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Il bambino festeggia oggi: buon compleanno!

Il bambino festeggia oggi: buon compleanno!
The child is celebrating today: happy birthday!
From Lesson 55:Auguri! Wishes and celebrations·Italian

Breakdown of Il bambino festeggia oggi: buon compleanno!

oggi
today
il bambino
the child
festeggiare
to celebrate
buon compleanno
happy birthday!

Questions & Answers about Il bambino festeggia oggi: buon compleanno!

Why does festeggia translate to "is celebrating" instead of "celebrates"?
In Italian, the normal present tense covers both! Lui festeggia can mean "he celebrates" (in general) or "he is celebrating" (right now). While Italian does have a specific way to say "is doing" something, you can always use the simple present for actions happening right now.
How do you pronounce the -ggia in festeggia?
The double gg makes a strong, slightly held "j" sound (like in the English word "judge"). The letter i right after it isn't pronounced as a separate vowel; it's just a spelling rule to make the g soft. The end of the word sounds like "-jah".
Why do Italians use buon (good) instead of a word for "happy"?
For most greetings and well-wishes, Italian uses buon or buona where English uses "happy" or "merry". You will see this everywhere: buon compleanno (happy birthday), buon Natale (merry Christmas), and buon anno (happy New Year).
Why is it buon compleanno and not buono compleanno?
The adjective buono drops its final -o when it is placed directly in front of a masculine singular noun that starts with a normal consonant. Since compleanno is masculine and starts with a c, buono shortens to buon.

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