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Using 'di' for the cause of a bodily reaction, as in 'tremare di paura'

When your body reacts to a feeling or a physical state, Italian usually names the cause with a single small word: di. You tremare di freddo, piangere di gioia, arrossire di vergogna and morire di fame. The pattern is always the same: verb, then di, then the emotion or condition, with no article.

English speakers trip over this because English has no single preposition for the job. We tremble with fear, die of hunger, cry with joy, and suffer from the cold. If you translate the English preposition word for word, you end up with odd phrases like tremare con paura. Italian ignores the English variety and reaches for di.

Word list
morireA2 to die morire di fame = to die of hunger piangereA2 to cry piangere di gioia = to cry with joy ridereA2 to laugh ridere di gioia = to laugh with joy saltareA2 to jump saltare di gioia = to jump for joy bruciareB1 to burn bruciare di febbre = to burn with fever fremereB1 to shiver fremere di rabbia = to quiver with rage gridareB1 to scream gridare di gioia = to shout with joy rabbrividireB1 to shiver rabbrividire di paura = to shudder with fear tremareB1 to shiver tremare di freddo = to shiver with cold urlareB1 to scream urlare di dolore = to scream with pain arrossireB2 to blush arrossire di vergogna = to blush with shame impallidireB2 to pale impallidire di paura = to turn pale with fear impazzireB2 to go crazy impazzire di gioia = to go wild with joy scoppiareB2 to burst scoppiare di rabbia = to burst with rage sospirareB2 to sigh sospirare di sollievo = to sigh with relief gemereC1 to moan gemere di dolore = to groan with pain
How it works

The construction is simple: reaction verb + di + bare noun. The noun is the emotion (paura, gioia, rabbia, vergogna) or the physical condition (freddo, fame, sete, dolore) that triggers the reaction. Notice that the noun usually comes without an article: di paura, not della paura.

Rule of thumb: if English says "with", "of" or "from" before the cause of a shiver, a tear, a blush or a shout, try di first.

Il bambino tremava di freddo alla fermata dell'autobus.
(The child was shivering with cold at the bus stop.)
The words
Shivering and trembling

Tremare is the everyday verb, rabbrividire means to shudder or get goosebumps, and fremere is a more literary word, often used for rage or impatience.

Quando ho visto il ragno, ho rabbrividito di paura.
(When I saw the spider, I shuddered with fear.)
Il pubblico fremeva di impazienza prima del concerto.
(The audience was quivering with impatience before the concert.)
Changing colour

Arrossire and impallidire describe your face changing colour. Both take di for the cause.

Marco è arrossito di vergogna davanti a tutti.
(Marco blushed with embarrassment in front of everyone.)
Quando ha letto la lettera, è impallidita di paura.
(When she read the letter, she turned pale with fear.)
Crying, laughing and sighing

Piangere, ridere, sospirare and gemere all follow the pattern. Sospirare di sollievo is a very common fixed pair.

Quando ha sentito la notizia, ha pianto di gioia.
(When she heard the news, she cried with joy.)
Finito l'esame, abbiamo sospirato di sollievo.
(After the exam, we sighed with relief.)
Il ferito gemeva di dolore a terra.
(The injured man was groaning with pain on the ground.)
Shouting and jumping

Gridare and urlare combine naturally with dolore, rabbia or gioia. Saltare di gioia is the Italian way to jump for joy, where English uses "for".

Si è chiuso il dito nella porta e ha urlato di dolore.
(He shut his finger in the door and screamed with pain.)
I tifosi gridavano di gioia dopo il gol.
(The fans were shouting with joy after the goal.)
Quando ha vinto, mia sorella è saltata di gioia.
(When she won, my sister jumped for joy.)
Dying, literally and not

Morire di covers real causes and everyday exaggerations: morire di fame, morire di sete, morire di paura.

Mangiamo qualcosa? Sto morendo di fame!
(Shall we eat something? I'm starving!)
Watch out
Di is a strong tendency, not the only option

With many of these verbs you will also hear da or per, and then the noun takes an article: tremare dalla paura, tremare per il freddo. These are correct too. Just never use con for the cause.

Ridere di usually means "laugh at"

Followed by a person or thing, ridere di means to make fun of it: ridono di me means they are laughing at me. And to say you are dying of laughter, Italian uses da: morire dal ridere, not morire di ridere.

Quel film è così divertente che sono morto dal ridere.
(That film is so funny I died laughing.)
Not every pairing is natural

Stick to the usual combinations: you blush with shame, not with cold, and you sigh with relief, not with hunger.

Summary

When a feeling or a physical state makes your body react, Italian names the cause with di plus the bare noun: tremare di freddo, piangere di gioia, arrossire di vergogna, morire di fame. Ignore the English "with", "of" or "from" and reach for di first. Da and per with an article are possible alternatives, but con never is.