Learn how to tell a doctor your symptoms using a formal conversation as an example
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ItalianPod101.com. This is Lower Intermediate Season 3, Lesson 21 - Explaining Your Symptoms in Italian. Becky here. |
| Ofelia: Ciao. I'm Ofelia. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn expressions that are useful at the doctor's office. The conversation takes place at a doctor's office. |
| Ofelia: And it's between Maria and the doctor. |
| Becky: The speakers don't know each other, so they’ll be using formal Italian. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Medico: Cos'ha? |
| Maria: Da ieri non mi sento bene. Mi gira la testa e ho un forte senso di nausea. |
| Medico: Ha mal di pancia e febbre? |
| Maria: No, non mal di pancia, ma ho qualche linea di febbre. |
| Medico: Al momento sta seguendo qualche cura? |
| Maria: Sì, sto prendendo degli antistaminici per l'allergia ai pollini. |
| Medico: La visito subito e le prescrivo qualcosa, ma per essere sicuri, le voglio prescrivere anche un controllo allergologico in ospedale. |
| Becky: Now listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Doctor: What do you have? |
| Maria: Since yesterday, I haven't felt very well. My head is spinning, and I feel really nauseous. |
| Doctor: Do you have a stomach ache and fever? |
| Maria: No, I don't have a stomach ache, but I have a slight fever. |
| Doctor: At the moment are you taking any medications? |
| Maria: Yes, I'm taking some antihistamine for pollen allergies. |
| Doctor: I'll visit you right away and I’ll prescribe you something. But to be sure, I want to refer you to an allergy specialist at the hospital. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Ofelia, in the dialogue, Maria and the doctor were talking about allergies. What are the most common ones in Italy? |
| Ofelia: There are many, but here are a few common ones. Allergia al polline. |
| Becky: “A pollen allergy.” |
| Ofelia: Allergia alla polvere. |
| Becky: “An allergy to dust.” |
| Ofelia: Allergia alla penicillina. |
| Becky: “An allergy to penicillin.” |
| Ofelia: Allergia al pelo dei gatti. |
| Becky: “An allergy to cat fur.” |
| Ofelia: One of the most common allergies among Italians is the one to gluten. This is a very difficult allergy to have in Italy, especially if you consider that the base of the Italian diet is wheat. |
| Becky: Yes, a gluten allergy would be bad luck in Italy. You’d never be able to eat pasta or pizza! Let’s see an example with this specific one. |
| Ofelia: L'allergia al glutine si chiama anche celiachia. |
| Becky: "The allergy to gluten is also called celiac disease." Okay, now on to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Ofelia: nausea [natural native speed] |
| Becky: nausea |
| Ofelia: nausea [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: nausea [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Ofelia: pancia [natural native speed] |
| Becky: belly, stomach |
| Ofelia: pancia [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: pancia [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next... |
| Ofelia: cura [natural native speed] |
| Becky: therapy |
| Ofelia: cura [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: cura [natural native speed] |
| Becky: The next word is… |
| Ofelia: prendere [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to take, to get, to buy (figurative) |
| Ofelia: prendere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: prendere [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Ofelia: antistaminico [natural native speed] |
| Becky: antihistamine |
| Ofelia: antistaminico [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: antistaminico [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next... |
| Ofelia: allergia [natural native speed] |
| Becky: allergy |
| Ofelia: allergia [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: allergia [natural native speed] |
| Becky: The next one is... |
| Ofelia: prescrivere [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to prescribe |
| Ofelia: prescrivere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: prescrivere [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And the last word is... |
| Ofelia: controllo [natural native speed] |
| Becky: control, check |
| Ofelia: controllo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: controllo [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is... |
| Ofelia: ...avere qualche linea di febbre. |
| Becky: Meaning "to have a low-grade fever." |
| Ofelia: In Italian, avere qualche linea di febbre literally means to have "a few lines of fever," or in other words "to have a slight fever." |
