Merry Christmas in Bengali
শুভ বড়দিন
Shubho Borodin
Say it like this: SHOO-bho BOH-roh-deen
Big letters show the part to say louder.
Quick answer
- In Bengali, Merry Christmas is শুভ বড়দিন (Shubho Borodin), said like SHOO-bho BOH-roh-deen.
- Happy New Year is শুভ নববর্ষ (Shubho Noboborsho).
- People say it in Bangladesh, India (West Bengal and Tripura).
What Shubho Borodin means
'Shubho' means auspicious or blessed, and 'Borodin' (boro din) means 'big day', the Bengali name for Christmas.
Bengali is written in the Bengali (Bangla) script, which has no capital letters and joins letters along a top line.
Other ways to say it in Bengali
Happy New Year
শুভ নববর্ষ
Shubho Noboborsho
Say it like this: SHOO-bho NOH-boh-BOR-sho
Blessed new year: 'nobo' means new and 'borsho' means year.
To write in a Christmas card
শুভ বড়দিন এবং শুভ নববর্ষ
Shubho Borodin ebong Shubho Noboborsho
Say it like this: SHOO-bho BOH-roh-deen EH-bong SHOO-bho NOH-boh-BOR-sho
Where people speak Bengali
BangladeshIndia (West Bengal and Tripura)
Bengali (বাংলা) belongs to the Indo-European (Indo-Aryan) language family.
Hear it from Rally on Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, Rally the corgi rides the Christmas Train around the world. He reaches Dhaka at about 12:00 AM local time, then visits Kolkata, and kids learn to say শুভ বড়দিন as he lands.
Watch Rally arrive in Dhaka →Christmas traditions where people speak Bengali
- Church feasts and hymns: On Christmas Eve, Christian communities share church feasts called Preeti Bhoj and sing hymns called Kirtan. Churches are decorated with lights and a tree, and choirs sing Bengali carols.[1]
- Cakes and pitha: Families bake Christmas cakes, and traditional pitha and cookies are also made. Children usually receive money or toys from adults, and families visit one another.[1]
- Banana-tree decorations: In villages, people decorate with banana trees and leaves instead of a Christmas tree. In cities, they use Christmas trees, banners and balloons.[1]
🎄 Quick game: Merry Christmas in Bengali
Three quick questions for kids. Tap an answer to play.
Say Merry Christmas in more languages
- Nepaliक्रिसमसको शुभकामना
- Sinhalaසුබ නත්තලක් වේවා
- Urduکرسمس مبارک
- Tagalog (Filipino)Maligayang Pasko
- Mandarin Chinese圣诞快乐
- Burmeseပျော်ရွှင်ဖွယ်ရာ ခရစ္စမတ်ပွဲတော် ဖြစ်ပါစေ
- KazakhРождество құтты болсын
- Khmerរីករាយថ្ងៃបុណ្យណូអែល
Questions parents ask
How do you say Merry Christmas in Bengali?
Say শুভ বড়দিন, 'Shubho Borodin'. It is the common Bengali greeting for Christmas and means roughly 'blessings of the Big Day'. It is used by Bengali Christians in Bangladesh and India, and friends of other faiths often use it too when they want to share in the holiday.[1][2]
How do you pronounce Shubho Borodin?
Say 'SHOO-bho BOH-roh-deen'. The 'sh' is a soft sound, the 'bh' is a breathy b, and the 'o' sounds are round, like the 'o' in 'bone'. Bengali 'r' is lightly tapped. Say it slowly at first, with an even rhythm across the four syllables.[2]
What does Borodin mean?
'Boro' means big or great and 'din' means day, so 'Borodin' is 'the Big Day', the Bengali name for Christmas. 'Shubho' means auspicious or blessed. One source translates the whole greeting as 'greetings of the Great Day'. Bengalis also use 'shubho' for many other happy occasions.[1]
How do you write and spell it in Bengali?
Bengali uses its own script, which reads left to right: শুভ বড়দিন. Letters hang from a line along the top, and there are no capital letters. If you cannot type Bengali, the romanization 'Shubho Borodin' is fine, though spellings vary, such as 'Shubho Boro Din' or 'Subho Borodin'.[1][2]
How do you say Happy New Year in Bengali?
Say শুভ নববর্ষ, 'Shubho Noboborsho', pronounced 'SHOO-bho NOH-boh-BOR-sho'. It means a blessed new year. Bengalis also use it for their own New Year, Pohela Boishakh, in April. A card might read 'Shubho Borodin ebong Shubho Noboborsho', meaning 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year'.[3]
Is there a formal and a casual way to say it?
The greeting works for everyone and does not change for age. Bengali has polite and casual words for 'you' in longer messages, but a child can simply add a name or a family title, as in 'Shubho Borodin, Dadu!' for a grandfather. Adding the name or title is the warmest way to show respect.[2]
When do people say Shubho Borodin?
People say it on December 25, which is a national public holiday in Bangladesh, and in the days before it. Christians are a small part of the population, about 0.3 percent in Bangladesh, but the holiday is the biggest festival of Bengali Christians and friends of all faiths may share greetings.[1]
Is the main celebration Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Both matter. On Christmas Eve, church communities hold feasts called Preeti Bhoj and sing hymns called Kirtan. December 25 is the national holiday, when Christians attend church, visit each other, exchange gifts and share Christmas cakes and pitha. Children usually receive money or toys from adults.[1]
What is a Bengali Christmas tradition?
Churches are decorated with lights and a Christmas tree, and choirs perform Bengali Christmas songs. Families bake cakes and make traditional pitha. In rural areas, banana trees and leaves are used as decorations, while in cities people use Christmas trees, banners and balloons.[1]
How can I teach Shubho Borodin to kids?
Teach 'Shubho' and 'Borodin' separately, then explain that 'boro din' means 'big day'. Children can clap the beats SHOO-bho BOH-roh-deen. Draw a banana leaf decoration as a fun link to village Christmas customs in Bangladesh, and say the greeting together as the picture is shown.[1][2]
A bedtime story after seeing SantaRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi’s first train ride, hand-painted in real watercolor by Leslie Dunn. $16.99 on Amazon, ages 0 to 8.
Buy on AmazonSources
We check every greeting against dictionaries, language institutes and cultural sources.
- Boro Din, Wikipedia
- Christmas in Bengali: Phrases, Ling App
- Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in Languages, RF Cafe
