many happy returns
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Wishing someone happiness on their birthday and in the coming year
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Chúc một người hạnh phúc trong sinh nhật và năm tới
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: many happy returns
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
I'd like to wish you many happy returns on your special day
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “many happy returns” mean?
Wishing someone happiness on their birthday and in the coming year Literally: many happy returns
Is “many happy returns” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.