Buzz
The most straightforward way to say 'happy birthday' in Italian is 'buon compleanno', but there are many other familiar phrases for wishing someone a happy birthday. Additionally, you might want to explore the commonly used expressions and Italian birthday songs often sung on these occasions.
Steps
Happy Birthday
Say 'buon compleanno!' This is the most direct way to say 'happy birthday' in Italian, and it literally means 'a good birthday'.
- Buon means 'good' and compleanno means 'birthday'.
- The pronunciation of this phrase is: bwon kom-pleh-ahn-noh.
Wish with the phrase 'tanti auguri!' This phrase does not directly translate to 'happy birthday'. In fact, the word for 'birthday' (compleanno) does not appear in this phrase. However, it conveys the meaning of 'with the best wishes' and is commonly used in Italian to wish someone well on their birthday.
- Tanti means 'many' and auguri is the plural form of the noun augurio, meaning 'wish'. The full translation of this phrase is 'many wishes'.
- The pronunciation of this phrase is: tahn-tee ahw-goo-ree
Try using 'cento di questi giorni!' This is another Italian phrase you can use to wish someone a happy birthday, even though it doesn't mention the word 'birthday'. In fact, this phrase is meant to wish someone 100 more birthdays or to live for a hundred years.
- Cento means 'one hundred', di means 'of', questi means 'these', and giorni means 'days' in the plural. The literal translation of this phrase is 'May you have 100 more days like this!'
- The pronunciation of this phrase is: chehn-toh dee kweh-stee jeohr-nee
- Note that you can shorten this phrase to 'cent'anni', which means 'another 100 years!'
- The pronunciation of the shortened phrase is: chehn-tah-nee
Some common birthday expressions
Send a direct wish to the 'festeggiato.' This Italian term is equivalent to 'birthday boy' or 'birthday girl'. However, the literal translation would be 'the person being celebrated for their birthday'.
- The word festeggiato comes from the verb festeggiare, which means 'to celebrate'.
- The pronunciation of this word is: feh-steh-jia-toh
Ask the birthday person's age with 'quanti anni hai?' This is an indirect way to ask someone's age, and it doesn't mean 'How old are you?' Instead, it gently asks 'How many birthdays have you had so far?'
- Quanti means 'how many', anni means 'years' in plural, and hai is 'you have' in the second person singular.
- The pronunciation of this question is: kwahn-tee ahn-nee ai
Say someone is older with the phrase 'essere avanti con gli anni'. This phrase actually means that someone 'has age' or 'is older', but it is often used as a compliment to imply that the person is more mature and experienced.
- Essere means 'to become', avanti means 'ahead', con means 'with', gli is like the article 'the' in English, and anni means 'years' in plural. When combined, this phrase suggests 'to become older before your time', or indirectly, 'to have grown up'.
- The pronunciation of this phrase is: ehs-ser-eh ah-vahn-tee kohn ghlee ahn-nee
Announce your birthday with 'oggi compio gli anni'. This phrase indirectly means 'Today is my birthday', but literally it translates to 'Today, I have completed another year'.
- Oggi means 'today', compio means 'I complete' – conjugated from the verb compiere, gli is the article 'the' in English, and anni means 'years' in plural.
- The pronunciation of this phrase is: oh-jee kohm-pioh ghlee ahn-nee
Reveal your age with 'sto per compiere ___ anni'. This phrase is commonly used to say you are about to turn a new age (fill in the age in the blank), but it is more popular among younger people than older ones. The direct meaning of this phrase is 'I am about to complete (number) years'.
- To state your age, simply add the number in the blank. For example, if turning 18, you would say 'Sto per compiere diciotto anni'.
- Sto means 'I am', per means 'to', compiere means 'to complete' or 'to fulfill', and anni means 'years' in plural.
- The pronunciation of this phrase is: stoh pehr kohm-pier-eh ___ ahn-nee
Sing the Happy Birthday Song
Use the same melody. Although the words are different, you still sing the Italian version of the Happy Birthday song to the same tune as the English version.
Sing 'tanti auguri' a few times. The most popular line in the 'Happy Birthday' song often doesn't mention the birthday itself. Instead, it uses the indirect phrase 'with many best wishes' in place of the direct 'Happy Birthday'.
- After this line, you would add 'a te' (ah tee), meaning 'to you'.
- The lyrics are:
- Tanti auguri a te,
- Tanti auguri a te,
- Tanti auguri a (Name of the birthday person),
- Tanti auguri a te!
You can replace it with 'buon compleanno'. While less commonly used, you can opt for the direct 'Happy Birthday' in Italian as a substitute for the standard English version.
- As with the 'tanti auguri' version, you would need to add 'a te' (ah tee), meaning 'to you', after each line.
- In this version, the lyrics would be:
- Buon compleanno a te,
- Buon compleanno a te,
- Buon compleanno a (Name of the birthday person),
- Buon compleanno a te!
