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
J'ai mal à la gorge.
My throat is sore.
I have a sore throat.
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.
Q&A
Chris
Kwiziq community member
19/12/18
Just a slight correction: J'ai mal à la tête. This is perfectly ok to say, and it is certainly not slang.
Alan
Kwiziq community member
19/12/18
I think Rose Marie meant "J'ai un mal de tête". I don't know if that would be considered less formal. This thread on WordReference suggests it's more complicated than that.
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/jai-un-mal-de-t%C3%AAte-jai-mal-%C3%A0-la-t%C3%AAte.732133/
One user says:
On dit "j'ai mal à la tête" ou "j'ai un (violent) mal de tête"
Dans la deuxième expression, il y a toujours un adjectif pour qualifier le mal de tête.
Another user says that there is often an adjective, but not always.
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
18/07/18
Bonjour Jamie !
Indeed, thanks for letting us know :)
It's now been fixed!
Merci et bonne journée !
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)
Daniel
Kwiziq community member
12 July 2017
1 reply
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?
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
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
21/09/16
martha
Kwiziq community member
13 February 2019
1 reply
Hello, why not "mal à les oreilles?" for plural as it is feminine?
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
13 February 2019
13/02/19
Bonjour Martha !
The contraction of "à + les" into "aux" is not affected by gender, as you use "les" for both masculine and feminine nouns :)
I hope that's helpful!Bonne journée !