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Happy Belated Birthday! Common Phrase But You’ve Been Doing It Wrong!

Happy Belated Birthday! Common Phrase But You’ve Been Doing It Wrong!

Former newsman Sheikh Raffie Abd Rahman highlights a phrase we have come to normalise but is actually grammatically wrong.

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Did you forget to wish a friend “Happy Birthday”on their special day? What do you say to them a day later? If it’s “Happy Belated Birthday”, this Malaysian newsman points out that you’ve been saying it wrong.

Former Bernama Radio24 COO Sheikh Raffie Abd Rahman shared on his Tiktok @shakeroughy that the term “Happy Belated Birthday” is wrong? And the correct way of saying it is actually “Belated Happy Birthday”.

@shakeroughy

“Happy Belated Birthday” is wrong. #betulkanyangbiasabiasakanyangbetul #correctthenormalnormalisethecorrect

♬ original sound – SheikhRaffie ShakeRoughy – SheikhRaffie ShakeRoughy

Sheikh Raffie who is always sharing pronunciation videos on TikTok further elaborated by saying that “Happy Belated Birthday” is wrong as it is stating the the birthday is late. When in fact it is the wish that has come late. The correct way would be putting the word “belated” first, as that is the word modifying the term “happy birthday”.

Sheikh Raffie has an extensive amount of experience working in radio and television as a journalist and broadcast media specialist in some noteworthy places such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commision (MCMC) as well as NTV7 and Radio24.

The well-trained linguist now uses his spare time teaching proper pronunciation and grammar to the masses, using TikTok as a medium. His recent video, being the “Happy Belated Birthday” dilemma has sparked conversation on the comments of the video, with speculations of the correct way of phrasing the term.

“I wished a belated happy birthday and people corrected me” – via Tiktok
So if I said ‘Wishing you a belated happy birthday’ that’s correct right sir ?” – via Tiktok

In conclusion, if you are still confused by this late birthday wish dilemma, be sure to remember your loved ones’s birthdays on time.


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