# Prendere freddo



## Froglet

Salve!
voglio soddisfare una mia curiosità... che cosa vuol dire 'prendere freddo'. Lo so che la risposta ovvia sarebbe 'catch (a) cold' ma non credo che sia sempre la traduzione giusta. Per esempio, se uno mi dice 'coprati la pancia, prenderai freddo' pero vuole dire che prenderò un male di pancia, qualcuno conosce una buona traduzione in inglese? 'Catch cold' è l'unica possibilità?

Grazie mille


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## Poianone

Hi Froglet, what about _to catch a chill_?


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## Froglet

E' probabilmente 'catch a cold' o 'chill' come dici tu. Io pensavo solo che forse ci fosse un alternativo perché in Scozia quasi nessuno me lo dice in quel senso, solo le mamme italiane ;-)


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## _forumuser_

Well, if you really need to say it you could say "or you'll freeze" but it will have to be really cold...


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## Froglet

Well, I am from Scotland!


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## valy822

Froglet said:


> Per esempio, se uno mi dice 'copriti la pancia, prenderai freddo' però vuole dire che prenderò un mal di pancia , qualcuno conosce una buona traduzione in inglese?


 
Ma davvero?  Quando diciamo _copriti la pancia, prenderai_ _freddo_ significa che _avrai_ _mal di pancia_? Non è così secondo me. 
_Prendere_ _freddo_ è un'espressione neutra. 
Se non ti copri la pancia, puoi prendere un raffreddore/la febbe/la bronchite/il mal di gola...tantissime cose!Ma queste sono espressioni specifiche, _prendere_ _freddo_ è invece più generale.

_Poianone_ *Hi Froglet, what about to catch a chill?*

E' l'espressione generica che ho trovato anche io sull'Oxford Paravia.


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## Froglet

Grazie Valy. Non volevo dire che signifa sempre prendere un mal di pancia, però qualcuno me l'aveva detto in quel contesto e non riuscivo a trovare un termine in inglese perché per me 'catch a chill' implica normalemente prendere un raffreddore. Magari sono sbagliata e 'catch a chill' è più generico di quello que pensavo! 
Grazie pure per le correzioni


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## Poianone

valy822 said:


> Ma davvero?  Quando diciamo _copriti la pancia, prenderai_ _freddo_ significa che _avrai_ _mal di pancia_? Non è così secondo me.
> _Prendere_ _freddo_ è un'espressione neutra.
> Se non ti copri la pancia, puoi prendere un raffreddore/la febbe/la bronchite/il mal di gola...tantissime cose!Ma queste sono espressioni specifiche, _prendere_ _freddo_ è invece più generale.
> 
> _Poianone_ *Hi Froglet, what about to catch a chill?*
> 
> E' l'espressione generica che ho trovato anche io sull'Oxford Paravia.


Hello valy, I checked oxfordparavia too! I agree with you about the meaning of _prenderai freddo, _it is a short version of _prenderai (un colpo di) freddo. _The indication of the part of the body can reinforce the concept, signalling that a person has a "delicate" part exposed:
Copriti la pancia 
Copriti il collo 
_ecc_


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## valy822

Froglet said:


> Grazie Valy. Non volevo dire che significa sempre prendere un mal di pancia, però qualcuno me l'aveva detto in quel contesto e non riuscivo a trovare un termine in inglese perché per me 'catch a chill' implica normalmente prendere un raffreddore. Magari ho sbagliato e 'catch a chill' è più generico di quello che pensavo!
> Grazie pure per le correzioni


 
Ah, capisco.. scusami allora, forse ho interpretato male io. 
L'importante comunque è che tu sappia cosa significa l'espressione in italiano.


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## Froglet

Non fa niente, non l'avevo spiegato bene. Argh, ho fatto tanti errori piccoli perché scrivevo velocemente. Grazie nuovamente Valy, anche a Poianone. Ora capisco meglio l'espressione in italiano - me lo dicevano sempre quando ero in Italia e non capivo veramente


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## valy822

Poianone said:


> Hello valy, I checked oxfordparavia too! I agree with you about the meaning of _prenderai freddo, _it is a short version of _prenderai (un colpo di) freddo. _The indication of the part of the body can reinforce the concept, signalling that a person has a "delicate" part exposed:
> Copriti la pancia
> Copriti il collo
> _ecc_


 
Sono completamente d'accordo con te.  Volevo solo spiegare che _prenderai_ _freddo_ è un'espressione generica e le conseguenze del non coprirsi possono essere molteplici, anche se si ha una specifica parte del corpo scoperta....poi co sti tempi che corrono!!!


