Only a short blog today I’m afraid because when I woke up this morning I didn’t feel very well, non mi sentivo bene. So I decided to let you benefit from my illness by giving you a bit of vocabulary that you can use next time siete malati (you are ill) to have a good old moan to your family and friends.

Ho mal di gola (I’ve got a sore throat)

Devo prendere una pastiglia per la gola (I’ll have to have a throat pastille).

Ho il raffreddore (I’ve got a cold).

Starnutisco in continuazione (I’m sneezing all the time).

Mi serve un fazzoletto (I need a handkerchief).

Ho il naso bloccato (I’ve got a blocked nose).

Mi fanno male tutte le ossa (all my bones are aching).

Ho preso l’influenza (I’ve caught the flu).

Interestingly the word flu is an abbreviation of the Italian word ‘influenza’ (influence), as at one time it was believed that illnesses were the result of unfavorable astrological ‘influences’ (from Latin ‘in’ and ‘fluere’ meaning ‘to flow in’). With the development of medical science this was later modified to influenza del freddo (influence of the cold). The word influenza was first used in English in the 18th century and was eventually abbreviated to the more commonly used word flu.

Meanwhile, back to moaning about how ill I am:

Per fortuna non ho la febbre alta (luckily I don’t have a high fever), ma ho mal di testa (but I’ve got an headache), devo prendere un analgesico (I’ll have to take a painkiller). 

Adesso torno a letto (now I’m going back to bed) e stasera mi berro’ un bel vin brule’ (and this evening I’ll drink a nice mulled wine – in Italy this is a traditional remedy when you have a bad cold), at least that will be something to look forward to!