Souffler ses bougies

Expression: Souffler ses bougies

Pronunciation: [soo flay say boo zhee]

Meaning: to celebrate one's birthday/anniversary

Literal translation: to blow out one's candles

Register: normal

Notes: The French expression souffler ses bougies can be literal, meaning "to blow out the candles" on a birthday cake. But it's more often used figuratively, meaning "to celebrate one's birthday" or, in the case of a company or organization, "to celebrate its anniversary."

The possessive adjective indicates whose birthday it is; e.g., je souffle mes bougies (I'm celebrating my birthday), quand vas-tu souffler tes bougies ? (when will you celebrate your birthday?), etc.

Souffler can also be used with a number to indicate a specific birthday or anniversary, either
   souffler + plural possessive adjective + cardinal number + bougies
     or
   souffler + singular possessive adjective + ordinal number + bougie.

Examples

   J'ai soufflé mes trente bougies / J'ai soufflé ma trentième bougie.
   I celebrated my 30th birthday.

   L'entreprise ABC soufflera ses trois bougies / L'entreprise ABC soufflera sa troisième bougie.
   Company ABC will celebrate its 3rd anniversary.

Post your comments about the French expression souffler ses bougies on my French blog - just hit "comments" at the bottom of the post.


French expressions: "Happy birthday" and other special occasions