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## Histonium

"Copriti la pancia, prenderai freddo" it's best translated in English with
"Cover your belly or you'll get sick".
Hope this clarifies the doubts .


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## Mary49

Histonium said:


> "Copriti la pancia, prenderai freddo" it's best translated in English with "Cover your belly or *you'll get sick*".


Hi, 
in my opinion "prendere freddo" cannot be translated as "to be sick". You English translation would mean "Copriti la pancia o *ti ammalerai*".


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## Tellure

*prendere freddo* to *get cold
freddo: traduzione in inglese - Dizionari - La Repubblica

P.S. Sono d'accordo con Mary riguardo a "get sick".


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## Histonium

Mary49 said:


> Hi,
> in my opinion "prendere freddo" cannot be translated as "to be sick". You English translation would mean "Copriti la pancia o *ti ammalerai*".



You're right Mary49, if you only consider the literal translation. However, if we want to convey the real meaning of the "advice/instructions" (by Italian mothers to their kids) the actual translation should be
"Get sick" rather than "get cold" - in my view.
It's worth noting that in some circumstances "get a cold" would also translate "prendere freddo".
Bear in mind that broadly speaking 'get/catch a cold' doesn't exclusively involve 'a running nose' (cold=raffreddore) but also 'sore throat' etc. - at least according to my GP.
Therefore, I still hold the opinion that the actual significance of "Copriti la pancia (sennò) prenderai freddo" is basically "copriti la pancia o ti ammalerai" as your correction suggested.
I'm aware that this comment might be more appropriate for the Forum Solo Italiano.


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## Odysseus54

Histonium said:


> You're right Mary49, if you only consider the literal translation. However, if we want to convey the real meaning of the "advice/instructions" (by Italian mothers to their kids) the actual translation should be
> "Get sick" rather than "get cold" - in my view.
> It's worth noting that in some circumstances "get a cold" would also translate "prendere freddo".
> Bear in mind that broadly speaking 'get/catch a cold' doesn't exclusively involve 'a running nose' (cold=raffreddore) but also 'sore throat' etc. - at least according to my GP.
> Therefore, I still hold the opinion that the actual significance of "Copriti la pancia (sennò) prenderai freddo" is basically "copriti la pancia o ti ammalerai" as your correction suggested.
> I'm aware that this comment might be more appropriate for the Forum Solo Italiano.



I disagree.  "Prendere freddo" only means "get cold", which has to do with your body temperature going down, first at the periphery, then at the core.  As a result of that, as all Italian moms know,  you will get sick and eventually die, but that first step is deceivingly mundane.  

I do not see a circumstance where "getting a cold" would translate as "prendere freddo".  Could you please expand ?


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## johngiovanni

Odysseus54 said:


> Prendere freddo" only means "get cold"



(I did the thumbs up sign confidently, perhaps too confidently, but I think Odysseus is right).

I wonder if nowadays we prefer "tummy" or "midriff" to "stomach" and certainly to "belly" in this kind of context.  Is "tummy" a nursery word?  Perhaps, but nowadays doctors use it.  "Belly-button" seems still OK, but that perhaps benefits from alliteration.
In the Midlands of the UK, many years ago, "belly" for "stomach" was the accepted word (we spoke about having "the belly ache" when I was a child), but I've not used the word except in jest in reference to the stomach for more than 50 years.

"Keep your tummy covered (up) or you'll get cold/ get a chill."

(Though the advice is probably a waste of breath - fashion before health).


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## Paulfromitaly

Odysseus54 said:


> I do not see a circumstance where "getting a cold" would translate as "prendere freddo"


Neither do I.
That's only a poor, literal translation.


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## Histonium

Paulfromitaly said:


> Neither do I.
> That's only a poor, literal translation.





