The direct way to say happy birthday in Italian is "buon compleanno". But actually, there are some expressions that are commonly used to wish a happy birthday. You may also want to familiarize yourself with other birthday-related phrases and songs in Italian.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Wishing you a Happy Birthday
Step 1. Say "buon compleanno
This is the most direct way to wish a happy birthday.
- "Buon" means "congratulations" and "compleanno" means "birthday"
- Pronounce it like bwon kom-pleh-ahn-no
Step 2. Say "tanti auguri" This expression does not mean "happy birthday"
In fact, the word "birthday" (compleanno) is not in this sentence. Nonetheless, the expression means "the best for you" and is a popular way in Italy to express goodwill to someone on their birthday.
- Tanti means "many" and auguri is the plural of augurio, which means "hope". Literally, this sentence means "A lot of hope".
- Pronounced like: tan-ti aw-gu-ri.
Step 3. Try "cento di questi giorni
This is another phrase you can use to wish a happy birthday even if it doesn't literally mean that. In essence, you're wishing the person a 100th birthday, or long life.
- Cento means "hundred", "di" means "from", questi means "this" and giorni means "days". Translated literally, "a hundred years from these days!"
- Say this sentence like: chen-to di kwe-sti jeohr-ni
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Remember that you can shorten it to "cent'anni!" or "a hundred years!"
Pronounced like: chehn-ta-ni
Part 2 of 3: Talking About Birthdays
Step 1. Share your expectations with the "festeggiato
"Using these words would be like calling them "birthday boy/girl". Even though it literally means "celebrated".
- The expression "festeggiato" comes from the verb "celebrate", which is "festeggiare".
- Pronounce it like feh-steh-jia-toh.
Step 2. Ask someone's age by saying "quanti anni hai?
This is an indirect way of asking how old someone is. The question doesn't mean literally "how old are you?". Instead, the expression sounds more subtle because it means "how many years do you have now?"
- Quanti means "how much," anni means "year", and hai means "have"
- Say this sentence like: kwahn-ti ahn-ni ai.
Step 3. Describe the ripe age with "essere avanti con gli anni"
This sentence basically means that someone is "getting older," and you can use it as a compliment to imply that the person is growing in both age and wisdom.
- Essere means "to be", avanti means "forward", con means "with", gli means "its", and anni means "year". When combined it will be "Becomes more advanced with age"
- Pronounce this sentence like ehs-ser-eh ah-vahn-ti kohn ghli ahn-ni.
Step 4. Announce your own birthday with "oggi compio gli anni"
Indirectly, you say "today is my birthday" and literally means "today I fulfill my years."
- Oggi means "today", compi is a first-person singular verb meaning "to fulfill" (compiere), gli means "the", and anni means "year".
- Say this sentence like: oh-jee kohm-pioh ghlee ahn-nee.
Step 5. Say your own age with the phrase "sto ped compiere
…anni." In general, you use this expression to say that you are about to enter a new age (fill in the blanks above), but it is used by teenagers more than parents. It literally says "I will soon meet the year….”
- To state your age, fill in the blanks with your new age. For example, if you were going to be 18, you would say "sto per compiere dicotto anni."
- Sto means "I," per means "will," compiere means "to fulfill" or "to complete," and anni means "year."
- Say this expression like: stoh pehr kohm-pier-eh _ ahn-ni
Part 3 of 3: Singing Happy Birthday Lagu
Step 1. Use a familiar tone
Even if the words are different, you can sing "happy birthday" in Italian using the same tune as the English happy birthday song.
Step 2. Sing "tanti auguri" in a few stanzas
The most used lyrics don't have the word "happy birthday" in them. Instead, you use the phrase "the best for you" to replace "happy birthday" in the same vein.
- You can add the phrase "a tee" (ah tee) which means "for you".
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The lyrics are as follows:
- tanti auguri a te,
- tanti auguri a te,
- Tanti auguri a (NAME),
- Tanti auguri a te!
Step 3. Consider using "buon compleanno"
Even if you don't use it often, you can technically use it to sing a happy birthday song in a more casual tone.
- Like the "tanti auguri" version, you can add "a te" (ah tee), which means "for you"
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In this version, the lyrics are:
- Buon compleanno a te,
- Buon compleanno a te,
- Buon compleanno a (NAME),
- Buon compleanno a te!
