French Grammar Explained /
To be hurt - How to use "avoir mal"
You're limping! What happened?
I did pilates for the first time. It didn't seem difficult at all. That was yesterday. Today, I can hardly move my body. I'm so sore!
Oh dear...
By the way, weren't we going to talk about body parts? How do I say my legs hurt in French?
J'ai mal aux jambes.
But that's the legs not my legs, isnt' it?
That's a good point! You will see that there is a difference between English and French.
So do you always use the sentence j'ai mal when you feel bad?
Most of the time, yes. And look at this, the preposition changes before each body part:
J'ai mal aux dents.
My teeth hurt.
Elle a mal au nez.
Her nose hurts.
Tu as mal à la main.
Your hand hurts.
Nous avons mal à l'oeil droit.
Our right eye hurts.
Weird, but good to know.
Parfait. That's it. Easy enough?
Absolutely!