How to say how you really feel in Italian
Sinceramente, non sto passando un bel periodo.
“Honestly, I'm not going through a good time.”
When: Answering "come va?" honestly with a friend
The moment
You meet a close Italian friend for an aperitivo in Milan after a brutal week. They ask how you are, and this time you tell them the truth, and then they open up too.
B1 · Unit 2 · Stories & feelings
The lines
Beyond bene and male
When "tutto bene" would be a lie, Italian has a soft middle gear. "Sinceramente, non sto passando un bel periodo" admits you are struggling without turning it into a drama.
Sinceramente, non sto passando un bel periodo.
“Honestly, I'm not going through a good time.”
When to use it: Answering "come va?" honestly with a friend
What you’ll hear back: Come mai? Raccontami, che è successo? (How come? Tell me, what happened?)
Empathy with dev'essere
"Dovere" in the present is how Italians guess at someone's feelings out loud. "Ti capisco, dev'essere davvero pesante" says you heard them, without pretending you know exactly how it feels.
Ti capisco, dev'essere davvero pesante.
“I understand, it must be really hard.”
When to use it: Right after someone tells you something hard
What you’ll hear back: Eh sì, non è facile. Grazie per avermi ascoltato. (Yeah, it's not easy. Thanks for listening.)
Words for this scene
| Italian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| Come stai davvero? | KOH-meh STAH-ee dahv-VEH-roh | How are you really? |
Dai, guardami: come stai davvero? Come on, look at me: how are you really? Tip: Ask twice; the second "come stai" is the honest one. | ||
| sono giù di morale | SOH-noh JOO dee moh-RAH-leh | I'm feeling down |
In questi giorni sono un po' giù di morale, ma niente di grave. These days I'm a bit down, but nothing serious. Tip: Also just "sono giù"; light and temporary, not clinical. | ||
| sfogarsi | sfoh-GAR-see | to vent, to get it off your chest |
Se ti va, sfogati pure: tanto sono qui. If you feel like it, go ahead and vent: I'm here anyway. Tip: Offer it as "sfogati pure", which is permission to let go. | ||
Your objective
Say honestly how you’ve been feeling and why, then ask how they’re really doing and respond with care.
- how you’ve been feeling
- why
- a caring response
Lines that get it done
- Ti capisco, dev'essere davvero pesante.
- Sinceramente, non sto passando un bel periodo.
In the live scene the objective stays on screen, and the Replay afterwards says whether you got it done.
Check yourself
1. A friend asks "Come va?" and you are genuinely not doing well. What sounds natural?
- Sinceramente, non sto passando un bel periodo
- Sinceramente, non sto passando un bel tempo
- Sinceramente, sono molto cattivo in questo periodo
- Così così, grazie, e Lei come sta?
Show the answer
Sinceramente, non sto passando un bel periodo
You "pass a periodo", never a "tempo", and "cattivo" would mean you are a bad person.
2. Your friend has just told you their mother is ill. What do you say?
- Ti capisco, dev'essere davvero pesante
- Ti capisco, deve essere molto divertente
- Ti capisco, però non è così grave
- Ti capisco, sei stato davvero pesante
Show the answer
Ti capisco, dev'essere davvero pesante
"Dev'essere" imagines their situation out loud, while "sei stato pesante" tells them they were annoying.
3. Which phrase means you are low for a few days, not broke or out of your mind?
- sono giù di morale
- sono al verde
- sono fuori di testa
- sono di corsa
Show the answer
sono giù di morale
"Al verde" means broke, "fuori di testa" means out of my mind, and "di corsa" means in a rush.