Questions · Birthday
Birthday questions to ask the celebrant, and the guests
A birthday interview for the person of the day, at the handaan, the small dinner or the surprise party, plus a round where the guests get to talk about the celebrant. About the year, growing up and what they’re hoping for next.
- 26 questions
- EN + TL on every card
- Free in the app
Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.
From when you were younger, what habit or interest do you still carry now?
Mula nung bata ka, anong habit o hilig ang dala mo pa rin ngayon?
Some parts of us do not disappear; they just grow up with us. It can be nice to notice what stayed.
May parts tayo na hindi naman nawawala; lumalaki lang kasama natin. Nakakatuwang mapansin kung ano yung naiwan.
The questions
26 birthday questions to ask
Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.
For the celebrant, while the handa is out
6 questions
Easy, happy questions about the day itself and what makes it good.
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Design a celebration just for you. What would make it feel special?
Magplano ng celebration para sa sarili mo. Ano ang magpapaspecial dito?
Back of the card
Which part of the celebration would you happily repeat the next day?
Aling bahagi ng celebration ang masaya mong uulitin kinabukasan?
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Choose a simple way friends could celebrate your birthday without spending much.
Pumili ng simpleng paraan para i-celebrate ng friends ang birthday mo nang hindi gumagastos nang malaki.
Back of the card
One detail can be just for you: the music, the timing, or something else you love.
Puwedeng may isang detalye para talaga sa'yo: music, oras, o iba pang gusto mo.
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Name the song that should play when you enter a room.
Sabihin yung song na dapat tumugtog pagpasok mo sa room.
Back of the card
An entrance song is mostly about energy. It says what kind of moment you want everyone to feel.
Yung entrance song, energy talaga ang usapan. Sinasabi niya kung anong moment ang gusto mong dala.
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Tell us about one simple thing that can make your day better.
Ikuwento mo yung simpleng bagay na nakakapagpaganda ng araw mo.
Back of the card
Small things count because real days are mostly made of small things. Even a tiny lift can matter.
May bigat din ang simpleng bagay, kasi karamihan ng araw natin puro maliliit na moments. Kahit konting gaan, may halaga.
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Pick one small mood upgrade, like a drink, song, scent, snack, or clean space.
Pumili ng isang small mood upgrade, like drink, song, scent, snack, o malinis na space.
Back of the card
A mood upgrade does not need to be big. Sometimes one small detail is enough to change the angle of the day.
Hindi kailangang malaki ang mood upgrade. Minsan isang small detail lang, nag-iiba na yung angle ng araw.
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What event would you choose if the ticket were free?
Kung may libre kang ticket sa isang event, ano ang pipiliin mo?
Back of the card
Imagine the event is about to begin. What are you most excited to see?
Magsisimula na ang event. Ano ang pinaka-gusto mong makita?
The birthday interview
7 questions
Who they are this year, in small, specific answers.
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What is one thing you like that you no longer feel the need to explain?
Ano yung isang bagay na gusto mo na hindi mo na kailangang i-explain?
Back of the card
Some preferences do not need a courtroom defense. They can simply be yours, confidently and without a long speech.
May preferences na hindi kailangan ng courtroom defense. Sa'yo lang siya, confident, walang mahabang explanation.
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Share one personal rule that only you seem to understand.
Mag-share ng isang personal rule na ikaw lang yata ang nakakaintindi.
Back of the card
Personal rules can sound strange from the outside. From the inside, they usually have a very clear origin story.
Minsan weird pakinggan ang personal rules sa iba. Pero sa'yo, usually may malinaw yang origin story.
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How can friends tell when you are excited about something?
Paano nahahalata ng friends na excited ka sa isang bagay?
Back of the card
Think of the sign you notice in yourself before anyone else does.
Isipin ang senyales na napapansin mo sa sarili mo bago pa mapansin ng iba.
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From when you were younger, what habit or interest do you still carry now?
Mula nung bata ka, anong habit o hilig ang dala mo pa rin ngayon?
Back of the card
Some parts of us do not disappear; they just grow up with us. It can be nice to notice what stayed.
May parts tayo na hindi naman nawawala; lumalaki lang kasama natin. Nakakatuwang mapansin kung ano yung naiwan.
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Name something you want to be known for by people close to you.
Magsabi ng isang bagay na gusto mong maalala sa'yo ng mga taong close sa'yo.
Back of the card
The way you want to be known can reveal what you value. It can also guide one small choice today.
Yung gusto mong maalala nila sa'yo, may pinapakitang value. Puwede rin siyang gumabay sa isang maliit na choice today.
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What do you like more about yourself than you used to?
Ano ang mas nagugustuhan mo sa sarili mo kaysa dati?
Back of the card
Would you appreciate the same thing in another person? Your story can stay private.
Magugustuhan mo rin ba iyon sa ibang tao? Puwedeng itago ang sarili mong kuwento.
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If you could tell your younger self one piece of good news, what would it be?
Kung may isang good news kang masasabi sa batang ikaw, ano yun?
Back of the card
This is a gentle way to name progress. Not everything is fixed, but maybe there is something younger you would smile about.
Gentle way ito para makita yung progress. Hindi man ayos lahat, baka may isang bagay na ikakangiti ng batang ikaw.
A year older
7 questions
Looking back on how they’ve grown, and one wish before the candles.
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Tell us about a small thing you can do now that would have amazed you as a kid.
Kuwento mo yung maliit na bagay na kaya mo na ngayon na maa-amaze ka kung bata ka pa.
Back of the card
Progress can look ordinary from the outside. But younger you might know exactly how big that ordinary thing is.
Mukhang ordinaryo minsan ang progress. Pero baka alam ng batang ikaw kung gaano kalaki yung ordinaryong bagay na yan.