Odysseus54 said:


> I disagree.  "Prendere freddo" only means "get cold", which has to do with your body temperature going down, first at the periphery, then at the core.  As a result of that, as all Italian moms know,  you will get sick and eventually die, but that first step is deceivingly mundane.
> I do not see a circumstance where "getting a cold" would translate as "prendere freddo".  Could you please expand ?




I'll try to expand as requested.
If you have been living in Ireland or the UK for a while, you may realise that if you say: “Don't get cold!” to translate “Non prendere freddo!” you may then leave locals with a raised eyebrow. They might understand what you mean but the accepted meaning of the word "cold" in this context is for them different than what Italian (grand)mothers, for instance, intend to express.
When Italian (grand)mothers say to their children "Non prendere freddo" they deliberately omit to say (since it's implicit) that, as a direct consequence of this, you'll get sick - that's "sennò ti ammali/ti prendi un malanno".

For the sake of the argument, I make up a simplistic yet typical dialog between an Italian mother and her child.

-Child: “Mamma, vado fuori a giocare”
-Mother: “Mi raccomando, copriti bene sennò prendi freddo”

Not every Italian knows that, when we want to translate this dialogue into English, there's a substantial difference in culture in interpreting what the mother says.
We Italians believe that if you "prendi freddo" you’re likely to get sick as a result. This is heresy for British people (and probably for the rest of the world). Getting cold for them doesn't lead to any illness or whatsoever.
That's why native English speakers don't fully catch what Italians are getting at when we translate "Copriti, altrimenti prenderai freddo" with "Keep yourself wrapped up, otherwise you get cold". They will indeed understand if alternatively we say either: “Keep yourself wrapped up, otherwise you will get/catch a cold” or “Keep yourself wrapped up, otherwise you'll get sick”.

They may not agree with your advice but in this case they at least know where you're coming from.

The reason why, I believe, this elementary Italian expression deserves more attention when translated into English is that we italians tend to have a "scientific" approach to translation when it comes to English language. Perhaps, we should take into consideration the differences in culture (and climate) and accept that we need to be more concern for what the interlocutor understands rather than what the translation itself should be.
Similar difficulties emerge when we translate “colpo d'aria" into English but don't worry I won't dwell on this 
I'd like to invite Italian speakers to give English speakers the chance to have a say before drawing conclusions.

If many of you are confident to assert that "getting/catching a cold/chill" is a poor translation, I'll come to terms with that and I'm not going to dispute that further - after all I'm not a translator myself. The initial intent of my post however was that of helping those Italians living abroad by informing them that some native English speakers may feel iffy about the significance of your “...getting cold”.


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## johngiovanni

Histonium said:


> I'd like to invite Italian speakers to give English speakers the chance to have a say before drawing conclusions.


I did have my say (see post 17), and I don't share your views about native Italian speakers' tendencies to be "scientific" in their approach to translation.  There is always an attempt to appreciate similarities and differences in culture, always a sensitivity to context.

As one (English) vascular surgeon says: "When the limbs are exposed to colder temperatures than the torso, blood vessels in the arms and legs constrict. Blood then bypasses the limbs and floods to the torso."  (See also Odysseus's post 16: "'Prendere freddo' only means 'get cold', which has to do with your body temperature going down, first at the periphery, then at the core.")

So we need tummy-warmers / belly-warmers, Japanese haramaki, or whatever, not to avoid "catching a cold" - it would be overly optimistic to think we could prevent viral infectious diseases by keeping our stomachs warm - , but to avoid getting cold, getting a chill.  But we English grandads and grandmas do understand that this is probably not a good thing for one's health.


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## Paulfromitaly

Histonium said:


> If you have been living in Ireland or the UK for a while, you may realise that if you say: “Don't get cold!” to translate “Non prendere freddo!” you may then leave locals with a raised eyebrow. They might understand what you mean but the accepted meaning of the word "cold" in this context is for them different than what Italian (grand)mothers, for instance, intend to express.


Well, you were probably too busy putting together your convoluted message to notice that native English speakers said exactly the opposite of what you are maintaining


johngiovanni said:


> "Keep your tummy covered (up) or *you'll get cold*/ get a chill."





e2efour said:


> Of course (unlike "catch cold"), *you can also "get cold", but this has nothing to do with a cold*.



