How to Say Happy Birthday in Italian

Happy birthday in Italian is buon compleanno. Italians say tanti auguri (many wishes) just as often, and you use the same words for a woman and for a man.

How to say happy birthday in Italian

There are a few ways you can say happy birthday in Italian, and today you’re going to learn some of them.

The most common phrases are buon compleanno, auguri and tanti auguri.

You can also wish someone a happy birthday by saying cento di questi giorni which literally means “one hundred of these days“.

You could also say felice compleanno, which means “happy birthday” in Italian. Felice literally means “happy.” However, this term is no longer widely used.

Below you will find ten ways to say it, how to wish happy birthday to a woman, to a man or to someone you address formally, how to reply, the song with lyrics, and a few Italian birthday customs.

10 ways to say happy birthday in Italian

How to pronounce buon compleanno and tanti auguri

• Buon compleanno: “bwon kom-pleh-AHN-no”. Buon is a single syllable, the stress falls on -an-, and the double n is held a little longer.
• Tanti auguri: “TAHN-tee ow-GOO-ree”. The au sounds like “ow” in “cow” and the stress falls on -gu-.

Buon compleanno

Buon compleanno is the most common way to say “happy birthday” in Italian.

It literally means “good birthday“, so it’s basically used like “happy birthday” in English. This makes it easy to remember.

Auguri

Auguri is another common way of wishing someone a happy birthday.

It doesn’t literally mean “happy birthday”. Instead, it’s a more general way of wishing someone happiness.

You could also say tanti auguri which is a bit more emphatic.

What do auguri and tanti auguri mean in Italian?

Tanti auguri literally means “many wishes“. It is the phrase Italians reach for first when someone has a birthday, and it is often said in place of buon compleanno or together with it.

Auguri is the plural of augurio which means “wish“. So, it could be translated as “best wishes”.

Auguri is a little more versatile than buon compleanno and is often used on other special occasions.

You can say auguri to wish someone a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Mother’s Day, and even a Happy Easter, as you can see below. For other occasions, see my lesson on how to say congratulations in Italian. Said on its own and in a different tone, auguri! can also mean “good luck!”, sometimes with a hint of irony when someone is about to face something difficult.

As you can see, you can just say (tanti) auguri followed by the word di and the name of the event/holiday.

You can also say auguri or tanti auguri to wish someone the best when they’re starting a new job, when they are going to have a baby, or for their anniversary.

Happy birthday in Italian to a woman, to a man or to someone formal

Italian does not change buon compleanno or tanti auguri for gender, so you say exactly the same words to a woman and to a man. What changes is what you add after them, such as an affectionate word, which agrees with the person:

With someone you address as Lei, such as a teacher, a client or an older neighbor, buon compleanno and tanti auguri are still fine. In a full sentence, use the formal Le instead of ti (see the lesson on how to use the formal Lei):

When to say buon compleanno?

Note that wishing a happy birthday to a friend one or few days in advance is considered rude by Italians.

There is no actual reason for this.

It is simply considered something that brings bad luck, so be sure to know the exact date of your Italian friends’ birthdays!

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On the other hand, if you’re a little late, you can try to fix it by saying:

How to reply to birthday wishes in Italian

When someone wishes you a happy birthday, the simplest reply is to say thank you:

In the last example, venuti is plural because you are speaking to a group. To one man you say venuto, and to one woman venuta.

How to sing the happy birthday song in Italian

Singing happy birthday in Italian is done by using the tanti auguri phrase, and it simply goes like this:

These are the lyrics of the happy birthday song in Italian:

“Tanti auguri a te,
Tanti auguri a te,
Tanti auguri a (the name of the person)
Tanti auguri a te!”

The tune is the same as the English “Happy Birthday to You”. In English, the words are: “Many wishes to you, many wishes to you, many wishes to (the name of the person), many wishes to you!”

How to ask somebody about their age in Italian

It’s always good to know how old the festeggiato/festeggiata (birthday boy or girl) is.

You can ask them the following question:

If you want to ask someone how old they are when it’s not their birthday, you should ask this question instead, as it doesn’t refer to a specific day:

You can also ask in which year they were born:

If you know the numbers in Italian, it’ll be easier for you to have this kind of conversation with someone.

Italians often joke about the fact that asking someone’s age is impolite, especially to women who may be hesitant to reveal this information.

When approaching ladies, particularly mature women, it is preferable to ask about their birth date rather than their birth year.

If someone doesn’t want to tell you their age, they can just say the day they were born instead of the year:

Just so you know, we put the day first, and then the month.

If you ask someone you don’t know very well how old they are, and think they don’t look that age, you can say so in a polite way, like in the dialogue below:

Questions and answers about birthdays in Italian

Of course, when talking about a birthday in Italian, there are a few more things you need to know.

You might want to ask your friend what they want to do for their birthday:

If you want to ask your friend whose birthday is coming up soon what present they would like to receive, you can ask the following questions:

Italian birthday vocabulary

To say how old you are turning, use compiere with the age:

Birthday traditions

Italians like to celebrate their birthdays like people from other cultures: with a birthday cake, a birthday party or special meal, candles, and they usually receive gifts.

However, unlike in other cultures, when Italians celebrate their own birthdays, they invite friends and family out and pay the dinner, or drinks, for everyone.

Birthday cake and wishes

The birthday boy or girl is also expected to either buy or bake the cake.

While the “festeggiato” is blowing out the candles on his/her birthday cake, it is common practice to sing the Italian version of Happy Birthday.

As in many other nations, he or she needs to blow the candles and make birthday wishes.

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It is believed that you cannot tell your wish to anyone, or it won’t come true!

Presents

Another typical Italian tradition is to open all the presents in front of everyone at the party.

You may want to buy something not too personal so that your friend won’t be ashamed to show it in public.

It is also common to accompany your gift and wishes with a birthday card, where you need to write down a few words to the birthday boy or girl.

Birthday messages in Italian for a card or a text

If you want to write more than a single phrase, here are some messages you can copy and adapt:

For family and close friends, you can add ti voglio bene (“I love you”, in the affectionate sense), as in Buon compleanno, mamma! Ti voglio bene. I explain when to use it in my guide to ti voglio bene.

Happy birthday cards in Italian

Are you looking for a “happy birthday” card in Italian for your loved ones?

For a customized buon compleanno card in Italian, there’s a website to send virtual cards by email or by sharing them on social media.

It’s 100% Italian.

Here’s how to send a card:

1. Click on a card
2. Choose how to send it
3. Add a note
4. Type your name and email address
5. Type the recipient’s email address
6. Select the date to schedule the delivery of your card

Useful Italian expressions

Here’s a list of other important Italian expressions you need to know:

• Cheers in Italian
• How are you in Italian
• Sorry in Italian
• Thank you in Italian
• Beautiful in Italian

By the way, if you’re looking for the perfect gift for Italian learners, we recommend reading our post about it.

You and your Italian friends will have a blast!