Stitichezza vs. stipsi vs. costipazione
When discussing bowel movement difficulties in Italian, exact word choice depends on the context and the speaker's profession. While stitichezza is the everyday term, stipsi is preferred by medical professionals, and costipazione suggests a more severe blockage or a direct translation from English.
Stitichezza
B1This is the most common, everyday word used by the general population to describe constipation. If you are talking to a friend, a family member, or a pharmacist about irregular bowel movements, stitichezza is the standard choice. It refers to the general difficulty in passing stool.
Mangiare molte fibre aiuta a combattere la stitichezza.
(Eating lots of fiber helps fight constipation.)
Ho comprato uno sciroppo naturale per la stitichezza.
(I bought a natural syrup for constipation.)
La stitichezza può essere causata da una vita sedentaria.
(Constipation can be caused by a sedentary lifestyle.)
Soffro di stitichezza quando viaggio.
(I suffer from constipation when I travel.)
Stipsi
C1This is the formal medical term for constipation. You will primarily hear stipsi used by doctors, nurses, and in clinical reports. It comes from Greek and describes the clinical condition rather than the temporary symptom. In everyday conversation, using stipsi sounds very technical.
Il medico ha diagnosticato una stipsi cronica.
(The doctor diagnosed chronic constipation.)
Per la stipsi funzionale, si consiglia una dieta specifica.
(For functional constipation, a specific diet is recommended.)
Il paziente non mostra segni di stipsi grave.
(The patient shows no signs of severe constipation.)
La cartella clinica indica episodi ricorrenti di stipsi.
(The medical record indicates recurring episodes of constipation.)
Costipazione
C2This word is tricky because it is often heavily influenced by the English word constipation. Historically in Italian, costipazione could refer to a chest cold or congestion, but in modern medical usage, it often refers to a severe blockage or fecal impaction (a step worse than simple stitichezza). However, due to translation errors from English, you may see it used as a simple synonym for stitichezza on the internet.
La costipazione intestinale ha richiesto un intervento immediato.
(The intestinal blockage required immediate intervention.)
C'è una differenza tra semplice stitichezza e grave costipazione.
(There is a difference between simple constipation and severe impaction.)
Il termine costipazione viene spesso usato erroneamente nelle traduzioni.
(The term constipation is often used incorrectly in translations.)
Una costipazione prolungata può essere pericolosa.
(Prolonged constipation (blockage) can be dangerous.)
Summary
To summarize: use stitichezza for all normal, daily conversations and pharmacy visits. Use stipsi if you are writing a medical report or speaking professionally to a doctor. Use costipazione generally only when referring to a severe physical obstruction or blockage, and be aware that in older Italian it might have referred to a cold.