Salut a tous
If aux dents is plural how can it be translated as I have a toothache?
Merci
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 .
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 :
Note that the irregular plural of œil is 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
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.
Tu as mal au genou.
Your knee hurts.
Q&A Forum 8 questions, 11 answers
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 11 months 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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