Italian: Describing Symptoms and Their Severity at Intermediate Level
Move beyond "Ho un'allergia": describe which symptom, where it is, how long it has lasted, and how mild or severe it feels, using standard Italian patterns.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
At beginner level you can say Ho un'allergia or Mi fa male la testa. This lesson goes further: it teaches you to name the specific symptom, locate it, say how long it has been going on, and grade its severity from lieve to forte. You will practise the verb avere for symptoms, the verb essere for states, the pronoun mi with fare male, and the adverb molto to intensify. All examples are standard contemporary Italian; regional variants are labelled where they matter.
By the end, you can…
- name a specific symptom and say where it is located.
- say how long a symptom has lasted using da.
- grade severity from mild to severe with precise adverbs and adjectives.
- ask another person about the intensity and duration of their symptoms.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Ho un dolore forte alla schiena.
I have a severe pain in my back.
oh oon doh-LOH-reh FOR-teh al-lah SKYEH-nah
Use avere + un dolore + adjective + a + definite article + body part. Forte means severe here, not physically strong.
Mi fa male la gola da tre giorni.
My throat has been hurting for three days.
mee fah MAH-leh lah GOH-lah dah treh JOR-nee
Mi fa male + singular body part; da + time expression means the symptom started then and continues now.
Il bruciore di stomaco è sopportabile, ma la nausea no.
The heartburn is bearable, but the nausea is not.
eel broo-CHOH-reh dee STOH-mah-koh eh sop-por-TAH-bee-leh mah lah NAH-oo-zeh-ah noh
Sopportabile grades severity as manageable. The final no contrasts two symptoms without repeating the adjective.
Ho la febbre a trentotto e mezzo e mi sento molto debole.
I have a fever of 38.5 and I feel very weak.
oh lah FEB-breh ah tren-TOT-toh eh MET-tsoh eh mee SEN-toh MOL-toh DEH-bo-leh
In Italian fever is measured in Celsius; trentotto e mezzo is 38.5. Molto before an adjective means very.
Da quanto tempo hai questi sintomi? Sono lievi o forti?
How long have you had these symptoms? Are they mild or severe?
dah KWAHN-toh TEM-poh ai KWEHS-tee SEEN-toh-mee SOH-noh LYEH-vee oh FOR-teh
A direct but polite question to a friend or patient. Lievi and forti are the standard mild/severe pair for symptoms.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
Use avere for most symptoms: Ho la tosse, Ho la febbre, Ho un dolore al petto. Use essere for states: Sono raffreddato, Sono stanca. Use mi fa male for pain, with a singular body part: Mi fa male la testa; with plural parts use mi fanno male: Mi fanno male le gambe. To grade severity, place an adjective after the noun: un dolore lieve, un dolore forte, un dolore insopportabile. To say how long, add da + time: Ho la tosse da una settimana. To say how intense, use molto or poco before an adjective: mi sento molto debole, sto poco meglio.
When to use it
Choose your structure by symptom type. For countable problems use avere + indefinite article: Ho un forte mal di testa, Ho una leggera nausea. For ongoing states use essere: Sono febbricitante, Sono esausto. For pain located in a body part, mi fa male is the most natural: Mi fa male lo stomaco da ieri. When you need to compare two symptoms, use ma: La tosse è lieve, ma il mal di gola è forte. In a pharmacy or clinic, add duration and severity together: Ho un dolore acuto al ginocchio da due settimane, è abbastanza forte. Abbastanza softens the claim to fairly; molto strengthens it to very.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Come stai? Hai ancora la tosse?
How are you? Do you still have the cough?KOH-meh stai ai an-KOH-rah lah TOHS-sehSì, ho la tosse da una settimana e mi fa male anche la gola.
Yes, I've had the cough for a week and my throat hurts too.see oh lah TOHS-seh dah OO-nah set-tee-MAH-nah eh mee fah MAH-leh AN-keh lah GOH-lahÈ un dolore lieve o forte? Hai la febbre?
Is it a mild or severe pain? Do you have a fever?eh oon doh-LOH-reh LYEH-veh oh FOR-teh ai lah FEB-brehLa gola è molto dolorante e ho la febbre a trentanove. Mi sento debole.
My throat is very sore and I have a fever of 39. I feel weak.lah GOH-lah eh MOL-toh doh-loh-RAHN-teh eh oh lah FEB-breh ah tren-tah-NOH-veh mee SEN-toh DEH-bo-lehA little context goes a long way
In Italy, symptom talk with friends is usually brief and factual, while at a pharmacy or doctor's office you are expected to give duration, location and severity in one clear statement. Celsius is standard for fever, so trentotto or trentanove is normal and not alarming. Regional usage varies: in the south you may hear mi fa male la testa, while in the north some speakers prefer ho mal di testa; both are correct standard Italian. Avoid diagnosing yourself with technical terms unless you are sure of them.
One thing to watch for
Saying Ho molto dolore alla testa to mean I have a very bad headache.
Try this instead: Molto cannot directly modify a noun like dolore in this way. Say Ho un forte mal di testa or Mi fa molto male la testa. Use molto before an adjective (mi sento molto debole) or as an adverb with fare male (mi fa molto male), not as a direct noun modifier.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1Translate: My legs have been hurting for two days.
Show a sample answer
Mi fanno male le gambe da due giorni.
Plural body part le gambe requires fanno, not fa. Da due giorni marks the starting point and continuation. Ho un dolore alle gambe da due giorni is also correct but less idiomatic for everyday pain.
2Make this more precise: Ho la febbre. Add a temperature and a severity statement.
Show a sample answer
Ho la febbre a trentotto e mi sento molto debole.
Adding a Celsius temperature and a severity adjective makes the statement clinically useful. Ho la febbre alta e mi sento male is also valid, but alta is vaguer than a number.
3A friend says Ho un dolore. What two questions should you ask to get duration and severity?
Show a sample answer
Da quanto tempo hai questo dolore? È lieve o forte?
These two questions target the missing information. Da quando hai il dolore? is a common alternative for duration, and È un dolore forte? works if you want a yes/no severity check.
Name the symptom with avere or mi fa male, locate it with a + article + body part, add da + time for duration, and grade it with lievi/forti or molto + adjective. That four-part pattern turns a vague complaint into a clear, useful description.
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