Are you celebrating the holidays in Italy this year? Or just want to wish your loved ones a Happy New Year in Italian? Read on to find out how to say it properly and how to celebrate Capodanno (New Year) the Italian way.
How Do You Say “Happy New Year” in Italian?
When it comes to saying “Happy New Year” in Italian, there are several ways to go. The most common is “Buon anno.” This literally means “good year,” and can be said even a few days after New Year’s Day.
A friend of mine who is also learning Italian would warn you to be careful with your pronunciation, though, so you don’t make the mistake she did one fateful New Year’s Day. Anno has two “n”s, and you need to stress the “n” sound to say them both, otherwise you are wishing someone “Buon ano,” a happy… part of their anatomy (check your Italian dictionary if you don’t know).
If you want to be literal when wishing someone a Happy New Year, you can say “Felice anno nuovo,” which is a direct translation, but is used less often.
When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, Italians usually say “Auguri,” which is also used on birthdays and other holidays to mean “best wishes.” If you want to expand it a bit, you can say “Tanti auguri di buon anno,” which means “All the best wishes for the New Year.”
Takeaway: There are several ways to wish someone a Happy New Year in Italian, but the most common is “Buon anno.”
Italian New Year’s Traditions (Capodanno)
Once you know how to say “Happy New Year” in Italian, you will want to embrace some Italian traditions surrounding the day. As someone who lives in Italy, I can tell you that New Year’s Eve is typically spent with family and/or friends having a meal, and when the clock strikes twelve, the air outside fills with fireworks and everyone celebrates with a brindisi (toast) with prosecco or spumante, sparkling white wines similar to champagne.
Like all other countries, Italy has some traditions that are meant to bring luck in the New Year too. One is to eat a lot of lenticchie, lentils. Since they are shaped like tiny coins, the lentils are meant to represent money – the more you eat, the more money you will have in the New Year! These lentils are typically accompanied by cotechino, a type of pork sausage, which symbolizes luck, fertility, and abundance.
Some Italians also make sure to wear red on New Year’s because red has been a symbol of prosperity since 31 BC, when Octavian Augustus was Emperor of the Roman Empire. According to Italia.it, red underwear in particular is said to ward off bad luck.
Takeaway: Italians celebrate New Year with special foods, toasts, and wearing red.
Common Italian New Year’s Resolutions
Italians, just like most other people in the world, often see the New Year as a chance to start a new habit or to make a commitment to improving themselves or their lives. Here are some ways to describe some of the most common New Year’s resolutions, or buoni proposti, in Italian.
| English Resolution | Italian Translation |
| to get in shape | mettersi in forma |
| to spend more time with family | passare più tempo con la famiglia |
| to make up/make peace with someone | fare pace con qualcuno |
| to eat less/to lose weight | mangiare meno/dimagrire |
| to save more money | risparmiare più soldi |
New Year’s Resolution Exercise – Using the Future Tense
Whether or not you are planning to come up with a New Year’s resolution this year, you can still use resolutions as a way to improve your Italian skills faster.
When you speak about what you plan to do in the New Year, you often use the future tense. Here is how regular verbs are formed in that tense:
As you can see, the endings are the same for all verbs, with –are verbs swapping their –a for an –e in the future tense.
Ready to practice? Here is a useful exercise by Jolii.ai’s founder to put those verbs to the test (note: there are a few irregular verbs in the mix!):
Buoni propositi per l’anno nuovo
Word List:
BERE – FARE – PASSARE – METTERE – PORTARE – PERDERE – GIOCARE – LEGGERE – SVEGLIARSI – ARRIVARE – SMETTERE- MANTENERE – DORMIRE – LAVORARE
Prometto che quest’anno:
a. _ di fumare.
b. _ sport e _________________10 kg.
c. _____ meno e _____ più tempo con la mia famiglia.
d. Ogni mese ____ da parte 200 Euro.
e. ____ meno ai videogiochi e non ___ il giornale a tavola.
f. _________ presto e ____ fuori il cane ogni mattina.
g. Non ______ più in ritardo in ufficio.
h. Non _____ più di 4 caffè al giorno.
i. Il fine settimana _______ solo fino alle 9.
l. _____ tutte le promesse!
Answer Key: b. farò, perderò; c. lavorerò, passerò; d. metterò; e. giocherò, leggerò; f. mi sveglierò, porterò; g. arriverò; h. berrò; i. dormirò; l. manterrò
FAQs
How do Italians celebrate New Year’s Day?
Italians celebrate New Year’s like they celebrate most other things: with food! They often eat a big meal with family and/or friends that culminates at midnight with a spumante toast and well wishes. Their choice of meal often involves lentils and cotechino, oftentimes with mashed potatoes and other savory dishes and sweet desserts.
How do you say “Happy Holidays” in Italian?
The easiest way to say “Happy Holidays” in Italian is to say “Buone feste.” This phrase, like the English version, encompasses all the holidays between December and January. The Italian holiday season typically ends with Epifania, or Epiphany, on January 6th.
How do you respond when someone says “Happy New Year” in Italian?
If someone wishes you “Buon anno,” you can reply simply: “Grazie, buon anno anche a te!”, which means “Thank you, Happy New Year to you too!”
If you want to keep it short and more casual, you can also say, “Grazie, altrettanto!” which means “Thanks, same to you!”
Final Takeaway
There are several ways to say “Happy New Year” in Italian, but the most common is “Buon anno.” Get a headstart on your New Year’s resolution to improve your Italian language skills by checking out Jolii.ai’s library of resources today!
