Ways to say it
| Italian | IPA |
|---|---|
| restare senza fiato | /resˈta.re ˈsɛn.t͡sa ˈfja.to/ (word by word) |
| restare a bocca aperta | /resˈta.re a ˈbok.ka aˈpɛr.ta/ (word by word) |
| trattenere il fiato | /trat.teˈne.re il ˈfja.to/ (word by word) |
| boccheggiare |
The translation you choose depends heavily on why the person is gasping. Use restare a bocca aperta to express gasping specifically due to surprise or amazement. If you want to describe someone struggling for air because they are suffocating, drowning or extremely exhausted, use boccheggiare.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase restare senza fiato literally means 'to remain without breath', while restare a bocca aperta literally means 'to remain with mouth open'.
Which one should you use?
There are important distinctions between these forms. restare senza fiato is used for being breathless due to physical exertion or awe and beauty. In contrast, boccheggiare implies a more desperate, struggling gasp for air. While restare senza fiato describes the state of being breathless, trattenere il fiato means to intentionally hold one's breath.
Related words
Did you know?
- The word boccheggiare comes from bocca 'mouth' and describes the specific way a fish gasps for air when out of water.
- In Italian, you can describe a beautiful view as mozzafiato, which literally means 'breath-snatching'.
- The word fiato in restare senza fiato shares the same Latin root as the English word 'flatus', though in English 'flatus' is almost exclusively used in a medical context.
Examples in context
- Il panorama era così bello che sono rimasto a bocca aperta.The landscape was so beautiful that I gasped (was left with my mouth open).
- Il panorama mi ha fatto restare senza fiato.The view left me gasping.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “gasp” translations and entries boccheggiare, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (restare, senza, fiato, a, bocca, aperta, trattenere, il) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, bocca, fiato, restare, senza, CC BY-SA 4.0.
