Do you want to send your friend Happy Birthday greetings? Will an Italian relative be celebrating an anniversary soon? Will you be in Italy for the holidays? You can use tanti auguri in all of these situations.
Tanti auguri is a versatile Italian phrase. You can use it to say happy birthday, as well as best wishes or congratulations for many different holidays and occasions. Since tanti auguri works in a variety of circumstances, it’s a great phrase to keep up your sleeve.
Read on to learn more about how to pronounce tanti auguri, how to sing the birthday song in Italian, and the different meanings of tanti auguri, like congratulations, and all the best! You’ll find out how to wish tanti auguri to the special people in your life, and how to respond if someone tells you tanti auguri! There’s also a famous Italian song called Tanti Auguri by Raffaella Carrà that you’ll learn about.
Table of Contents
TANTI AUGURI PRONUNCIATION
The pronunciation of Tanti Auguri is: TAHN-tee ow-GOO-ree
Listen to how to pronounce Tanti Auguri here:
TANTI AUGURI: WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN?
Tanti means many, and auguri means wishes, so the direct English translation of tanti auguri is many wishes. It’s like saying best wishes in English, but that’s not all! Here are some of the meanings of tanti auguri, and how it is used in Italian:
Auguri comes from the Italian verb augurare, which means to hope or to wish.
TANTI AUGURI: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Tanti Auguri! is a great way to wish someone Happy Birthday! on their special day.
Buon compleanno also means happy birthday. So what is the difference between buon compleanno and tanti auguri?
The direct translation of happy birthday is buon compleanno, while tanti auguri is a more general greeting. However, tanti auguri is commonly used in this context to mean happy birthday.
You can even combine the two greetings to say: Tanti auguri di buon compleanno!
The pronunciation of Tanti auguri di buon compleanno is: TAHN-tee ow-GOO-ree dee boo-OHN cohm-plee-AH-noh
Listen to how to pronounce Tanti auguri di buon compleanno here:
TANTI AUGURI A TE: THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG
The Italian version of the Happy Birthday song uses tanti auguri, instead of buon compleanno. The tune is the same as the Happy Birthday song in English.
Here are the lyrics in Italian:
“Tanti auguri a te
Tanti auguri a te
Tanti auguri a (insert name)/tanti auguri felici/tanti giorni felici
Tanti auguri a te“
Just like in English speaking countries, the birthday boy/girl blows out the candles on the cake at the end of the song.
Listen and watch here:
TANTI AUGURI: BEST WISHES!
To give someone your best wishes on a holiday, tanti auguri is an easy and versatile greeting. For example, if you run into your neighbors on New Year’s Day, you can simply tell them tanti auguri!
Here are some other holidays when you can use the tanti auguri greeting:
| Natale | Christmas |
| Pasqua | Easter |
| Festa della Mamma | Mother’s Day |
| Festa del Papà | Father’s Day |
In Italy, a Catholic country, it is common to give someone best wishes on their patron saint day, or onomastico. For example, December 13 is Santa Lucia, or Saint Lucia’s Day. Is your neighbor’s name Lucia? You can wish her tanti auguri that day.
Here are some other patron saint days:
| March 19 | San Giuseppe |
| April 29 and November 25 | Santa Caterina |
| June 21 | San Luigi |
| August 10 | San Lorenzo |
| December 26 | Santo Stefano |
TANTI AUGURI: CONGRATULATIONS!
You can also use the phrase tanti auguri to congratulate someone on a special occasion. Has your neighbor just had a new baby? Tell her tanti auguri!
You can also use tanti auguri to wish someone congratulations on their new job, new house, wedding, graduation or anniversary.
TANTI AUGURI: ALL THE BEST! GOOD LUCK!
On special occasions, you can use tanti auguri to wish someone all the best, like good luck. When someone is pregnant, has a new baby, a new job or new house, tanti auguri is a way to wish them good luck on their new endeavor. So it can mean both congratulations and good luck at the same time.
Tanti auguri is also used sarcastically to wish someone good luck with a smirk, especially for an unpleasant or seemingly impossible undertaking. For example, if your sister has just had her 10th child? Tanti auguri! Or if your friend is off to get a root canal? Tanti auguri! Your father is trying to get tickets for the sold-out Andrea Bocelli concert? Tanti auguri!
Learn more ways to say Good Luck in Italian.
TANTI AUGURI: MERRY CHRISTMAS!
You may also hear tanti auguri often in December in Italy as Italians wish their friends and family a Merry Christmas. It’s a common salutation when leaving a shop or saying goodbye to friends. It’s used interchangeably with buone feste (happy holidays) during the holiday season (December through the New Year).
ALTERNATIVES TO TANTI AUGURI
There are other related phrases that are used in the same way as tanti auguri, and for the same occasions. They are:
- Auguri, which means wishes
- Auguroni, which means big wishes
- Tanti tanti auguri, which means many many wishes
- Tantissimi auguri, which also means many many wishes
Just like tanti auguri, you can use these to wish someone a happy birthday, to greet them on a holiday, and to congratulate them.
HOW TO SAY TANTI AUGURI TO SPECIAL PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE
You can add more specific words if you’d like to give someone a more personal greeting. To wish them happy birthday, best wishes, or congratulations, here are examples you can use in person, or to sign a card:
Tanti auguri……
Auguri….
Auguroni…..
Tanti tanti auguri…..
| amore mio | my love |
| tesoro mio | my treasure |
| amico/a | friend |
| caro/a | dear |
| mamma | mom |
| papà | dad |
| babbo | dad (in Tuscany) |
| nonno | grandpa |
| nonna | grandma |
| sorella | sister |
| fratello | brother |
| cugino/a | cousin |
| zio | uncle |
| zia | aunt |
TANTI AUGURI: HOW TO RESPOND
What if someone wishes you tanti auguri for your birthday or on another occasion? To thank them for their birthday wishes or best wishes, you can say grazie!, grazie mille! or ti/la/vi ringrazio!
TANTI AUGURI: THE SONG BY RAFFAELLA CARRÀ
Tanti Auguri is also the name of a famous pop song by Italian singer, actress, dancer, TV presenter and international gay icon Raffaella Carrà.
Released in 1978, its sex-positive message was innovative and groundbreaking for its day. The song became an anthem for sexual liberation and liberation in general. It is still beloved and widely played in Italy.
Listen to Tanti Auguri by Raffaella Carrà here:
I’m sorry our time is up, but I hope you’re ready to use tanti auguri now!
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