A useful word to know in Italian if you’re feeling a bit under the weather is tosse which means cough. It comes from the Latin tussim from which the verb tossire (to cough) also derives. Tosse is a feminine noun that takes the following definite and indefinite articles: Ho una brutta tosse e il mal di …
Today’s word of the day is something extremely annoying and sometimes quite hard to get rid of: the hiccups (also spelled hiccoughs) which in Italian translates as singhiozzo (masculine, plural: singhiozzi). It comes from the verb singhiozzare meaning to hiccup (when referring to a human being) or to go by fits and starts (when talking …
The word for eye in Italian is occhio (masculine, plural: occhi). Just as in English, it refers to the physical body part but also has a number of figurative meanings related to sight. Mi è entrato qualcosa nell’occhio! Something went into my eye! Below is a brief selection of the many figurative expressions containing the …
Have you come down with a cold (raffreddore)? Or perhaps you suffer from allergies (allergie)? If so, you might find yourself sneezing more than usual! The word for a sneeze in Italian is starnuto, which comes from the verb starnutire meaning to sneeze. starnuto sneeze Note: less common variations are found in Italian literature, such …
Have you got a romantic side to you? If so, let’s take a look at the word for heart in Italian, which is cuore (masculine, plural: cuori). As in English, the word cuore can refer to the muscular organ that pumps blood around the body, the symbol ♥ represented by two equal curves meeting at …
If you’ve just gorged yourself on ten chocolate bars or come down with a nasty stomach virus, you may be experiencing some serious mal di pancia which is the colloquial Italian word for upset stomach or stomach ache! Il bambino piangeva per il mal di pancia. The child was crying because of an upset stomach. …