Useful Russian phrases: How to congratulate someone on a holiday?
Let's learn some most commonly used expressions so you can impress your Russian friends!
To express congratulations on a holiday or an important date, Russians use the phrase: “Поздравляю с …” (Literally “Congratulate on/with …”).
The following words should be put in the Instrumental case, which we've learned before (check here if you've missed it!).
So, here's a couple of examples:
- “Поздравляю с днём рождения!”
“Happy birthday!” (“I congratulate you on your birthday!”) - “Поздравляю с Новым Годом!”
“Happy New Year!” (“I congratulate you with New Year's!”)
But, here's a trick! You can skip the word 'поздравляю' and say 'c …' right away!
For example:
- “C днём рождения!”
“Happy birthday!” - “C Новым годом!”
“Happy New year!”
What else can you congratulate a Russian person with?
- “С Пасхой!” (“Happy Easter!”)
- “Со свадьбой/с годовщиной свадьбы” (“Happy wedding/happy wedding anniversary!”)
- “С Днем Победы” (“Happy Victory Day!”)
- “C Рождеством” (“Merry Christmas!”)
- “С новосельем” (“Happy housewarming!”)
- “С пополнением в семье” (Congratulate on your growing family!”)
If you want to train this topic deeper, check out our free online Russian language course!
