Italian Phrase
Raffredda la scottatura con acqua fresca del rubinetto.
Meaning
The sentence tells someone to cool a burn by running fresh tap water over it. It is a concise first‑aid instruction, emphasizing the use of clean, cool (but not icy) water straight from the faucet.
When to use
Use this phrase when giving immediate first‑aid advice after a minor kitchen or scalding injury, in a medical guide, or when teaching safety procedures in Italian.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Raffreddalascottaturaconacquafrescadelrubinetto
Imperative (tu)
Raffredda is the second‑person singular imperative of raffreddare, used for giving a direct command or instruction.
Definite article agreement
la matches the feminine noun scottatura; Italian articles must agree in gender and number.
Noun + adjective order
With most adjectives describing a quality (fresca), Italian places the adjective after the noun: acqua fresca.
Preposition contraction
del = di + il, meaning “of the”. It links the water to its source, the tap (rubinetto).
Masculine noun rubinetto
rubinetto is masculine, so the article il contracts to del after the preposition di.
🗨In Conversation
Raffredda la scottatura con acqua fresca del rubinetto.
Cool the burn with fresh tap water.
Grazie, lo farò subito!
Thanks, I’ll do it right away!
✕Common Mistakes
Raffreddi la scottatura con acqua fresca del rubinetto.
The correct imperative form is raffredda (tu), not raffreddi.
Raffredda la scottatura con acqua fredda del rubineto.
Rubineto is a misspelling; the correct noun is rubinetto, and both ‘acqua fresca’ and ‘acqua fredda’ are acceptable.
Raffredda il scottatura con acqua fresca del rubinetto.
If you refer to a minor burn, ‘bruciatura’ is also common; using the wrong gender article (il) would be incorrect.
↔Alternatives
Raffredda la bruciatura con acqua fredda del rubinetto.
Cool the burn with cold tap water.
Metti acqua fresca sul taglio per raffreddarlo.
Put fresh water on the cut to cool it.
Sciacqua la scottatura sotto acqua corrente fresca.
Rinse the burn under fresh running water.
Cultural Tip
In Italy, the standard first‑aid recommendation is to run cool (not ice‑cold) tap water over a burn for at least 10‑20 minutes. Italians often say ‘acqua fresca’ to stress that the water should be clean and at a comfortable temperature, avoiding the shock of ice water which can damage the skin further.