Health & Body: At the Pharmacy
When you travel in Italy, knowing how to express basic health issues is essential. In this lesson, you will learn how to say you have pain and how to ask for medicine at a pharmacy (farmacia).
Expressing Pain: Ho mal di...
To say you have an ache or pain in Italian, use the phrase Ho mal di (literally: "I have bad of...") followed by the body part:
- Ho mal di testa. – I have a headache.
- Ho mal di stomaco. – I have a stomachache.
Asking for Remedies
To ask for a specific product or help, you can use Vorrei (I would like) or ask if they have something:
- Vorrei un'aspirina. – I would like an aspirin.
- Avete qualcosa per la febbre? – Do you have something for the fever?
Common vocabulary for this unit includes:
- la farmacia – the pharmacy
- la febbre – the fever
- la medicina – the medicine
- la ricetta – the prescription
Common Mistakes
A very common beginner mistake is forgetting the preposition di. Always say mal di testa, not just mal testa. Also, remember that nouns have genders, so it is un'aspirina for feminine words starting with a vowel.
Words
Lessons are prepared with the help of AI.
Patterns
Ho mal di ___
I have a ... (pain/ache). Used to describe physical discomfort.
Vorrei ___
I would like ... Used politely in shops and pharmacies.
Avete qualcosa per ___?
Do you have something for ...? Used when asking for a remedy.