Speaking Italian
How to describe a symptom at the pharmacy, in Italian
If you are in the chair right now
Mi fa male lo stomaco da ieri. Mi può consigliare qualcosa?
My stomach has been hurting since yesterday. Can you recommend something?
If that gets brushed off
Non so come si chiama, ma è qui.
I don't know what it's called, but it's here.
Italian pain grammar runs backwards from English: the stomach does the hurting, and it hurts to you — mi fa male. Plural parts take fanno: mi fanno male i piedi. Point while you say it; the pharmacist is trained to work from exactly this much.
The farmacia is where learners get sick twice: once from whatever is wrong, and once from discovering that «it hurts» works backwards in Italian — the body part is the subject and you are just the destination of the pain. One shape covers nearly everything, and the person in the white coat expects to meet you halfway.
If you need more than one line
neutral
Mi fa male la gola.
My throat hurts. Swap in: la testa, la schiena, un dente. Plural takes fanno: mi fanno male i piedi.
neutral
Da ieri. / Da tre giorni.
Since yesterday. / For three days. Da takes the present — «mi fa male da ieri», never the past. The pain continues, so the tense does too.
neutral
Ho già preso una tachipirina, ma niente.
I've already taken a Tachipirina, but nothing. Italy's paracetamol is practically a common noun — what you have tried is half of what they need.
firmest
Ci vuole la ricetta?
Does it need a prescription? Ci vuole — the fixed shape for what's required.
Two things worth knowing
The vocabulary is findable. The sentence shape is what catches people.
The pain hurts to you
«Mi fa male lo stomaco» — the stomach makes pain to me. The body part is the subject, you are the indirect object, and the verb agrees with the part: fa for one, fanno for several. Learn that one inversion and every symptom you cannot name collapses into «mi fa male qui» plus a pointed finger — diagnosis enough for any farmacia counter in Italy.
The farmacia is a consultation
Italian pharmacists advise as a matter of course — describing your symptom and asking «mi può consigliare qualcosa?» is the system working as designed, not an imposition. Say how long with da, say what you tried, and for anything senza ricetta their recommendation is the treatment. You will leave with something, or with clear instructions about who to see.
What Giulia actually said
What you have to get done
- Explain the issue without naming it
- Share what you have tried so far
- Confirm usage instructions after asking
Giulia
Hi! How can I help you today?
You
Hi, thanks. I have a discomfort here: the skin is red, it itches and almost seems to burn, but I don't know exactly what it's called.
Giulia
I see: it sounds like a skin irritation; have you already tried anything to relieve it?
You
Yes, I've actually already tried a moisturising cream, but the burning hasn't eased: could you recommend something more suitable?
Giulia
I see: you've tried a moisturiser; I can suggest a soothing cream, applied according to the instructions on the pack.
You
All right, I'll try this cream; how exactly should I apply it, and for how long?
Giulia
Apply a thin layer to clean skin, following the pack, and use it for a few days; if it doesn't improve, ask the pharmacist or a doctor.
You
All right, I'll follow the instructions carefully, and if it doesn't improve I'll ask the pharmacist or the doctor.
Giulia
Perfect — follow the instructions and take care of yourself: goodbye!
The whole conversation, unedited
A real run in the app, nothing scripted on the pharmacist's side. The transcript above is taken from this recording, and the objectives tick off on screen as they are met.
Turn sound on to hear it.
Now say it yourself
Reading that is not the same as producing it with someone waiting, which is the entire difficulty. You can have this exact conversation in the app: Giulia is a third of the way through, and you have three things to get done.
It is free, it takes about a minute to start, and the first attempt is allowed to be terrible.
Practise this conversation