You do not seem to be aware that "to catch a cold" and "to get cold" do not mean the same thing.
"Prendere freddo" does not mean or imply "to get/catch *a* cold" as you appear to believe.
The common cold virus is typically transmitted via airborne droplets or direct contact with infected nasal secretions. It is not strictly related to temperature. One can catch a cold by simply being in contact with infected people, even if they live in a very warm house.


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## Histonium

Paulfromitaly said:


> Well, you were probably too busy putting together your convoluted message to notice that native English speakers said exactly the opposite of what you are maintaining
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You do not seem to be aware that "to catch a cold" and "to get cold" do not mean the same thing.
> "Prendere freddo" does not mean or imply "to get/catch *a* cold" as you appear to believe.
> The common cold virus is typically transmitted via airborne droplets or direct contact with infected nasal secretions. It is not strictly related to temperature. One can catch a cold by simply being in contact with infected people, even if they live in a very warm house.



My apologies if my message was too convoluted for you to understand. I am well aware of the difference between "get *a* cold" and "get cold" otherwise I wouldn't even post my comments.
I did see Johngiovanni's comment and I am satisfied with that. However, unlike him, I know several British people, including my wife and my stepson (both Brits) who find the expression "keep your tummy covered up or you'll get cold" a bit odd - regardless of the translation.


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## Odysseus54

Histonium, you started at #12 by categorically stating that 

_"Copriti la pancia, prenderai freddo" it's best translated in English with
"Cover your belly or you'll get sick".
Hope this clarifies the doubts ._

Your position is not about the English expression, it is about the meaning of the Italian expression.  You think, and you explained it in several posts, that when Italians say 'prendere freddo' they really mean 'prendere un malanno', 'ammalarsi'.  It is as simple as this, and it is a question for Italian native speakers and for Italian dictionaries, wouldn't you think ?


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## Pietruzzo

To me "prenderai freddo" means "you're going to feel cold".


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## barking fellows

To me "avrai freddo" means "you're going to feel cold", while "prenderai freddo" means "you will have to deal with the consequences (diarrhoea, catch a cold, headache or whatever)", and remembering my experience in Eire and UK I'd say Histonium is not totally wrong


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## Bluenoric

barking fellows said:


> To me "avrai freddo" means "you're going to feel cold", while "prenderai freddo" means "you will have to deal with the consequences (diarrhoea, catch a cold, headache or whatever)"



In this context "prendere freddo" is closer to getting sick than feeling cold, IMHO.


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## Einstein

I've always had a simple view of this (call it simplistic if you like):
Catch *a* cold = prendere raffreddore (infezione virale con noti sintomi).
Catch cold = prendere freddo, conseguenze varie.


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## Paulfromitaly

Einstein said:


> I've always had a simple view of this (call it simplistic if you like)


Because it is, in fact, a very simple matter as long as one does not pointlessly complicate it


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## Odysseus54

I think what's happening here is that H. has realized that Italians have a different way to look at the origin of diseases than most of the English-speaking peoples.  He is excited about his discovery and wants to share it.  Which is perfectly fine.  Happens to me all the time.  And I had 28 years to experience all possible variations of this difference in the US. My wife, an RN, used to maintain, for instance, that it is germs and viruses, not cold, that caused our kids' diseases, which I disputed based on the received wisdom, received from my mom and my grandma, therefore true beyond any reasonable doubt - not to speak of all the times that people I didn't even know tried to freeze me to death in the hospital, I guess because if I died frozen, the germs and viruses would probably die as well.

But here we are discussing the meaning of an Italian expression, trying to keep all the fun - well, most of the fun, anyway - out of it, and I think we should try to keep things simple not to confuse those people who read our conversations to learn the finer points of the language.

"Prendere freddo" may indeed inhabit the same semantic neighborhood where "beccarsi un malanno" , "prendere un raffreddore", and even "farsi venire un colpo" have residence.  But it is a specific expression which, for this Italian native speaker at least, only means "experience a sudden drop in your subjective sense of body temperature".  Nothing more, nothing less.

