The Italian vocab you need to understand the coronavirus crisis
Struggling to keep up with the latest coronavirus news in Italy? Here are the words you need to know.
The basics
Let's start with an easy one: 'coronavirus' in Italian is simply il coronavirus.
The scientific name for the new virus is the same in every language: Covid-19.
VIDEO: Five key questions about the coronavirus answered
epidemia – epidemic
pandemia – pandemic
emergenza – emergency
trasmissione – transmission
trasmissione secondaria – person-to-person transmission
focolaio – hotspot, site with multiple cases of infection
Statistics
Here are the words you'll need to understand the latest stats on the outbreak.
positivo – positive
negativo – negative
contagiato – infected
guarito – recovered
morto, deceduto – dead
READ ALSO: Coronavirus: The everyday precautions to take if you're in Italy
Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP
Treatment
ricoverato con sintomi – hospitalized with symptoms
terapia intensiva – intensive care
isolamento domiciliare – self-isolation
quarantena – quarantine
Precautions
controllo – test
tampone – swab, also used to mean test
misure di contenimento – containment measures
Symptoms
tosse – coughing
febbre – fever
difficoltà respiratorie – difficulty breathing
For more information about precautions to take against the coronavirus and what to do if you suspect you have it, see our complete guide.
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See Also
The basics
Let's start with an easy one: 'coronavirus' in Italian is simply il coronavirus.
The scientific name for the new virus is the same in every language: Covid-19.
VIDEO: Five key questions about the coronavirus answered
epidemia – epidemic
pandemia – pandemic
emergenza – emergency
trasmissione – transmission
trasmissione secondaria – person-to-person transmission
focolaio – hotspot, site with multiple cases of infection
Statistics
Here are the words you'll need to understand the latest stats on the outbreak.
positivo – positive
negativo – negative
contagiato – infected
guarito – recovered
morto, deceduto – dead
READ ALSO: Coronavirus: The everyday precautions to take if you're in Italy
Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP
Treatment
ricoverato con sintomi – hospitalized with symptoms
terapia intensiva – intensive care
isolamento domiciliare – self-isolation
quarantena – quarantine
Precautions
controllo – test
tampone – swab, also used to mean test
misure di contenimento – containment measures
Symptoms
tosse – coughing
febbre – fever
difficoltà respiratorie – difficulty breathing
For more information about precautions to take against the coronavirus and what to do if you suspect you have it, see our complete guide.
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