You may have heard the word salute in Italian. It can be translated in the following ways:
- Health / wellbeing
Bere troppo alcol fa male alla salute
Drinking too much alcohol is bad for your health
- Bless you!
If you sneeze, you may hear a person say salute!
- Cheers!
Often said before having a drink with family and friends.
Salute!
When talking about health and wellbeing, here are some useful expressions:
Mi sento bene - I feel well
Mi sento male - I feel unwell
Sono malato / a - I am ill
Avere mal di testa - To have a head ache
Avere mal di stomaco - To have a stomach ache
Avere la febbre - To have a temperature
Essere raffreddato / a - To have a cold
Avere la tosse - To have a cough
La visita medica - Medical examination
L’ospedale - Hospital
L’ambulanza - Ambulance
La medicina - Medicine
La ricetta - Prescription
La pastiglia - Tablet
Lo sciroppo - Syrup
Fare male
Fare male means ‘to hurt’. It is often used with a pronoun for example mi fa male means ‘it hurts me’ or ti fa male means ‘it hurts you’. If the body part that hurts is singular you use the third person singular of fare - fa - but if the body part is plural you need to use the third person plural of fare - fanno.
Mi fa male la gola - My throat hurts
Mi fa male la gamba - My leg hurts
Ti fanno male gli occhi - Your eyes hurt
Ti fa male la schiena? - Does your back hurt?
Le fa male il dente - Her tooth hurts
Ci fanno male i denti - Our teeth hurt
Proverbs and expressions using salute
Una mela al giorno toglie il medico di torno. - An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Il riso fa buon sangue. - Laughter is the best medicine.
Buona salute è la vera ricchezza. - Good health is true wealth.
Chi è in buona salute è ricco senza saperlo. - Those in good health are rich without knowing it.
Chi vuole conservare la salute per la vecchiaia, non la sciupi in gioventù. - Those who want to save health for their old age don’t waste it in youth.
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I hope this language lesson about health and wellbeing has been an interesting and useful read. Alla nostra salute! To our good health!
