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J'ai mal à l'oreille.

J'ai mal à l'oreille.
My ear hurts.
From Lesson 57:Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)·French

Breakdown of J'ai mal à l'oreille.

avoir mal
to be in pain, to hurt
l'oreille
the ear (f)

Questions & Answers about J'ai mal à l'oreille.

Why does the French sentence start with J'ai (I have) instead of 'My ear'?
In French, you don't usually say 'my [body part] hurts'. Instead, you use the expression avoir mal à (literally: to have pain at). So, J'ai mal à l'oreille translates literally to 'I have pain at the ear'.
Why is it l'oreille (the ear) instead of mon oreille (my ear)?
In French, it is standard to use the definite article (le, la, l', or les) with body parts rather than possessive words like mon or ma. Because you started the sentence with J'ai (I have), it is already clear that it is your own ear that hurts!
What happens to à l' if the body part doesn't start with a vowel?
The base expression uses à (at/in). Here, oreille starts with a vowel, so it is à l'. But if you have a masculine body part like ventre (stomach), à and le combine into au (J'ai mal au ventre). If it is feminine and starts with a consonant, it stays à la (J'ai mal à la tête).
How can I use this sentence to answer a pourquoi (why) question?
You can easily turn this into a reason by adding parce que (because) in front of it! If someone asks why you are going to the doctor, you can answer: Parce que j'ai mal à l'oreille (Because my ear hurts).

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