Italian treats most symptoms as things you have. Ho la febbre, ho la tosse, ho il raffreddore all take the definite article. Pain uses mal di plus the body part with no article at all: mal di testa, mal di gola, mal di stomaco.
Examples
- Ho la febbre e mal di gola.
- I have a fever and a sore throat.
- Mio figlio ha la tosse da lunedì.
- My son has had a cough since Monday.
- Hai mal di testa?
- Do you have a headache?
The mistake to avoid
Sono malato says you are ill in general; ho la febbre names the symptom.
Where this fits in
Body, health & feelings, Italian A2: Talk about your body, common illnesses, and how you feel. Visit a doctor or pharmacy and describe symptoms.