Parlare di dolori in italiano: mal di testa e altro
A2 Italian تدريب على الاستماع · الإيطالية · مختار للمبتدئين
How do you say “I have a headache” in Italian with “mal di”?
Italian doesn’t have a separate word for “headache,” “stomachache” and “toothache.” It builds them all from one pattern: mal di (a worn-down male di, “pain of”) plus the body part. Ho mal di testa (head), di pancia (belly), di gola (throat), di denti (teeth), d’orecchio (ear). Crucially you have the pain — you use avere, not essere — so it is always ho mal di…, never sono.
Italians distinguish carefully where it hurts: mal di pancia is the lower belly, mal di stomaco the stomach higher up — the clip teases this precision out loud. The phrase is a stealthy excuse machine too: in the skit, every time the partner suggests watching TV, the answer is a fresh ho mal di testa / ho mal di denti. Whole list with avere: ho mal di…, hai mal di…, abbiamo mal di…