Поздравляю - "I congratulate you." Add с + instrumental and you can congratulate anyone on anything. One pattern, every celebration.
Поздравляю is a first-person verb - "I congratulate." On its own, it's a general "congrats!" To specify the occasion, add с (with) + the occasion: Поздравляю с днём рождения (Happy birthday), Поздравляю с Новым годом (Happy New Year).
The formal version is Поздравляем (we congratulate) - used in group messages, official announcements, and cards signed by multiple people.
For casual settings, young Russians increasingly just say Поздравляю! without specifying the occasion, especially in texts. Everyone knows what's being celebrated.
The pattern с + instrumental case is the universal Russian congratulations formula. С днём рождения (with the day of birth), С Новым годом (with the new year), С Рождеством (with the Nativity), С победой (with the victory). The verb поздравляю is often dropped entirely: just С Новым годом! (Happy New Year!) works as a complete sentence. The preposition с always triggers the instrumental - learn the instrumental endings and you can celebrate anything in Russian.
From general congratulations to specific celebrations.
| Russian | Pronunciation | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Поздравляю! | Pozdravlyayu | "Congratulations!" General. Works alone for any occasion. |
| Поздравляю с днём рождения! | Pozdravlyayu s dnyom rozhdeniya | "Happy birthday!" The full formal version. |
| С праздником! | S prazdnikom! | "Happy holidays!" Generic. Works for any celebration. |
| Молодец! | Molodets! | "Well done! Good job!" Not a congratulation - praise for effort. |
| Горжусь тобой! | Gorzhus' toboy! | "I'm proud of you!" Emotional, personal. Parents, partners. |
| Ура! | Ura! | "Hooray!" Celebration exclamation. Often shouted three times: Ура! Ура! Ура! |
| Желаю счастья! | Zhelayu schast'ya! | "I wish [you] happiness!" Common in toasts and cards. |
Russians congratulate on everything. Not just birthdays and holidays - Russians congratulate on promotions, new apartments, passing exams, buying a car, the first day of spring, professional holidays (Teacher's Day, Doctor's Day), and even the first snow. If something good happened, someone will say Поздравляю.
Professional holidays are a big deal. Russia has official professional holidays for almost every profession: Teacher's Day (October 5), Medical Worker's Day (third Sunday of June), Programmer's Day (September 13). On these days, colleagues congratulate each other with С профессиональным праздником! or С Днём учителя!
Молодец is not congratulations. English speakers often confuse congratulating (Поздравляю - for occasions) with praising (Молодец - for effort/skill). Your friend got promoted? Поздравляю. Your friend cooked a great dinner? Молодец. Different words, different situations.
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