Learn French: Bonjour docteur, j'ai mal au ventre. - Hello doctor, my stomach hurts.

Bonjour docteur, j'ai mal au ventre.

Hello doctor, my stomach hurts.

Breakdown of Bonjour docteur, j'ai mal au ventre.

bonjour

hello

avoir mal

to be in pain, to hurt

le ventre

the belly, the stomach

le docteur

the doctor (as a title)

Questions & Answers about Bonjour docteur, j'ai mal au ventre.

Why does it say au ventre instead of à mon ventre?

In French, when it is obvious whose body part you are talking about, you use the definite article (le, la, or les) instead of a possessive word like mon or ma. Because you already said j'ai (I have), the ownership is clear. Since ventre is masculine, à plus le contracts into au.

How does the phrase avoir mal à work?

To say that a body part hurts in French, you use the expression avoir mal à followed by the body part. Literally, it translates to having pain at a specific location. So j'ai mal au ventre translates roughly to "I have pain at the belly."

Could I say j'ai mal à l'estomac instead?

Yes, but there is a slight difference in usage. Le ventre is the general word for belly or tummy and is used for most everyday stomach aches. L'estomac specifically refers to the medical organ. If you ate something that gave you indigestion, you might say j'ai mal à l'estomac, but j'ai mal au ventre is the most common and natural way to complain of a general stomach ache.

Why is there no article before docteur?