Should we perhaps take it to the IO ?


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## barking fellows

Einstein said:


> I've always had a simple view of this (call it simplistic if you like):
> Catch *a* cold = prendere raffreddore (infezione virale con noti sintomi).
> Catch cold = prendere freddo, conseguenze varie.



So had I 
But then some people from Eire and UK didn't understand what I meant by "you'll catch cold": they would correct me, like: "you mean..catch a cold?", so I think I have to understand it's not as simple as it should


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## Pietruzzo

barking fellows said:


> But then some people from Eire and UK didn't understand what I meant by "you'll catch cold": they would correct me, like: "you mean..catch a cold?"


My answer would be "Actually I meant to say that you'll expose yourself to cold temperatures but I guess you could catch a cold too" Would people in the British Isles understand this?


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## Einstein

barking fellows said:


> But then some people from Eire and UK didn't understand what I meant by "you'll catch cold": they would correct me, like: "you mean..catch a cold?", so I think I have to understand it's not as simple as it should


Perhaps "catch cold" is an old-fashioned expression, or too similar to "catch a cold", so maybe "catch/get a chill" is better (although I usually associate this specifically with a stomach chill, with frequent visits to the toilet). You can also get neck and back pains, but I'm not sure how to express this in terms of cold.

There is certainly a cultural difference: on the one hand the Italians refuse to believe that the _common cold_ is a viral infection, to which you are indeed more vulnerable if exposed to cold temperatures, but which you can also catch from another person in the warm; on the other hand young Brits refuse to believe they will suffer any harmful effects by going around half naked at minus 10°C.


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## barking fellows

Hahahah Einstein, so true! Luckily the Chinese have taught the world the easy way to know what it's all about. If your nose is running hot, it's viral - if running cold, it was the low temperature. It's funny however, that Brits do say "catch a COLD" and refuse to believe the chill is involved


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## Einstein

barking fellows said:


> Hahahah Einstein, so true! Luckily the Chinese have taught the world the easy way to know what it's all about. If your nose is running hot, it's viral - if running cold, it was the low temperature. It's funny however, that Brits do say "catch a COLD" and refuse to believe the chill is involved


As in many cultural differences, the truth is somewhere in the middle.


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## Pietruzzo

Com'è che dalla traduzione di "prendere freddo" si è arrivati a discutere se il freddo provochi o meno il raffreddore? Che c'entra?


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## sound shift

Einstein said:


> Perhaps "catch cold" is an old-fashioned expression


It's still in use - by you, by me, and no doubt by a few others, so.... "old-fashioned"??


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## Einstein

sound shift said:


> It's still in use - by you, by me, and no doubt by a few others, so.... "old-fashioned"??


I was replying to barking fellows:


barking fellows said:


> But then some people from Eire and UK didn't understand what I meant by "you'll catch cold."


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## sound shift

Ah, I see.


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## london calling

Histonium said:


> For the sake of the argument, I make up a simplistic yet typical dialog between an Italian mother and her child.
> 
> -Child: “Mamma, vado fuori a giocare”
> -Mother: “Mi raccomando, copriti bene sennò prendi freddo”


I agree. And this is what  I used to say in English to my young (bilingual son) to mean 'prenderai freddo (ti ammalerai)':

.....or you'll catch your death.


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## Tellure

london calling said:


> I agree. And this is what  I used to say in English to my young (bilingual son) to mean 'prenderai freddo (ti ammalerai)':
> 
> .....or you'll catch your death.


In italiano "prendere freddo" significa prendere freddo, esporsi a temperature basse (come già detto), non polari sicuramente in Italia, che comportano in ogni caso certamente un rischio, un pericolo di prendere qualcosa di peggio, ma anche no. Una mamma davvero apprensiva e ansiosa sarebbe più diretta in italiano e direbbe "ti prenderai un malanno". Se dice "prenderai freddo", vuol dire quello che ha detto e basta. Le parole per essere precisi e diretti in italiano non mancano, e le mamme italiane certe cose non le mandano a dire!