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What can you do now that would have surprised you a few years ago?
Ano ang kaya mo na ngayon na hindi mo inakalang magagawa mo ilang taon na ang nakaraan?
Back of the card
Picture showing your younger self how you do it. What might surprise them first?
Isipin na ipinapakita mo sa mas batang sarili mo kung paano mo ito ginagawa. Ano kaya ang una niyang ikagugulat?
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Which part of yourself are you learning to accept?
Anong part ng sarili mo ang natututuhan mong tanggapin?
Back of the card
Acceptance can be slow and ordinary. Sometimes it begins when you stop arguing with one true part of yourself.
Mabagal at ordinary minsan ang acceptance. Minsan nagsisimula siya kapag hindi mo na inaaway ang isang totoong part mo.
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Describe the kind of person your recent choices point toward.
I-describe kung anong klaseng tao ang tinuturo ng recent choices mo.
Back of the card
Your choices are not the whole story, but they do point somewhere. Notice the direction without rushing to judge it.
Hindi buong story ang choices mo, pero may direction silang tinuturo. Pansinin muna bago husgahan.
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Which ability did a friend notice in you before you noticed it yourself?
Anong galing mo ang unang napansin ng friend bago mo ito nakita sa sarili mo?
Back of the card
You could borrow their words to describe your ability once.
Puwede mong gamitin ang sinabi nila para ilarawan ang galing mo.
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Which version of your past self are you starting to understand more now?
Aling version ng past self mo ang nagsisimula mong mas maintindihan ngayon?
Back of the card
Understanding your past self does not erase what happened. It can soften the way you hold the person you were.
Hindi binubura ng understanding ang nangyari. Pero puwede nitong palambutin kung paano mo hinahawakan yung dating ikaw.
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Name one small wish you have for yourself this year.
Ano yung isang maliit na wish mo para sa sarili mo this year?
Back of the card
Small wishes can still be honest. They may be easier to say out loud because they do not demand a perfect life.
Maliit man yung wish, honest pa rin. Minsan mas madaling sabihin kasi hindi niya hinihingi na perfect ang buhay.
A round for the guests
6 questions
Everyone answers, and the stories tend to be about the celebrant.
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How did your first impression of a friend change once you got to know them?
Anong first impression mo sa isang friend ang nagbago nang makilala mo sila?
Back of the card
You can finish: “I thought they were..., then I noticed...”
Puwedeng ituloy: “Akala ko..., tapos napansin ko...”
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What line do your friends often hear you say?
Anong linya ang madalas marinig ng friends mo sa'yo?
Back of the card
Imagine your usual line printed on a shirt.
Isipin na naka-print sa shirt ang madalas mong sabihin.
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Share the origin of an inside joke that is okay to explain.
Ikuwento ang simula ng inside joke na okay lang ipaliwanag.
Back of the card
Tell only the part you have permission to share. The rest can stay an inside joke.
Sabihin lang ang bahaging okay ibahagi. Puwedeng sa inyo na lang ang natitirang biro.
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What failed plan with friends turned into a good memory?
Anong pumalpak na plano kasama ang friends ang naging masayang memory?
Back of the card
The failed plan can be the story's best plot twist.
Puwedeng ang pumalpak na plano ang pinakamagandang plot twist sa kuwento.
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Which song takes you back to a particular time with friends?
Anong kanta ang nagpapaalala sa'yo ng isang panahon ninyo ng friends mo?
Back of the card
Picture where everyone was when the song came on.
Isipin kung nasaan ang lahat noong tumugtog ang kanta.
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Tell us about a friend who made you feel like you belonged.
Ikuwento yung friend na nagparamdam sa'yo na belong ka.
Back of the card
Inclusion can happen through one seat saved, one question asked, or one person making room on purpose.
Minsan isang upuang tinabi, isang tanong, o isang taong sinadyang magtabi ng space ang nagpaparamdam na kasama ka.
How to use them
Before you ask
At most Filipino birthdays the celebrant spends the whole party serving food, posing for photos and saying thank you for coming. Nobody actually asks them anything. A few good questions turn the person of the day into the center of the table for ten minutes, which is the whole point of a birthday.
Start with the light ones while people are eating: how they’d design their own celebration, the song that should play when they walk in. The interview questions work best after the cake, with everyone listening. Let the celebrant pass anything they don’t want to answer in front of the titas.
Then turn it around. The guest round is where a birthday gets warm: friends answer about first impressions, inside jokes and failed plans, and most of the stories end up being about the celebrant. It works for a debut, a small barkada dinner, a lolo’s eightieth or a kid who just wants everyone to talk about them.
Good for
Tips
- Let the celebrant pick the first card from a fanned-out deck.
- Save the wish question for right before the candles.
- In the guest round, have everyone answer with the celebrant in mind.
- Record the answers on a phone and play them back next birthday.
- For a friend’s birthday, the best friend questions make a good second round.
Decks for this
Birthday
Frequently asked questions
What questions should you ask the birthday celebrant?
Ask how they’d design their own celebration, what they like more about themselves than they used to, what they can do now that would have amazed them as a kid, and one small wish for the year.
What are good birthday interview questions?
Short, specific questions about who the person is this year: a personal rule only they understand, a habit they’ve kept since childhood, and what they want people close to them to know them for.
How do you make a birthday party more meaningful?
Give the celebrant ten minutes at the center of the table with a few good questions, then let the guests share stories and first impressions of them. People remember being listened to more than the food.
Are these birthday questions available in Tagalog?
Yes. Every question has an English and a Filipino/Tagalog version, so it works for a lola’s birthday lunch as well as a barkada dinner.
Bring a better question to the table.
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