In French the word for 'pain' or 'ache' is mal. When you want to say that you are in pain, you use j'ai mal, literally 'I have pain'.
To say where exactly your pain is, you add à followed by the body part, e.g. J'ai mal à la tête, 'I've got a headache', or J'ai très mal à la gorge, 'I've got a really sore throat'.
You can also say that a part of the body is hurting you. In this case you state the body part followed by me fait mal, e.g. Mon pied me fait mal, 'My foot hurts (me)'.
la gorge
the throat
le dos
the back
les dents
the teeth
» J'ai mal à la gorge
I've got a sore throat
» J'ai mal au dos
I've got a back ache
» J'ai mal aux dents
I've got toothache
Mon bras me fait mal
My arm hurts (me)
Mon pied me fait très mal
My foot really hurts (me)
Ça me fait mal !
That hurts (me)!
Can you say what hurts? Drag the words into the right order to complete these sentences.
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