Breakdown of Mir tut der Magen weh.
mir
me / to me (dative)
wehtun
to hurt
der Magen
the stomach (the organ)
Questions & Answers about Mir tut der Magen weh.
Why use Mir and der Magen instead of just saying Mein Magen tut weh?
While Mein Magen tut weh is grammatically correct, German speakers usually prefer using the dative pronoun (mir) plus the definite article (der) when talking about body parts. Literally, you are saying 'The stomach does pain to me.'
What is the subject of this sentence?
The subject is der Magen (the stomach), which is in the nominative case. Because it is a singular noun, the verb is conjugated in the third-person singular: tut.
Why is the word weh at the very end of the sentence?
It belongs to the separable verb wehtun (to hurt). In a regular main clause, the conjugated part (tut) takes the second position, and the separable prefix (weh) is pushed to the very end.
Is it also correct to say Der Magen tut mir weh?
Yes, that is perfectly correct. Starting the sentence with the dative pronoun Mir simply emphasizes who is experiencing the pain, which is a very common and natural word order in spoken German.
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