Birthday quotes

The right birthday quote takes the pressure off. It opens the card, sets the tone, and lets your own message be short and honest.

Seventy below, grouped by tone, from mildly insulting to genuinely moving.

Funny birthday quotes

• Count your age by friends, not years. Then recount, because that number is worse. Shop this card
• You are not getting older, you are increasing in value. Shop this card
• Birthdays are good for you. Statistically, people who have more of them live longest. Shop this card
• Another year wiser, and precisely as sensible as last year. Shop this card
• The candles cost more than the cake. That is the whole update. Shop this card
• You look great for someone who has been alive that long. Shop this card
• Age is just a number, and yours is getting harder to write on a cake. Shop this card
• Happy birthday to someone whose age is now best described as 'a range'. Shop this card
• Congratulations on completing another lap. Same track, worse knees. Shop this card
• Today you are the oldest you have ever been and the youngest you will ever be again. Cheerful, isn't it. Shop this card
• May your birthday be as loud as your group chat. Shop this card
• Getting older is like a fine wine, if the wine were mostly tired. Shop this card

Heartfelt birthday quotes

• The world is a better place with you in it, and today is proof.
• Not every year has been kind, but every year with you in it has been better.
• Here is to the person who shows up, every time, without being asked.
• You make ordinary days feel like something. Today should feel like everything.
• Some people count birthdays. Others make them worth counting - you are the second kind.
• Wishing you a day as generous as you are with everyone else.
• You have spent another year looking after people. Today it is your turn.
• The best thing about your birthday is having a reason to say what I should say more often. Shop this card
• May this year be kinder to you than you always are to everyone else.
• You are proof that good people do exist and occasionally have birthdays. Shop this card

Milestone birthday quotes

• Thirty: old enough to know better, young enough to ignore it.
• Forty is the age you stop apologising for who you are.
• Fifty years and still the most interesting person in the room. Shop this card
• Sixty is not the end of anything except other people's opinions. Shop this card
• Seventy: seven decades of stories and only half of them repeatable.
• Eighty years of showing up. That is the achievement.
• Ninety years and still setting the standard for the rest of us.
• One hundred years old and you still make the tea better than anyone.
• Half a century of being exactly, unapologetically you.
• Milestone birthdays are just an excuse for everyone to say what they should say weekly.

Short birthday quotes for a card

• Older, wiser, still trouble.
• Cheers to you, always.
• Best person, best day.
• Still the funniest one here.
• Another year of you. Excellent news.
• Happy birthday, legend.
• Have the day you deserve.
• Eat the whole cake.
• Same time next year?
• You. Always worth celebrating.

Birthday toast quotes

• To another year of being the reason we all still get together.
• Raise a glass to the person who never lets a birthday of ours go unmarked.
• Here is to health, happiness and one more slice. Shop this card
• To many more years, and slightly earlier finishes. Shop this card
• Charge your glasses for the only person who could get this many of us in one room.
• To the birthday girl: never boring, never late for a pudding.
• To the birthday boy: unchanged in every way that matters.

Browse all birthday cards

How to write it so it lands

• Match the quote to the relationship: gentle for parents, blunt for siblings, warm for friends.
• One quote per card. Two makes it a greetings card catalogue.

Where to shop next

• Funny quotes
• Birthday quotes
• Friendship quotes
• Retirement quotes
• Get well soon quotes
• Motivational quotes
• Milestone birthday cards
• Funny birthday rhymes
• Funny one liners
• Riddles with answers
• Short funny poems for cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• Birthday badges & party pins
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Party bag ideas for adults
• How much helium do you need for balloons?
• Birthday pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What is a good short birthday quote?

'Older, wiser, still trouble' works for almost anyone. Short quotes are best when the card has a design that already says happy birthday.

How do I use a quote in a birthday speech?

Open with the quote, then contradict it with a real story about them. It gets a laugh and buys you thirty seconds to settle your nerves.