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Lesson 107 of 240

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Where it hurts in French

Sam walks into Café des Tilleuls looking pale. Odile reads his face before he even sits.

This lesson is how you name the place that hurts: head, stomach, back, or a part you add, plus fever.

You'll also point and say it hurts here. Odile will send him across the street to Dr. Roche, above the pharmacy.

Duration and how bad it is wait for next time.

By the end of this lesson

Name a body part and say where it hurts.

  • J'ai mal à la tête.I have a headache.
  • J'ai mal au ventre.I have a stomachache.
  • J'ai mal au dos.My back hurts.
  • J'ai mal à ___.My ___ hurts.
  • J'ai de la fièvre.I have a fever.
  • Ça fait mal ici.It hurts here.

Scene — a pale morning

Same café on rue des Tilleuls, a slow morning. Sam looks pale as he pushes the door. Odile is already watching from the zinc counter.

Gaspard sits at the table next to the window table on two chairs, croissant in reach, café crème still full. The blank brass sign stays on the window table.

Sam pushes the café door while Odile watches from the zinc counter and Gaspard sits on two chairs beside the window table.

Learn — where it hurts

Six short lines cover a headache, a stomachache, a sore back, a blank for any part, a fever, and pointing to the spot.

Au goes with masculine parts; à la goes with feminine ones.

  1. Sam bows his head and presses one hand to his temple.

    J'ai mal à la tête.

    I have a headache.

    When to use it: Say this when your head hurts.

    Use à la here because tête is feminine.

  2. Sam bends forward with both hands on his stomach while Odile watches from behind the zinc counter.

    J'ai mal au ventre.

    I have a stomachache.

    When to use it: Say this when your stomach hurts.

    Au is à plus le, because ventre is masculine.

    Say it: The en in ventre is a nasal sound.

  3. Sam stands with a hand at the small of his back while Gaspard sits on two chairs at the neighboring table.

    J'ai mal au dos.

    My back hurts.

    When to use it: Say this when your back hurts.

    Dos is masculine, so it takes au, not à la.

    Say it: The s in dos is silent.

  4. From Odile's place at the counter, Sam points to his throat.

    J'ai mal à ___.

    My ___ hurts.

    When to use it: Use this pattern, then name the part that hurts.

    Put the feminine part after à, with la in front.

  5. Sam sits at a café table with one palm flat against his forehead.

    J'ai de la fièvre.

    I have a fever.

    When to use it: Say this when you feel hot and unwell.

    A woman says this the same way as a man.

  6. Sam points with one finger to a precise spot on his left side below the ribs.

    Ça fait mal ici.

    It hurts here.

    When to use it: Point to the spot as you say this.

    Use this when you show the place, not name it.

    Say it: The t in fait is silent.

Story — she feels his forehead

Watch Sam tell Odile where it hurts. She checks his forehead and sends him to Dr. Roche.

The highlighted words are the lines you just learned. Turn on Show English if you need it.

  1. Sam looks pale in the doorway. Odile is already watching from the zinc counter.
  2. OdileÇa va ?How are you?
  3. SamJ'ai mal à la tête.I have a headache.
  4. OdileSeulement la tête ?Only your head?
  5. SamJ'ai mal à la gorge.My throat hurts.
  6. She comes around the counter and feels his forehead. He points at his throat.
  7. SamÇa fait mal ici.It hurts here.
  8. OdileTu as de la fièvre, mon grand.You have a fever, dear.
  9. SamJ'ai de la fièvre.I have a fever.
  10. OdileVa chez la docteure Roche, au-dessus de la pharmacie.Go to Dr. Roche, above the pharmacy.
  11. SamLa pharmacie, c'est où ?Where's the pharmacy?
  12. OdileC'est en face.It's across the street.
  13. OdilePrends soin de toi.Take care.
  14. Gaspard shifts on the two chairs by the window table. His café crème is still full.
  15. GaspardJ'ai mal au dos.My back hurts.
  16. OdileTes deux chaises, alors.Those two chairs of yours, then.
  17. GaspardJ'ai mal au ventre.I have a stomachache.

Practice — head or fever

Eleven quick exercises wait here. You'll listen, fill a gap, swap a word, and build a line.

They stay tiny, so the round moves fast.

0 of 11 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    French

    J'ai mal à la tête.Drop the English here
    J'ai mal au ventre.Drop the English here
    J'ai mal au dos.Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its French, or tap one and then the other.

  3. Fill the gap

    I have a stomachache.

    J'ai mal ____ ventre.

  4. Swap the word

    Your back hurts. Tell Odile.

    J'ai mal au ____.

  5. True or false?

    This line is how you say you have a fever.

  6. What does it mean?

    J'ai de la fièvre.

  7. What do you say?

    You point at the place that hurts instead of naming it.

  8. Build the line

    I have a fever.

    .

    Tap the words in order.

  9. What does it mean?

    Ça va ?

  10. What do you say?

    Odile sent you to Dr. Roche, above the pharmacy. Ask her where the pharmacy is.

  11. Which one doesn’t belong?

Say it — tell her

Now you're Sam with a sore head at the café. When it's your turn, tap the microphone and speak the line.

Tap ▶ first if you want to hear the line. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. OdileÇa va ?How are you?
  2. Sam (you)Tell her your head hurts.

    J'ai mal à la tête.

    I have a headache.

0 of 3 said

Recap — what you can say now

FrenchEnglish
J'ai mal à la tête.I have a headache.
J'ai mal au ventre.I have a stomachache.
J'ai mal au dos.My back hurts.
J'ai mal à ___.My ___ hurts.
J'ai de la fièvre.I have a fever.
Ça fait mal ici.It hurts here.
Next: lesson 108Telling the doctor

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Want these pain lines handy at the doctor's? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

A short Yak Cards round keeps head, stomach, back, and fever ready when you need them.

Open Yak Cards