My Italian Word of the Week - Raffreddore

Photo Credit: Flikr Creative Commons  - SuperHua (C) - Attribution License

Raffreddore (n.m.)

n.m. cold (acute respiratory inflammation)

definitions Corriere.it ; WordReference.com

This week's installment of IWOW is going to be the shortest yet because (io) ho il raffreddore, meaning "I have a cold." It's nothing serious, just one of those change of season things, but I tend to be an absolute baby when I'm under the weather. On top of that, writing while blowing one's nose lends itself to typos, so I beg your forgiveness in advance. 

According to the CDC, over 200 viruses can cause il commune raffredore (n.m. the common cold), although the rhinovirus is the most common type. By the way, a virus in Italian is il virus (thank goodness for life's small blessings). Symptoms include stanutire (v. to sneeze), il naso che cola (n.m. runny nose), il mal di gola (n.m. sorethroat), gli occhi lacrimosi (n.m.pl. watery eyes), and il mal di testa (n.m. headache). 

Il raffredore non si cura (one doesn't cure the cold), but there are multiple methods of symptom relief, including riposare (v. to rest), bere molta acqua (v. to drink a lot of water), and popping multiple caramelle per la tosse (n.f.pl. cough drops).

On that note, devo fare una buona tazza di tè (I must go make a nice cup of tea), so I'll bid you all a hasty adieu.  

Ciao, tutti! Ci si vede il giovedì prossimo. (Good-bye all! See you again next Thursday.)

Disclaimer: I am writing this as a student of Italian. If there is anyone out there who would like to add to or correct my posts, please leave a comment.