French Phrase
On fête notre anniversaire.
Meaning
The sentence means “We celebrate our birthday.” It uses the informal pronoun "on" to talk about a group, which is common in everyday French. The verb "fêter" conveys the idea of a party or celebration rather than a formal ceremony.
When to use
Use this phrase when you want to tell someone that you (or a group you belong to) are having a birthday celebration, whether you’re inviting friends, confirming plans, or simply stating the fact.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Onfêtenotreanniversaire
On (informal we)
In spoken French, "on" is often used instead of "nous" to mean "we"; it takes third‑person singular verb forms.
Fêter (to celebrate)
Fêter is a regular -er verb; present tense for "on" is "fête" (no -s).
Notre (our)
Possessive adjective that agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies; here it matches the masculine singular "anniversaire".
Anniversaire (birthday)
A masculine noun; the article is omitted in this sentence because the possessive adjective already indicates definiteness.
🗨In Conversation
On fête notre anniversaire ce soir, tu viens ?
We're celebrating our birthday tonight, are you coming?
Oui, j'arrive à 19h. On se retrouve au restaurant du coin.
Yes, I'll be there at 7 p.m. We'll meet at the local restaurant.
✕Common Mistakes
Nous fête notre anniversaire.
Verb agreement: with "nous" the verb should be "fêtons" (nous fêtons).
On fêter notre anniversaire.
Missing conjugated verb form; "fêter" must be conjugated to "fête" for "on".
On fête notre anniversaires.
Plural "anniversaires" is incorrect here because the possessive already makes it singular.
↔Alternatives
Nous célébrons notre anniversaire.
We celebrate our birthday.
C’est notre anniversaire, on le fête.
It's our birthday, we’re celebrating it.
On organise une fête pour notre anniversaire.
We’re organizing a party for our birthday.
Cultural Tip
In France, birthdays are often marked with a cake (gâteau) and the singing of "Joyeux anniversaire". It’s customary to bring a small gift or a bottle of wine for the host. If the celebration is at someone’s home, guests usually arrive a few minutes after the announced time; being exactly on time can be seen as overly formal.