How to Say “Happy New Year!” in Italian – Buon Anno!

As 2023 comes to a long-awaited end (fine), we want to take a moment to wish (augurare) all our followers a Buon Anno! Although this expression literally translates as good (buon) year (anno), it is by far the most common way of saying Happy New Year! in Italian.

Another expression you will certainly come across is Felice Anno Nuovo! which quite literally means Happy New Year! However it occurs more frequently in writing (such as greeting cards for example) than in speech.

If you want to address the greeting to a specific person or group of people, you can begin the phrase with ti / Le / vi auguro… (I wish you…):

• Ti auguro un buon anno! (informal – used with friends and family)
• Le auguro un buon anno! (formal – used with people you don’t know well, elders, people of a higher status, etc.)
• Vi auguro un buon anno! (plural – used toward more than one person)

Alternatively you can add …a te / Lei / voi (…to you) onto the end to create the greeting Happy New Year to you!

• Buon anno a te! (informal – used with friends and family)
• Buon anno a Lei! (formal – used with people you don’t know well, elders, people of a higher status, etc.)
• Buon anno a voi! (plural – used toward more than one person)

It isn’t uncommon for Italians to abbreviate this entire greeting to just Auguri! (Best wishes!)

A common response to Buon anno! and any of the greetings above is Anche a te / Lei / voi! or Altrettanto!, both of which mean And to you! or Same to you!

Did you know that…?
New Year’s Day is known as Capodanno in Italian. It is the combination of the words capo (head) and d’anno (of the year). Although you might hear some Italians refer to New Year’s Eve as Capodanno as well, the real name for the 31st is actually San Silvestro.

Italian New Year Greetings and Messages

If you are looking for some touching New Year greetings (frasi di auguri di buon anno) to include in a greeting card, why not choose one of the options below! 🙂

Che questo 2023 sia pieno di gioia e soddisfazioni! Buon anno!

May this 2023 be full of joy and satisfaction! Happy New Year!

Ti auguro tanta gioia e tante risate in questo nuovo anno!

I wish you much joy and laughter in this new year!

Brindo all’anno che verrà e alla tua felicità. Buon anno!

I toast to the year to come and to your happiness. Happy New Year!

Auguro a te e a tutta la tua famiglia un 2023 pieno di pace, salute e prosperità. Buon Anno!

I wish you and your entire family a 2023 full of peace, health and prosperity. Happy New Year!

Heather Broster

Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.