Episode 27 · Living in Italy
Ho fame, not sono fame - hungry and thirsty in Italian
Don't translate it literally: in Italian you don't ARE hungry, you HAVE hunger. Ho fame, ho sete.
Mia skipped lunch and says sono fame at the bar. Laura asks if she has turned into hunger itself.
Laura ·
In this lesson
| Italian | Word for word | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Ho fame | I have hunger | I'm hungry |
| Ho sete | I have thirst | I'm thirsty |
| Non ho fame | I don't have hunger | I'm not hungry |
| Sono fame | I am hunger | don't say it: use avere |
Same rule as age: ho trent'anni, ho fame, ho sete. And careful with sete: one T is thirst, two Ts (sette) is the number seven.
The dialogue
Every line from the video, with the English meaning under the Italian.
Mia
I skipped lunch today...
Laura
Mia, che faccia! Cosa c'è?
Mia, what a face! What's wrong?
Mia✗ Mistake
Sono fame!
I am hunger!
Laura
Tu sei... la fame?
You ARE... hunger?
Mia
Okay... what's the right verb?
Laura
Come per l'età: avere!
Like with age: avere, to have!
Mia✓ Correct
Ho fame!
I'm hungry! (literally: I have hunger)
Laura
Brava! Ho fame, ho sete: con avere!
Well done! I'm hungry, I'm thirsty: with avere!
Mia
E ho anche sete!
And I'm thirsty too!
Laura
Ecco un bicchiere d'acqua!
Here's a glass of water!
The voices in this video are synthetic and the on-screen host is generated. The Italian itself is written and checked by a native speaker.
Ready to speak, not just watch?
Practise these phrases out loud with Laura in a small group or a private lesson.
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