word “happiest” is a superlative, and in the term “happiest of birthdays” refers to the happiest birthday of that person’s life or the birthday with the happiest birthday out of everyone’s birthday.

The phrase is not a complete sentence because it is missing words; however, it is understood and accepted almost universally and would not raise much controversy if written on a birthday card or in a message.

The phrase “happiest of birthdays” is an incomplete way of saying something like:

• I hope you have the happiest birthday you have ever had
• I wish you the happiest of birthdays ever
• Wishing you the happiest of birthdays yet
• I hope you have the happiest of birthdays ever

What Does “Happiest of Birthdays” Mean?

“Happiest of birthdays” is a phrase adopted from more complete sentences such as “I wish you a happy birthday” or “I hope you have the best birthday ever.”

In greetings cards and messages written on special occasions, people commonly reduce entire sentences and use sentence fragments. In these fragments, the “message” is the most crucial part, so grammatical shortcomings are often overlooked because the message is still understood.

For example, the phrases “happy birthday” and “merry Christmas” are reduced versions of the complete sentence:

• I wish you a happy birthday
• I hope that you have a Merry Christmas

Therefore, the “happiest of birthdays” could be referring to the “happiest” birthday of that person’s life, in which case you can add the words like “yet” or “yet to come.”

Here are two examples which show the entire sentences containing the phrase “happiest of birthdays” so you can see how the complete version would look:

• I wish you the happiest birthday yet to come.
• I hope you have the best birthday of your life.
• I wish you the best birthday of your life.

Alternatively, it could refer to the “happiest” birthday out of all birthdays, in which case could add words like “ever”, “in the world”, or “of all birthdays” to make the sentences complete and less ambiguous.

• I wish you the happiest of birthdays ever
• I am wishing you the happiest of birthdays in the world
• I wish you the best birthday of all birthdays

How to Use “Happiest of Birthdays” in a Sentence

The phrase “happiest of birthdays” is a sentence fragment or elliptical sentence, which means it is essentially missing some words.

If you were using “happiest of birthdays” in a complete sentence, this is what it would look like:

• I can’t go to the party tomorrow night but I wish you the happiest of birthdays!
• We are far away, but I wish you the happiest of birthdays yet to come!
• Considering I am alone, I wish myself the happiest of birthdays yet to come.
• On this special day, I wish the happiest of birthdays to you.

Is “Happiest of Birthday” Correct?

The phrase “happiest of birthday” is incorrect when used with “of” because the word “happiest of” is a superlative to show something had the most happiness out of a group. Therefore, it must compete against other “birthdays” to be the “happiest of all the birthdays”, which means that “birthdays” must be written in the plural and not singular.

• I wish you the happiest of birthday – This is INCORRECT because “birthday” needs to be in plural
• I wish you the happiest of birthdays – This is CORRECT

It can be somewhat confusing because if you omit the “of” from the end of superlatives like “happiest” and “best”, then you can use “birthday”, as shown in the examples below:

• I wish you the best birthday ever
• I wish you the happiest birthday ever

Is “Happiest Birthday” Correct?

“Happiest birthday” is the same as “happiest of birthdays” or “happy birthday” in that it is a sentence fragment that expresses an entire idea but omits certain words. Like the other versions, “happiest birthday” is understood and accepted on greeting cards and in birthday messages.

However, although it is not technically “complete”, people tend to overlook such matters when it comes to greetings cards and messages of congratulations because the circumstance and the message it conveys are more important than how it is written.

Here is how to use “happiest birthday” in a complete sentence:

• I wish you the happiest birthday you have ever had
• We wish you the happiest birthday ever
• We are all wishing that you have the happiest birthday yet to come

Final Thoughts

The phrase “happiest of birthdays” is commonly used and widely recognised. Even though it is quite colloquial and not a “complete sentence, it would be hard to find someone who doesn’t understand it or scorns its use because such phrases have become a regular and accepted part of the English lexicon.