You want to wish someone a happy birthday, but are lost for words.

Perhaps these can inspire you:

1. “Happy birthday! May your special day be filled with joy, laughter and lots of unforgettable moments!”
2. “Wishing you a very happy birthday and a year filled with blessings, success and happiness. Enjoy your day to the fullest!”
3. “Happy birthday to an amazing [friend/family member/colleague]! May this day bring you all the love, surprises and happiness you deserve.”
4. “Sending you the warmest birthday wishes on your special day! May your year ahead be filled with incredible adventures and endless opportunities.”
5. “Happy birthday! May each and every moment of your day be as bright and beautiful as you are. Enjoy this special day to the maximum!”
6. “Warmest birthday greetings to an extraordinary person! May your birthday bring you closer to your dreams and mark the beginning of an incredible journey.”
7. “Wishing you a day that’s as wonderful as you are! Happy birthday and may this year be the best one yet, filled with love, laughter, and fulfilment.”
8. “Happy birthday to someone who lights up every room with their presence! May your birthday be the start of a remarkable chapter in your life.”
9. “Sending you my heartfelt wishes on your birthday! May this year be a fantastic one, filled with exciting opportunities and beautiful memories.”
10. “Happy birthday to an incredible soul! May your special day be a reflection of the amazing person you are, surrounded by love, happiness and cherished moments.”

What about personalising your birthday wish to make the message even more meaningful?

1. Use the person’s name to show you’re thinking of them.
2. Mention a special moment you both experienced to make the wish more meaningful.
3. Compliment their positive traits, like their kindness or humour, to show appreciation.
4. Customise the wish to their interests, such as mentioning their favourite band if they love music.
5. Share hopes for their upcoming year, like their personal or professional goals.
6. Be genuine and heartfelt in your message to let them know how much they mean to you.

Have I missed anything important?

Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can’t strike them all by ourselves.
Laura Esquivel

Think of the box of matches as the boundless possibilities within you. Just waiting to be ignited.

Each match represents something special about you—a talent, a dream or a passion.

But until you light that match, it stays dormant, untapped and waiting for its moment to shine.

That’s where the people who believe in you come in.

These are the people who help you light those matches and make your passions grow.

So, let’s do a few things:

1. Let’s be honest and share our thoughts and dreams with others. It’s important to be open and genuine.
2. Let’s listen and learn from others. We all have different perspectives, and that’s a good thing. Embrace those differences and grow from them.
3. Let’s work together with people who have similar interests. When we collaborate, we can create something really meaningful.

Remember, we need each other to make our matches ignite.

So let’s surround ourselves with supportive people and let our talents shine.

PS. And that’s exactly what we do in our Chilipepper Your English Community. Why not come and get to know us a bit better?

False friends are words in different languages that look or sound similar but have different meanings.

If you’re not careful, they can lead to confusion or embarrassment. Or, if you’re lucky, to just a good old laugh.

Here’s a quiz with some typical false friends,

How would you translate them?

1. backside a) Hintern b) Rückseite

2. blackboard a) schwarzes Brett b) Schultafel

3. undertaker a) Leichenbestatter/in b) Unternehmer/in

4. to blame someone a) jemanden blamieren b) jemanden beschuldigen

5. sensible a) vernünftig b) sensibel

6. formula a) Form b) Formel

7. gymnasium a) Gymnasium b) Turnhalle

8. half four a) half fünf b) halb vier

9. to be lucky a) glücklich sein b) Glück haben

10. overhear a) mitbekommen b) überhören

And the answers

1. a
2. b
3. a
4. b
5. a
6. b
7. b
8. a
9. b
10. a

So how did you do?

I know false friends can be tricky. So just be careful.

Are you tired of scouring your writing for hours, only to discover pesky errors that slipped through the cracks?

Don’t worry,  Grammarly is your new writing pal.

This handy-dandy browser extension is like having your own personal writing coach, giving you real-time edits and suggestions for your emails, social media posts and more.

As you type away, Grammarly works its magic, keeping an eagle-eyed watch on your grammar, spelling and punctuation.

It even provides real-time suggestions on the tone and clarity of your writing, to save you the headache of proofreading your work later on.

Try Grammarly and see the difference for yourself.

And don’t forget to tell me how it goes!

———–

scouring = durchforsten, durchkämmen
pesky = lästig
handy-dandy = praktisch
oodles = Unmengen
to proofread = Korrektur lesen

Did you know that reading books not only helps us become smarter and think more deeply, but it also has some really good effects on our health?

According to Hooked to Books, when we read books regularly, we can enjoy several health benefits (as long as we don’t strain our eyes).

Even 20–30 minutes of reading can:

• help our brains become more adaptable and connected,
• help us feel more ready for sleep so that we can have a better night’s rest,
• reduce feelings of sadness and improve symptoms of depression,
• lower anxiety that comes from worrying about future events,
• lower our blood pressure,
• improve the health of our heart and can lead to better outcomes for our cardiovascular system, and
• help prevent a decline in cognitive abilities as we age, keeping our brain sharp and functioning well.

So, by spending just a short amount of time reading, we can enjoy all these benefits for our brain, sleep, mood, anxiety levels, blood pressure, heart health, and cognitive abilities.

It’s a simple and enjoyable activity that can have a positive impact on our overall well-being.

Are you diving into a book today?

This is the fourth article about inclusive language.

So how can we talk about race, power and decolonisation?

Here are some recommendations from Oxfam’s Inclusive Language Guide.