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## Paulfromitaly

Tellure said:


> In italiano "prendere freddo" significa prendere freddo, esporsi a temperature basse (come già detto), non polari sicuramente in Italia, che comportano in ogni caso certamente un rischio, un pericolo di prendere qualcosa di peggio, ma anche no. Una mamma davvero apprensiva e ansiosa sarebbe più diretta in italiano e direbbe "ti prenderai un malanno". Se dice "prenderai freddo", vuol dire quello che ha detto e basta


Assolutamente d'accordo.

*NOTA: *Ricordo a tutti che qui si discute di TRADUZIONI, ovvero di quale sia la traduzione migliore di "prendere freddo", non di cosa potrebbe/vorrebbe/avrebbe in mente una mamma italiana


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## london calling

Tellure, forse e' una differenza regionale, ma qui a sud 'prenderai freddo' puo' voler dire (in senso lato) ti ammalerai, ti prenderai un accidenti, (you'll catch your death) esattamente come ha detto Histonium. Mai sentito dire da una mamma locale 'prenderai un malanno'.

In any case, the translation is 'to catch a chill' if there's no context.


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## Tellure

Paulfromitaly said:


> Assolutamente d'accordo.
> 
> *NOTA: *Ricordo a tutti che qui si discute di TRADUZIONI, ovvero di quale sia la traduzione migliore di "prendere freddo", non di cosa potrebbe/vorrebbe/avrebbe in mente una mamma italiana


Era solo un esempio, in risposta al contesto di lc. 



london calling said:


> Tellure, forse e' una differenza regionale, ma qui a sud 'prenderai freddo' puo' voler dire (in senso lato) ti ammalerai, ti prenderai un accidenti, esattamente come ha detto Histonium. Mai sentito dire da una mamma locale 'prenderai un malanno'.



Sono anch'io del Sud, ma non è questo che intendiamo noi. Io, comunque, sento dire i napoletani "ti prendi un guaio", ossia un malanno, o no? "Prendere freddo" è un avvertimento più "leggero" che ha per fortuna l'esatto equivalente in "get cold". Poi, dipende sempre dal contesto. Ma in linea generale, vuol dire solo questo.

Edit: Solo per precisare che dalle mie parti (vicino Bari) si dice "prendere un guaio", ma in realtà non sono sicura si dica lo stesso a Napoli o altrove in Campania.

Per concludere, "prendi freddo" è un po' come dire "ti infreddolisci" che non vuol dire "ti ammali":

*infreddolire* v. intr. [der. di _freddo_] (_io infreddolisco_, _tu infreddolisci_, ecc.; aus. _essere_). – Prendere freddo, essere pervaso da una spiacevole sensazione di freddo; più spesso con la particella pron.: _m’infreddolisco a stare qui fermo_; _mi sono tutto infreddolito ad aspettarti_, _con questa tramontana_. ◆ Part. pass. *infreddolito*, frequente come agg.: _ero stanco e infreddolito_.
infreddolire in Vocabolario - Treccani


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## london calling

"Prendere un guaio" non si dice in Campania.

Ripeto, sono d'accordo con Histonium quando dice _We Italians believe that if you "prendi freddo" you’re likely to get sick as a result_ (post 19). Da queste parti l'avvertimento "attento che prendi freddo" puo' significare anche  _se prendi freddo ti puo' venire una malattia_ oltre a _ti infreddolisci_.


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## Odysseus54

Puo' darsi che giu' a Salerno voglia dire quello.  La domanda pero' e' : in italiano standard, che cosa significa l'espressione "prendere freddo" ?

- Esporre il proprio corpo a temperature piu' basse del normale

o

- Ammalarsi

?

Per chiarire meglio, se dico : "Ieri ho preso freddo", che cosa sto dicendo ?

1) Ho esposto il mio corpo a temperature piu' basse del normale

o

2) Mi sono ammalato


Ovviamente sto dicendo (1), altrimenti direi "Ieri mi sono ammalato".


