Telling doctor stomach hurts: Saying your stomach hurts and for how long

💬 Every vowel is spoken, so it comes out as three beats: (NOW-zeh-ah). It doesn't sound like the English "NAW-zee-uh".

💬 po' is a shortened poco, and the apostrophe marks the cut. un po' di + noun means "a bit of", as in un po' di pane "a bit of bread".

💬 niente + noun is a quick way to say "no ___ at all": niente zucchero "no sugar". It's shorter and more natural than building a full negative sentence.

💬 ricetta also means "recipe". At the doctor or pharmacy it means prescription, and in the kitchen it means recipe.

💬 le here is the polite "to you", and it goes before the verb. The present scrivo covers "I'll write", because Italian often uses the present for something about to happen.

🇮🇹 You take the prescription to a farmacia "pharmacy", marked by a green cross. Pharmacists there also give advice on minor ailments.

💬 mangi is the polite command form, so it ends in -i, where the informal mangia would be used with a friend. The same goes for torni "come back" and prenda "take".

💬 qualche means "some/a few", but it is always followed by a singular noun: qualche giorno, never "qualche giorni".

🇮🇹 Italian doctors commonly advise in bianco "plain food" for stomach trouble: plain rice or pasta with a little oil, and no sauces.

💬 d' is di with its vowel dropped before another vowel, so it can't stand alone. Say it as one word: (dak-KOR-doh).

💬 When you speak to a doctor directly, use dottore alone, with no name. If you add a surname it shortens: dottor Rossi. A female doctor is dottoressa.

🇮🇹 In Italy dottore is also used for any university graduate, so you may hear it addressed to lawyers or office staff too.

💬 passare "to pass" is the everyday way to say an illness or pain goes away: è passato "it's gone".

💬 da + a person means "to someone's place". vado dal medico is "I'm going to the doctor's", and da Mario is "at/to Mario's".

🇮🇹 Italians say this when leaving shops, offices and appointments, where English speakers might just say "bye". anche a Lei "you too" is the polite reply.