Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
Congratulations in Spanish: Felicidades, Felicitaciones, and Enhorabuena
Felicidades · interjection (plural noun) · feh-lee-see-DAH-dehs
Congratulations in Spanish is most commonly felicidades, especially in Latin America and for birthdays everywhere. Felicitaciones is slightly more formal and skews Latin American. Enhorabuena is the default in Spain, used for accomplishments and milestones.
Felicidades is feh-lee-see-DAH-dehs, five syllables, stress on DAH. Felicitaciones is feh-lee-see-tah-see-OH-nehs. Enhorabuena is ehn-oh-rah-BWEH-nah.
¡Felicidades por tu nuevo trabajo!
Congratulations on your new job!
Congratulations in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for congratulations, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| felicidades | congratulations | feh-lee-see-DAH-dehs | Default, widely understood |
| felicitaciones | congratulations | Latin America, slightly more formal | |
| enhorabuena | congratulations | Spain (default) | |
| feliz cumpleaños | congratulations | happy birthday (specific congrats use) |
How Native Speakers Use Felicidades
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Congratulating an accomplishment (Latin America)
¡Felicidades por tu graduación!
Congratulations on your graduation!
Standard phrasing in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and most of Latin America.
Congratulating in Spain
¡Enhorabuena por el ascenso!
Congratulations on the promotion!
In Spain, enhorabuena is the natural choice for milestones and accomplishments. Felicidades there is mostly used for birthdays.
Birthday wishes
¡Feliz cumpleaños y muchas felicidades!
Happy birthday and many congratulations!
Felicidades doubles as the standard birthday wish across the Spanish-speaking world.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Felicidades
Using felicidades in Spain for an accomplishment
Incorrect: ¡Felicidades por tu nuevo trabajo, María!
Correct: ¡Enhorabuena por tu nuevo trabajo, María!
In Spain, felicidades reads more like happy birthday than congrats on an achievement. Enhorabuena is the right register for promotions, weddings, graduations, and other milestones.
Using the singular felicidad
Incorrect: ¡Felicidad por tu boda!
Correct: ¡Felicidades por tu boda!
Felicidad means happiness (the abstract noun). The congratulations interjection is always plural: felicidades.
Lock in Congratulations Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See Felicidades used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using felicidades in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear ¡Felicidades por tu nuevo trabajo! while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
Save, review, repeat, stay consistent
Tap any word to save it. Parrot's spaced-repetition system surfaces it right before you'd forget, no manual flashcard creation. The watch, parrot back, save, review cycle turns recognition into fluency at 2.7x the speed of traditional study.
Common Questions About Congratulations in Spanish
- How do you say congratulations in Spanish?
- Congratulations in Spanish is felicidades across most of Latin America and for birthdays everywhere. Felicitaciones is slightly more formal and used in Latin America. Enhorabuena is the default in Spain for accomplishments.
- What's the difference between felicidades and enhorabuena?
- Felicidades is the universal default, especially in Latin America and for birthdays. Enhorabuena is the Spanish (Spain) standard for congratulating someone on an accomplishment: a job, a baby, a wedding. In Spain, felicidades is mostly reserved for birthdays.
- How do you pronounce felicidades?
- Felicidades is feh-lee-see-DAH-dehs, five syllables. Stress on DAH. Spanish vowels are short and pure; over-rounding the e and o turns it into something Anglicized and harder to understand.
- How do I remember which one to use?
- Hear felicidades, felicitaciones, and enhorabuena in their actual contexts. Parrot's videos cover birthdays, weddings, and graduations across regions so you pick up which word fits which moment instead of memorizing a chart.