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## Pietruzzo

london calling said:


> qui a sud 'prenderai freddo' puo' voler dire (in senso lato) ti ammalerai, ti prenderai un accidenti, (you'll catch your death)


Da ex ragazzo meridionale(meridionale più che mai ma non più ragazzo purtroppo) devo ribadire che prendere freddo e ammalarsi sono due concetti correlati ma distinti. Non avrebbe senso tradurre "prendere freddo" con "get sick" come è stato proposto. Prendiamo per esempio una frase che la mia apprensiva mamma meridionale(buonanima) mi avrebbe potuto dire: "con tutto il freddo che hai preso sei stato fortunato a non ammalarti"- Capirete che "get sick" va bene solo per la seconda frase.
Off topic: per chi fosse interessato le esatte parole di mia madre in realtà sarebbero state. "cullu friddu ca t'a' pijatu t'ave sciutu bona cu nu t'a' 'mmalazzatu"
Edit: più o meno lo stesso concetto appena espresso da @Odysseus54. Chiedo scusa


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## london calling

Sarà di Salerno anche Histonium,  quindi.  Forse non sono stata chiara.  E' sottinteso che se prendi freddo ti puoi ammalare.


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## Odysseus54

london calling said:


> Sarà di Salerno anche Histonium,  quindi.  Forse non sono stata chiara.  E' sottinteso che se prendi freddo ti puoi ammalare.



Kind of like if I say "I had sex" and that means that I am expecting, right ?


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## Bluenoric

Odysseus54 said:


> Per chiarire meglio, se dico : "Ieri ho preso freddo", che cosa sto dicendo ?
> 1) Ho esposto il mio corpo a temperature piu' basse del normale
> o
> 2) Mi sono ammalato



Io credo che con "prendere freddo" si indichi una terza possibilità: non una situazione momentanea come in 1) né un malanno preciso come in 2) ma una sensazione di malessere generale che è la conseguenza dell'aver *preso freddo*, sensazione che va ben oltre il tempo in cui ci si è esposti a temperature basse.
Questo almeno è quello che intere generazioni di mamme apprensive hanno sempre voluto farci credere


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## london calling

Odysseus54 said:


> Kind of like if I say "I had sex" and that means that I am expecting, right ?


No need to be sarcastic. And in any case as far as I know men can't get pregnant.

And in any case I DID NOT SAY you WILL DEFINITELY GET ILL if you catch cold. Apologies for shouting, but I'm fed up with being misconstrued.


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## Tellure

Bluenoric said:


> Io credo che con "prendere freddo" si indichi una terza possibilità: non una situazione momentanea come in 1) né un malanno preciso come in 2) ma una sensazione di malessere generale che è la conseguenza dell'aver *preso freddo*, sensazione che va ben oltre il tempo in cui ci si è esposti a temperature basse.
> Questo almeno è quello che intere generazioni di mamme apprensive hanno sempre voluto farci credere


*prendere*
detto di elementi: esservi esposti prendere aria | copriti, o prenderai freddo 
DIZIONARIO ITALIANO OLIVETTI

prendere freddo = esporsi a un freddo eccessivo o per lungo tempo
DIZIONARIO ITALIANO OLIVETTI

Forse si fa confusione con "prendere un colpo di freddo", che significa effettivamente prendersi un malanno.


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## london calling

Tellure said:


> *prendere*
> detto di elementi: esservi esposti prendere aria | copriti, o prenderai freddo
> DIZIONARIO ITALIANO OLIVETTI
> 
> prendere freddo = esporsi a un freddo eccessivo o per lungo tempo
> DIZIONARIO ITALIANO OLIVETTI
> 
> Forse si fa confusione con "prendere un colpo di freddo", che significa effettivamente prendersi un malanno.


Ci rinuncio. NESSUNA CONFUSIONE!  Ripeto per l'ultima volta che NON  HO DETTO che prendere freddo significa prendersi un malanno.


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## Odysseus54

london calling said:


> No need to be sarcastic. And in any case as far as I know men can't get pregnant.
> 
> And in any case I DID NOT SAY you WILL DEFINITELY GET ILL if you catch cold. Apologies for shouting, but I'm fed up with being misconstrued.



I regret you are taking it so personally.  You did post this, though :

_I agree. And this is what I used to say in English to my young (bilingual son) to mean 'prenderai freddo (ti ammalerai)':

.....or you'll catch your death._

Which is hard to interpret in a different way that "prendere freddo" = "ammalarsi".

I regret that you feel the need to raise your voice, although my wife keeps repeating that I am getting deaf...


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