| Becky: So you can use this expression when you have a low-grade fever, because a low-grade fever is indicated by a few lines on a mercury-based thermometer. |
| Ofelia: Even though the use of recent new generation thermometers has become more widespread, this expression is still very common. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Ofelia: Sure. For example, you can say, Lo scorso mese ho avuto qualche linea di febbre quasi ininterrottamente. |
| Becky: Meaning, "Last month I had a low-grade fever almost continuously." |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Ofelia: Allergologico. |
| Becky: Meaning "relative to the allergy." |
| Ofelia: Allergologico refers to that branch of medicine that treats allergies, and it can also be used as an adjective for a specialized visit or a center. |
| Becky: In recent years with the growth of allergies, this term has become quite common around Italy, even though it’s a rather scientific term. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Ofelia: Sure. For example, you can say, Le prove allergologiche verranno svolte presso il nostro centro. |
| Becky: This means, "The allergy exams will be held in our center." Okay, now on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson you’ll learn some expressions that are useful at the doctor's office. So we’ll learn to talk about pain and illness, which can be very important if you fall ill while you’re in Italy and need to explain your symptoms. |
| Ofelia: Let’s start with the expression avere male, which literally means "to have pain." |
| Becky: In English, we will more often say the "[name of the body part] aches," or the "[name of the body part] hurts," or also, "I feel a pain [somewhere]." |
| Ofelia: Right, but in Italian, we’ll naturally say, Ho mal di testa, meaning, "I have pain in the head." This is different from the English expressions, "I have a headache," or "My head hurts." |
| Becky: Can you use this expression for any type of pain? |
| Ofelia: Yes, you just have to say aver male plus alla—if it’s a feminine body part—or aver male plus al—if it’s a masculine body part. Or, you can simply say aver male plus di for any body part. |
| Becky: Is there a pattern? |
| Ofelia: Yes, here are feminine and masculine examples. Avere verb plus male, plus alla, plus a feminine noun. If the noun is plural, then alla becomes alle. Here’s an example with a singular noun - ho male alla gamba. |
| Becky: "My leg hurts." |
| Ofelia: And for masculine nouns, use avere verb plus male, plus al or di, plus a masculine noun. If this noun is plural, then al becomes ai. Here are two examples: ho male allo stomaco, and ho mal di stomaco. |
| Becky: Both mean "I have a stomachache." |
| Ofelia: And here’s another - ho male ai denti, and ho mal di denti. |
| Becky: "My teeth hurt." |
| Ofelia: Another similar phrase is avere un dolore a or avere dei dolori a. |
| Becky: This means, "to have pain in..." |
| Ofelia: For example, ho un dolore all’occhio. |
| Becky: "I feel a pain in my eye." |
| Ofelia: With this phrase, the pattern is avere plus un dolore or dei dolori a, plus a body part. The usage of plural or singular depends on the pain’s intensity. |
| Becky: Are there any other useful expressions? |
| Ofelia: Another way to say “to hurt” is far male. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example? |
| Ofelia: Mi fa male la gamba! |
| Becky: "My leg hurts!" |
| Ofelia: The pattern here is simple, and is similar to the one used for the verb piacere meaning “to like.” First comes the reflexive pronoun referring to the one who feels pain, in the previous example mi. |
| Becky: Referring to “me,” or “myself.” |
| Ofelia: Then comes fa or fanno and male. |
| Becky: The different form depends on the number of the subject or subjects, right? |
| Ofelia: Right! And at the end comes the subject, or the name of the thing that hurts you—in this case la gamba. |
| Becky: “Leg.” Can you give an example in the plural form? |
| Ofelia: Le fanno male le articolazioni. |
| Becky: Which means “Her joints hurt.” Also, “She feels pain in the joints.” |
| Ofelia: Finally let’s remember that a common pattern is avere verb plus a noun, usually the name of a specific illness. |
| Becky: Please give us some examples. |
| Ofelia: Ho l’emicrania. |
| Becky: "I have a migraine." |
| Ofelia: Ho la nausea. |
| Becky: "I feel nauseous." And what about a simple, “I’m sick?” |
| Ofelia: You can say, Sono malato or malata. |
| Becky: Listeners, you’ll find these examples and more in the lesson notes! |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Ofelia: A presto. |
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