Avoir mal
Avoir mal à + [partie du corps]
Remember that à + le and à + les contract in au and aux .
J'ai mal à la gorge.
My throat is sore.
I have a sore throat.
Sophie a mal à l'oreille.
Sophie's ear aches.
Sophie has an earache.
ATTENTION:
The expression avoir mal au cœur does not mean you're having a heartache or a heart attack, but that you're feeling sick, like you want to throw up.
Case of œil and yeux :
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Roxane a mal aux yeux.
Roxane's eyes hurt.
Maurice a mal à l'œil.
Maurice's eye hurts.
Mon frère a mal au cœur en voiture.
My brother is car sick.
avoir mal
J'ai très mal!
It really hurts!
Elle n'a pas mal.
She's not hurt.
She's not in pain.
avoir mal à + body part
Tu as mal au genou.
Your knee hurts.
Sophie a mal à l'oreille.
Sophie's ear aches.
Sophie has an earache.
J'ai mal aux dents.
My teeth hurt.
I have a toothache.
Tu as mal au ventre.
Your stomach aches.
You have a stomach ache.
Il a mal à la tête.
His head hurts.
He has a headache.
J'ai mal à la gorge.
My throat is sore.
I have a sore throat.
Q&A
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
21/06/18
Hi Ian,
You would probably say : "J'ai un problème ( chronique) de genou" ( I have a knee condition /problem) rather than "j'ai mal au genou".
Hope this helps!
Ian
Kwiziq community member
21/06/18
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
22/12/17
Bonjour Stuart !
In these cases, you will use the singular and add the adjectives for left (gauche) or right (droit/droite):
Tu as mal à l'oreille droite.
Il a mal à l'œil gauche.
Elle a mal à la dent de devant / aux dents de devant. (front teeth, more colloquial here)
Bonne journée !
Daniel
Kwiziq community member
12 July 2017
2 replies
heartache
"ATTENTION: The expression "avoir mal au cœur" does NOT mean you're having a heartache or a heart attack, but that you're feeling sick, like you want to throw up." how do you say "my heart hurts" then?
Gruff
Kwiziq language super star
13/07/17
I assume you mean physical pain in the heart here? The cardiac muscle isn't capable of sensing pain in the same way as e..g your skin as most of its nerves do other functions. if someone has a heart condition then this usually* manifests itself as chest pain ("douleur thoracique") or angina ("angine de poitrine").
A person might say "J'ai mal à la poitrine", therefore.
*It's a bit more complicated. For the medically-minded: in the case of ischaemia, depending upon the location and extent of the ischaemia, the vagal afferent nerves can evoke hypotension, bradyarrythmias , nausea and vomiting while the ischaemia-sensitive sympathetic (spinal) afferents can evoke hypertension, tachyarrhythmias and the pain of angina pectoris. Hopefully you won't need to know how to say any of that in French . ;)
Rant
Kwiziq community member
6/05/18
Thanks for the answer!
But it still leaves unanswered how you say that you are having a heart attack!
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
21/09/16
Thanks for letting us know, we'll get that fixed.
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
21/09/16
Our videos come from third parties, so unfortunately we have no editing control over them.
We will look for a better recorded video :)
Merci beaucoup !
Jamie
Kwiziq community member
17 July 2018
1 reply
Small typo
You wrote My throat is sore / I have a sorethroat, but "sore throat" is always written as two words in English, unlike "toothache" or similar words
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
18 July 2018
18/07/18
Bonjour Jamie !
Indeed, thanks for letting us know :)
It's now been fixed!
Merci et bonne journée !