How to Say ‘My grandmother's birthday is in December.’ in Italian
Mia nonna compie gli anni a dicembre.
MEE-ah NOHN-nah KOHM-pyee-eh lyee AHN-nee ah dee-CHEHM-breh
[MEE-ah NOHN-nah KOHM-pyee-eh lyee AHN-nee ah dee-CHEHM-breh]
💬 Usage Tip: For months, Italian normally uses [a]: [a dicembre], [a maggio]. To talk about birthdays, [compiere gli anni] is the natural expression: [Mia nonna compie gli anni a dicembre].
Phrase Breakdown
Mia nonna
MEE-ah NOHN-nah
My grandmother
Refers to the speaker's grandmother.
Mia nonna cucina molto bene.
My grandmother cooks very well.
Words in this phrase
Mia
[MEE-ah]
my
Possessive adjective for a feminine singular noun meaning "my."
Mia nonna compie gli anni a dicembre e facciamo una cena.
My grandmother has her birthday in December and we have a dinner.
nonna
[NOHN-nah]
grandmother
A feminine noun meaning "grandmother" or "grandma."
Mia nonna compie gli anni a dicembre ogni anno con noi.
My grandmother has her birthday in December every year with us.
Compie gli anni
KOHM-pyee-eh lyee AHN-nee
Has a birthday / turns years old
Common idiomatic way to say someone has a birthday.
Mia nonna compie gli anni oggi.
My grandmother has her birthday today.
Words in this phrase
compie
[KOHM-pyee-eh]
has
From the expression "compiere gli anni," which means "to have a birthday" or literally "to turn years."
Mia nonna compie gli anni a dicembre, quindi festeggiamo in inverno.
My grandmother has her birthday in December, so we celebrate in winter.
gli
[lyee]
the
Plural masculine article used in the fixed expression "gli anni."
Mia nonna compie gli anni a dicembre con tutta la famiglia.
My grandmother has her birthday in December with the whole family.
anni
[AHN-nee]
years
Literally means "years"; in the expression "compiere gli anni," it refers to having a birthday.
Mia nonna compie gli anni a dicembre e riceve molti auguri.
My grandmother has her birthday in December and receives many good wishes.
A dicembre
ah dee-CHEHM-breh
In December
Used with months to indicate when something happens.
Partiamo a luglio.
We leave in July.
Words in this phrase
a
[ah]
in
Preposition used with months to indicate when something happens.
Mia nonna compie gli anni a dicembre, non a gennaio.
My grandmother has her birthday in December, not in January.
dicembre
[dee-CHEHM-breh]
December
The month of December.
Mia nonna compie gli anni a dicembre, vicino a Natale.
My grandmother has her birthday in December, close to Christmas.
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