/ˈɛssere dʒu di ˈkɔrda/ lit. ‘to be down on string’
Italian idiom, everyday. To feel low, gloomy or a bit depressed.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Italian speaker.
How do people use Essere giù di corda
?
Everyday and mild: it’s how you’d tell a friend you’re a bit flat today, not how you’d describe real depression. It usually comes with “un po’”: “sono un po’ giù di corda”. It can also mean you’re slightly off physically, a bit under the weather.
Essere giù di corda
in real sentences
-
Sono un po’ giù di corda oggi.
I am a little out of sorts today.
Tatoeba, sentence by Guybrush88, translation by CM, CC BY 2.0 FR
-
Sono un po’ giù di corda.
I’m feeling a bit low.
Tatoeba, sentence by bailujia, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Essere giù di corda
come from?
Italian Wiktionary lists it under “corda”, whose senses include the string of a musical instrument, and defines it as being low in spirits or not feeling too well. The picture that fits is a string that has lost its tension and sounds flat, but that’s an inference from the word: neither Wiktionary gives a source or a date.
Mistakes learners make with Essere giù di corda
Making the string plural or adding an article. It’s always “giù di corda”, never “giù di corde” or “giù della corda”.
Other Italian idioms like Essere giù di corda
Spot a mistake in Essere giù di corda
?
Send a correction, or a sentence you’d actually say with it. Everything is read before anything on this page changes.