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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Colpo d’aria’

Watch out for this seasonal Italian expression – and most importantly, wear a vest.

Italian expression of the day: 'Colpo d'aria'
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

The colder months in Italy may have many delights, but this time of year also brings its own particular dangers – at least according to Italians.

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself being warned about un colpo d’aria: literally a ‘hit’ or blast of air, more colloquially a draft, and in the Italian imagination the cause of everything from a stiff neck to a headache to indigestion.

The term springs from the belief that sudden changes in temperature are bad for the health, and the closest equivalent in English would be the equally vague “chill” that your grandma always warned you about.

– Mettiti una giacchetta o ti prenderai un colpo d’aria!
– Wear a jacket or you’ll catch a chill!

Common ways to fall victim (prendere un colpo d’aria) might include failing to wrap up warm as soon as the temperature drops below 25 degrees Celsius, leaving the house with wet hair, opening a window while sweaty, or sitting too close to the air conditioning.

According to one Italian health site, symptoms can include: redness of the eyes, ear pain, muscle contractions and, for the especially unfortunate, un colpo di strega – literally “a strike of the witch”, it describes a back strain, to which you might be extra vulnerable if you attempt any sudden movements while dangerously chilled by air.

The vast collection of symptoms attributed to chills explains why you might hear Italians specifying which part of their body is bearing the brunt.

– Ho preso un colpo d’aria…
… all’orecchio.
… alla schiena.
… agli occhi.
… al collo.

– I caught a chill in my ear/my back/my eyes/my neck.

It’s basically a way to say that you have an unexplained ache or pain – and if you don’t know the exact cause, why not blame it on the air?


It looks like some Italians are becoming suspicious of whether the colpo d’aria really exists.

Recommended cures include hot baths, camomile tea and breathing in steam.

The tried and tested prevention, meanwhile, is la maglia della salute (the ‘health shirt’), a vest or undershirt that keeps your chest safely covered.

Fear of the colpo d’aria also explains why you’ll see Italians in scarves and puffa jackets while those of us originally from cooler climates are still happily in short sleeves.

Dressing for the season, not the actual weather, is seen as vitally important when colpo d’aria could hit at any moment.

If you’ve ever felt like you read a different weather forecast to the one your Italian friends seem to have dressed for, now you know why.

Do you have an Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.

This article was originally published in 2018.

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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Cambiare registro’

Here's the Italian phrase you'll need if you're looking for a change.

Italian expression of the day: ‘Cambiare registro’

If you live in Italy or have spent a considerable amount of time in the country, you may have overheard an Italian parent telling their child they needed to cambiare registro right after they threw a tantrum. 

If you work or have worked in Italy, you may also have had one of your superiors tell you that a cambio di registro was needed in the office. 

But what do Italians really mean when they tell someone they need to ‘change register’?

Italians use cambiare registro to tell someone that they need to change their behaviour, manners or way to approach a particular task (including work or school assignments), usually because they’re not particularly happy with the way they’re currently handling things. 

It is generally used with the verb dovere (must/have to), which must be conjugated according to the person who could do with a ‘change of register’. For instance:

Non hai passato gli ultimi tre test. Devi cambiare registro se vuoi tenere la tua paghetta settimanale.  

You failed the past three exams. You need to turn things around if you want to keep your weekly allowance.

La tua performance al lavoro e’ stata insoddisfacente questo trimestre. Devi veramente cambiare registro il prossimo mese.

Your performance at work has been unsatisfactory this quarter. You really need to turn things around next month.

You could also say that a situation you’re unhappy with needs ‘a change of register’, without addressing anyone in particular. 

Ci sono cose ovunque. C’e’ bisogno di un cambio di registro in questa casa.

There’s stuff all over the place. Changes are needed in this house.

As you can see from these examples, there’s no single way to translate the phrase into English, though ‘turning things around’ and ‘changing up’ are popular translations.

And if you’re wondering where the expression comes from, it has nothing to do with Italy’s Registry Office (or Anagrafe), nor with any other part of the country’s public administration. 

Cambiare registro was originally a music-related expression as it referred to the act of changing the tone or range (registro in Italian) of some musical instruments, including pipe organs.

But, as in the case of many other Italian phrases and expressions, its usage was later extended to daily life situations to express a need for major changes.

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