Feeling Bad — or Bloody — in Italian

Non Mi Sento Bene, Sto Male
I Don’t Feel Well

These are not the words any traveler wants to utter in Italy. However, if you spend enough time there, sooner or later you are likely to prendere un raffreddore (take or come down with a cold), pigliarsi un malanno (catch a minor illness), suffer mal d’auto, mal d’aria, or mal di mare (car/air/seasickness), or farsi male (do one self harm or get hurt).

Several years ago  my husband injured his neck while working out at a gym in Italy. I called a doctor-friend, who seemed more puzzled than concerned when I reported that Bob “ha un’ ingiuria.” “Ingiuria,” I learned, means insult. I should have used the term infortunarsi (which describes the unfortunate state of getting injured or having an accident).

No, I assured our friend, there was no blood (sangue) and no need for bandages (le bende). And no, Bob had not perduto conoscenza (lost consciousness), perso i sensi (lost his senses) or venuto meno (came less) — all expressions for fainting or passing out. He did not have nausea (the same in English and Italian). And he did not dare di stomaco (give of the stomach) or, more colloquially, vomitare or rimettere (vomit, puke).

“Peggiora?” “Is it getting worse?” he asked. The answer was no.

“Meno male!” (“Thank goodness”) he said. Nothing seemed rotto (broken), and he saw no need to call il 118 (Italy’s emergency equivalent of 911) or go to a Pronto Soccorso (emergency room. He suggested we go to the local farmacia (pharmacy) to get an analgesico (pain killer).

“Una compressa al giorno” (“one tablet a day”), said the farmacista. “Da prendere dopo — non prima-i pasti” (“to be taken after, not before, meals). Pretty soon Bob si sentiiva meglio (was feeling better).

We’ve returned to the local farmacista many times since for mostly minor maladies such as headache (mal di testa), stomach ache (mal di stomaco), and sore throat (mal di gola). While waiting in line, I’ve learned the words for all sorts of problems: taglio (cut), ferita (wound, usually with blood), livido (bruise), strappo muscolare (pulled muscle), and  febbre alta (high fever). I’ve also met an Italian ipocondriaco (hypochondriac) or two.

Some medical problems, such as l’asma (asthma), l’artrite (arthritis), and diarrea (diarrhea), have similar names in English and Italian. Others may make their victims just as miserable but undeniably sound better in Italian: tosse ( cough), pressione alta (hypertension); capogiro (spinning head or dizziness), stitichezza (constipation).

I  heard my favorite Italian euphemism for a bodily function from a little boy who wrinkled his nose and asked his mother: “Chi fa il profumino?” (Who is making the little perfume — that is, passing gas?) It reminded me that il riso fa buon sangue. Laughter makes good blood or, as we would say In English, good medicine.

Words and Expressions

farne una malattia — get sick over something, take it to heart’
Ho bisogno di un medico — I need a doctor
Mi fa male qui — it hurts here
malessere — indisposition
ricetta medica — prescription or “medical recipe”