What is the difference between mal and blesse?
Avoir mal
To express physical pain in French, you will use the expression avoir mal (literally "to have pain")
Avoir mal à + [partie du corps]
When the pain is localised, you use avoir mal à + le/la/l'/les followed by the part of the body that hurts.
Remember that à + le and à + les contract in au and aux .
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 :
Note that the irregular plural of œil is yeux.
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
avoir mal
avoir mal à + body part
Q&A Forum 9 questions, 12 answers
Hi Yvette,
Normally -
J'ai mal ...= I am in pain
Je suis blessé/e = I am hurt
Hope this helps!
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Claudia Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
J'ai mal aux dents
Salut a tous
If aux dents is plural how can it be translated as I have a toothache?
Merci
Asked 9 months ago
This is an example where literal translation doesn't work. In English you can't say, "I have teethache" whereas in French you can.
Claudia asked:View original
J'ai mal aux dents
Salut a tous
If aux dents is plural how can it be translated as I have a toothache?
Merci
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MarthaKwiziq community member
Hello, why not "mal à les oreilles?" for plural as it is feminine?
Asked 1 year ago
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 !
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Rose MarieKwiziq community member
One of the first sentences I learned years ago was “J’ai un mal du tête” for i have a headache. This was from a Parisienne. Was this less formal?
Asked 1 year ago
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.
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Just a slight correction: J'ai mal à la tête. This is perfectly ok to say, and it is certainly not slang.
Rose Marie asked:View original
One of the first sentences I learned years ago was “J’ai un mal du tête” for i have a headache. This was from a Parisienne. Was this less formal?
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Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
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
Asked 1 year ago
Bonjour Jamie !
Indeed, thanks for letting us know :)
It's now been fixed!
Merci et bonne journée !
Jamie asked:View original
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
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IanKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
How does one say "He has a bad knee" in French?
ie, a chronically bad knee, as opposed to one that it is in pain right now?
Asked 1 year ago
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 asked:View original
How does one say "He has a bad knee" in French?
ie, a chronically bad knee, as opposed to one that it is in pain right now?
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StuartKwiziq community member
How can you be more specific with pain?
E.g., with knee pain it’s usually the left or the right knee rather than both. What do I add to say the right knee, or left eye, or front tooth etc. I guess the latter involves prepositions ...
Asked 2 years ago
Bonjour Stuart !
In these cases, you will use the singular and add the adjectives for left (gauche) or right (droit/droite):
J'ai mal au genou gauche.
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 !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)
Stuart asked:View original
How can you be more specific with pain?
E.g., with knee pain it’s usually the left or the right knee rather than both. What do I add to say the right knee, or left eye, or front tooth etc. I guess the latter involves prepositions ...
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Kwiziq community member
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?
Asked 2 years ago
RantKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Thanks for the answer!
But it still leaves unanswered how you say that you are having a heart attack!
Daniel asked:View original
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?
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AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Hoyt !
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 !
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