How to Say ‘It's my wife's birthday.’ in Japanese
妻の誕生日なんです。
tsuma no tanjoubi na n desu
[TSOO-mah noh tahn-JOH-bee nah n dess]
💬 Usage Tip: Ending with なんです instead of plain です adds an "explaining the background" feel, like "you see, it's...".
Phrase Breakdown
妻の誕生日
tsuma no tanjoubi
my wife's birthday
This is a noun phrase: 妻 (tsuma, wife) + の (possessive) + 誕生日 (tanjoubi, birthday). Keep the long 'jou' sound.
妻の誕生日にレストランへ行きます。
I'm going to a restaurant on my wife's birthday.
Words in this phrase
妻
tsuma
[TSOO-mah]
(my) wife
Neutral word for your own wife.
妻は料理が上手です。
My wife is good at cooking.
の
no
[noh]
of; linking particle
Links two nouns to make “after meals”: ごはんのあと.
ごはんのあとにお薬を飲みます。
I take medicine after meals.
誕生日
tanjoubi
[tahn-JOH-bee]
birthday
The day a person was born; often mentioned when booking a special dinner.
誕生日にケーキを用意してもらえますか。
Could you prepare a cake for a birthday?
なんです。
na n desu
it is (explaining)
なんです adds an explanatory tone, like 'you see, it's...'. Say 'nan' with a clear 'n' sound before 'desu', and keep the final 'u' soft.
今日は休みなんです。
Today is my day off, you see.
Words in this phrase
な
na
[nah]
(copula linker before n)
Form of the copula だ used before explanatory ん after a noun.
休みなんです。
It's that I'm off.
ん
n
[n]
(explanatory n)
Casual form of の; adds a tone of seeking or giving an explanation, often before です.
どうしたんですか。
What happened?
です
desu
[dess]
is; polite copula
A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.
少し伺いたいです。
I would like to ask a little.
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