CJK character 誕

In Japanese it centers on birth; Chinese also uses it for false or absurd things.

Japanese compounds include 誕生 (birth or coming into being), 誕生日 (birthday), and 生誕 (a person's birth, often in commemorative wording). Chinese uses the character in birth words and compounds such as 荒誕, meaning absurd; dictionaries also record senses such as boastful or false.

The compound settles the reading: 誕生日 means birthday, while 荒誕 means absurd. By itself, 誕 does not tell you which word or sense is intended.

How are the parts of 誕 related?

言 relates to speech; 延 supplies the sound.

Shuowen Jiezi, a Chinese character dictionary, analyzes 誕 as 言, the speech component, plus 延 as its phonetic component. Its gloss describes extravagant speech, connecting the character's structure with its speech-related senses.

Can 誕 mean happy birthday by itself?

No; a Japanese birthday wish needs the full phrase.

A Japanese greeting uses a complete expression such as お誕生日おめでとう; a polite version adds ございます. A lone 誕 is a fragment or an isolated character, not a complete wish.

If someone sends just 誕, check the surrounding message before reading it as a birthday greeting. For a polite wish, use the full expression.