Do not say "sono stanco"!

Stop saying "sono stanco"! Or "sono stanca", if you are a woman. Enough! You should stop saying that! Enough! You should definitely stop!

How many times per day do you say "sono stanco" or "sono stanca"? How often do you say that?

Chances are, you say it too often and the time has come for you to expand your vocabulary and learn 4 amazing alternative phrases. In Italian, in fact, there are different ways to say that.

In this video lesson I'm going to explain four alternatives to this phrase which will help you improve your vocabulary and speak more naturally.

If you use these phrases when speaking Italian, you will definitely make a great impression and impress everybody. "Impress" in a positive way.

So buckle up your seatbelt and prepare to expand your Italian vocabulary!

Round one

The first idiomatic phrase I would like to explain is "essere a pezzi". Specifically, if I'm the person speaking, instead of "sono stanco", I could say "sono a pezzi".

Some Italians pronounce it like that, "sono a pezzi", with a single P, whereas other Italians say /sono a ppezzi/. Sorry, I overdid it... Other Italians, instead, say /sono a ppezzi/, as if there were a double P, that is, 2 Ps.

The preposition A, in fact, is one of those words after which you can double the word-initial consonant. Such doubling is referred to as "raddoppiamento fonosintattico".

If you want to learn more about this, some time ago I dedicated an entire video lesson to the phono-syntactic doubling. Up here I'm going to add a card to that video. If you want, click on it!

Anyway, going back to our phrase, you can say "essere a pezzi" or "sentirsi a pezzi". The meaning is the same. "Essere a pezzi" is quite possibly easier to use.

If you prefer the phrase "sentirsi a pezzi", please remember that the verb is "sentirsi", not "sentire". So it's a reflexive verb. Therefore, you should specify a pronoun.

So the conjugation will be: "io mi sento a pezzi", "tu ti senti a pezzi", "lui/lei si sente a pezzi", "noi ci sentiamo a pezzi", "voi vi sentite a pezzi", and "loro si sentono a pezzi".

What does "sentirsi a pezzi" literally mean? Or, with syntactic doubling, /sentirsi a ppezzi/?

Alright! You probably know the word "pezzo". You may have heard the phrase "pezzo di (beep)" - I hope not directed to you.

What does "pezzo" mean? The word "pezzo" can be used in several different ways.

For example, if there's a loaf, I mean a loaf of bread, and I take some of it, I mean I pick part of it, I can say: "ho preso un pezzo di pane".

Or, if a televisor falls to the ground and breaks down, I can say that on the ground there are "i pezzi del televisore". What does "pezzi del televisore" means? The different parts of the televisor.

Or, for example, this is a sheet of paper, right? If I do this, what am I doing? "Lo faccio a pezzi". So: "Ho fatto a pezzi il foglio di carta". What does "l'ho fatto a pezzi" mean? It means that I tore it apart.

Well, the phrase "essere a pezzi" or "sentirsi a pezzi" precisely refers to such imagery. Tiredness is like an object which hits us and tear us apart, meaning that it breaks us into several small pieces. In other words, tiredness hits us in a devastating way and destroys us.

But let's move on to the second alternative to "sono stanco"!

Round two

The second phrase you could use is: "sono distrutto" or "mi sento distrutto".

In this case, the past participle should agree with the subject. If I'm the person speaking, I should say "sono distrutto". If a woman or girl is speaking, she should say "sono distrutta".

Please also note that, if you use "sentirsi", you should specify the pronoun. Meaning that the verb forms are: "io mi sento distrutto", "tu ti senti distrutto", "lui si sente distrutto", "noi ci sentiamo distrutti", "voi vi sentite distrutti", e "loro si sentono distrutti". This applies to grammatically masculine subjects.

With feminine subjects, instead, you should use a feminine past participle, that is, either "distrutta" (for singular subjects) or "distrutte" (for plural subjects).

"Essere/sentirsi distrutti" means being or feeling really tired.

Again, the imagery this idiom is based on is very clear, very transparent. Tiredness is like something heavy falling on our head and destroying us. I mean, we are standing here, tiredness is like an object, a weight, which falls on us, falls on our head, and destroys us.

But let's see the third phrase that you could use instead of saying "sono stanco"!

Round three

The third phrase I would like to explain is: "mi sento uno straccio". So, instead of saying "mi sento stanco" or "mi sento stanca", you could say "mi sento uno straccio".

These's only one form: "mi sento uno straccio". This form is also used with feminine subjects. The form "mi sento una straccia" doesn't exist. You should say "mi sento uno straccio", no matter what.

Please also note that in this case you can't use the verb "essere". Therefore you can't say "essere uno straccio". You should say "sentirsi uno straccio".

When I was young and not yet famous, I made a video precisely about the idiomatic phrase "sentirsi uno straccio". Up here I'm going to add a card to it. If you wish to improve your vocabulary, I would encourage you to click on it! So that you can see how I looked like when I was young.

But let's move on to the fourth phrase!

Round four

The fourth phrase you can use is: "non mi reggo in piedi".

What does "reggersi in piedi" mean? It means being able to stand. Someone who "non si regge in piedi" is a person who finds it difficult to stand and might fall over. This person is so tired that they feel their legs heavy and may fall over.

"Reggersi in piedi" is a phrase which is typically used in reference to the fatigue one feels after a huge effort or at the end of a particularly heavy day. If someone says "non mi reggo in piedi", they mean that they are really tired.

You can also say: "faccio fatica a stare in piedi". The meaning is clearly the same.

Well, I hope that you liked these alternative phrases!

In theory, there's also another phrase, but personally "ti sconsiglio di usarla". What does "ti sconsiglio di usarla" mean? I suggest that you don't use it.

The phrase is "sono stanco a bestia". You can spell it this way, "a bestia", or all together, "abbestia". In any case, you should pronounce 2 Bs, that is, a double B.

I suggest that you don't use this phrase, because it is typically used only by a certain type of people. Those people that in Italian we call "tamarri".

If you are wondering what "tamarro" means, don't worry! When I was young, in fact, I made a lesson in which I explain this word in detail. Up here I'll add a card to it. If you want to find out what "tamarro" means, click on it!

Alright! In this lesson we have reviewed four alternatives to the phrase "sono stanco".

All these expressions refer to the same type of tiredness, that is, the fatigue one feels after a huge effort or a particularly challenging day.

There's also a different type of tiredness, which is not due to physical effort, but is related to eating. Sometimes, after eating, one may suddenly feel tired.

In Italian there's a particularly funny word which precisely refers to this feeling. The word is "abbiocco", spelled with 2 Bs and 2 Cs.

When I was young, I also made a lesson on the word "abbiocco" and the verb "abbioccarsi". Up here I'll add a card to it. If you wish to expand your vocabulary to make your Italian more natural, I would encourage you to watch this video too!