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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

Six ways to say you’ve had too much to drink in Italian

Ever wondered what Italians say when they’ve had one too many? Here are six of the most common phrases to use.

Published: 4 April 2023 16:47 CEST
Barman prepping a Campari spritz
While Italians may have a reputation for drinking alcohol in moderation, not everyone in the country lives up to the ideal. Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP

Italians may have a reputation for enjoying their drinks in small, sophisticated amounts, but the reality is that not everyone in the country manages to quite live up to this ideal.

And, as a highly creative and evocative language, Italian has some unique expressions for when the local drinking sessions get out of hand. 

So, without further ado, here are six ways to say that you’ve had one too many in Italian.

Bere troppo

Let’s start with the basics. If you’re looking for a no-frills way to say that you’ve had too much, you can just say that…well, you’ve had too much. 

READ ALSO: 12 of the most useful Italian words you need to know

Ho bevuto troppo is the easiest and more immediate way to express that you may have slightly overestimated yourself this time around.

Stai bene?
Insomma. Mi sa che ho bevuto troppo
Are you ok? 
Not really. I think I’ve had too much.

Alzare il gomito

Alzare il gomito is, literally speaking, the equivalent of the English ‘bending the elbow’.

This is largely considered one of the more polite and socially acceptable ways to say that you overdid it with the booze. 

Prosecco being poured into flutes

‘Alzare il gomito’ is considered one of the most polite ways to say that you had too much to drink. Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP

We’re not advising that you randomly volunteer that sort of information during your next business meeting, but should you, for whatever reason, have to explain such an unfortunate event in a formal situation, that’s the best way to go about it.

Credo di aver alzato il gomito ieri sera. Mi scuso con tutti i presenti.
I think I had one too many last night. Apologies to anybody present.

Brillo

Things haven’t quite spiralled out of control at this stage. Life is good and you’re entertaining friends and fortunate bystanders with a corker of a monologue on the flaws of Elon Musk’s Mars mission.

An Italian would probably describe this stage as being brillo, which is the most immediate translation of the English ‘tipsy’.

Sono un po’ brillo.
I’m fairly tipsy.

Sbronzo

The situation has definitely taken a turn for the worse here and what was once a jolly evening is now quickly turning into an ordeal. 

READ ALSO: Etto, ino, ello: How to make Italian words smaller

Sono sbronzo, which roughly corresponds to the English ‘I’m wasted’, isn’t so much of a statement about one’s own condition as it is a painful declaration of defeat.

Mi dispiace, ragazzi. Vado a casa. Sono sbronzo.
Sorry, lads. I’m going home. I’m wasted.

Ubriaco fradicio

Ubriaco fradicio literally means ‘soggy drunk’ and represents the last rung on the intoxication ladder. 

Few people are able to make much sense at this stage, so it’s unlikely that you’ll hear this directly from the drunk person in question.

READ ALSO: ‘I’m not Onassis’: Seven things Italian dads say and what they mean

However, you might happen to hear semi-concerned friends or relatives use this expression when discussing how to best get the poor wretch out of their predicament.

E’ ubriaco fradicio. Qualcuno lo porti a casa.
He’s blind drunk. Someone get him home.

People at a bar in Italy

‘Ubriaco fradicio’, which literally means ‘soggy drunk’, is used to describe heavily intoxicated people. Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP

Bere come una spugna

Last but not least, here’s an expression that Italians tend to use when recounting tales of their weekend frolics. 

Bere come una spugna literally means ‘to drink like a sponge’, which should be a clear enough metaphor as to what the central feature of their weekend was.

Ho bevuto come una spugna lo scorso sabato. Che serata pazza.
I drank like a fish last Saturday. What a crazy night it was.

Do you know any other Italian phrases that could be used to say you’ve had one drink too many? Share them with us in the comments section below.

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OPINION

Are Italy’s many dialects dying out – or just evolving?

Italy's numerous local dialects are a source of pride, but the way they're used is changing dramatically, writes Silvia Marchetti.

Published: 23 May 2024 15:07 CEST
Are Italy's many dialects dying out - or just evolving?

The multitude of dialects in Italy shows the diversity and richness of our linguistic culture and traditions. However, in recent years there’s been a huge change in their use. 

It seems the use of dialect is dying out in many households. Figures from Istat, the Italian statistics bureau, have shown for years now that only around 14 percent of Italians still speak in dialect at home. 

IN MAPS: A brief introduction to Italy’s many local dialects

The boundaries between Italian and dialects are blurring. Unlike in the past, when they were a symbol of social status and people who spoke in dialect were looked down upon, now a new ‘middle language’ – neither Italian nor dialect – is emerging.

The upper-middle classes in particular, and professionals like doctors and lawyers, are dropping their accents to blend in and rise up the ladder. 

However, while dialects may be waning today, local authorities and private associations are pushing their use and recovery as a symbol of territorial identity and cultural belonging.

Dialect courses are booming all over Italy, with many regions allocating funds to saving local dialects. In Lazio, Emilia Romagna, and Friuli Venezia Giulia, just to name a few, resources are earmarked annually by regional councils for dialect lessons, while Sicily wants siculo to be taught in schools.

At local level, dozens of private cultural clubs are organizing evening classes and events in dialect, while famous folk singers now proudly sing in dialect, adapting iconic foreign hits.

In a village in deepest Puglia recently from an open window I heard a bizarre take on The Beatles’ Yesterday, which made me laugh out loud, written by Lecce-based musician Andrea Baccassino who has launched a dialect radio station. The deeper south you go, it seems the more locals try to preserve their native tongue. 

READ ALSO: Why are Italy’s disappearing dialects so important?

Despite the decline, many stereotypes survive around dialects. According to a recent survey some are still looked down upon – mostly the deep southern ones, tied to past waves of migration from Naples and Palermo to the more prosperous north.

But that is not the reason why they seem to be dying out. Rather, what is happening today is the result of a long-term trend which sees an inverse immigration occurring across Italy: southerners who move to the north to work are coming back home to the south, but they now speak Milanese or Piemontese, while northerners who went to the south, though they are fewer, have forgotten their original dialect. 

Once in Sicily I met an extended Sicilian family, half of it spoke Sicilian, the other half spoke Piedmontese, for their parents had migrated to Turin to work in the car industry in the 1950s.

Recently, during a trip to Bologna, I discovered that most staff employed in public offices and hospitals came from the south and spoke a hybrid between their own dialect and Bolognese. I recall one Sicilian nurse in particular speaking a funny Torinese-Siculo-Romano, as her husband came from Rome. 

The truth is, nobody nowadays in Italy is 100 percent from Naples, or 100 percent from Rome or Turin. People from the south have married people from the north and this has led to a picturesque combination of dialects, even if many people still nowadays tend to hide their origins out of habit. 

I think in future the boundaries between dialects will become even more blurred, and every Italian will be speaking a mix of every single known dialect, borrowing popular words here and there. Perhaps a word or two from Romanesco, and one from Siculo. That’s Italia. 

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