Tinc mal de cap avui.

In Catalan, many physical discomforts are expressed with tenir (to have), not with to be. So tinc mal de cap literally means I have head pain, and that is the normal way to say I have a headache.

Compare:

• tinc mal de cap = I have a headache
• tinc mal d’esquena = I have back pain
• tinc mal de coll = I have a sore throat / neck pain

You can say things involving the head hurting in other ways, but tenir mal de... is the most standard everyday pattern.

Word by word:

• tinc = I have
• mal = pain / ache / something hurting
• de = of
• cap = head
• avui = today

So mal de cap is literally pain of head, but in natural English that is headache.

This mal de + body part pattern is very common in Catalan.

Because in this expression Catalan normally uses mal de + noun, not mal del + noun.

So you say:

• mal de cap = headache
• mal de panxa = stomachache
• mal de queixal = toothache

Using del here would usually sound unnatural in this basic expression. The phrase has become a fixed pattern.

Yes, cap has several meanings in Catalan depending on context.

In mal de cap, it clearly means head.

But cap can also mean:

• none / any in negative contexts: No tinc cap llibre = I don’t have any book(s)
• head / leader / chief in some contexts

So learners often get confused because cap is a very common word with more than one use. In this sentence, though, it simply means head.

Yes. Em fa mal el cap is also correct and very common. It literally means My head hurts.

So both are natural:

• Tinc mal de cap = I have a headache
• Em fa mal el cap = My head hurts

The difference is mainly in structure, not meaning. The first uses tenir; the second uses fer mal (to hurt / cause pain).

Both are useful, and native speakers use both.

Catalan often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• tinc clearly means I have

So Tinc mal de cap avui is completely normal.
You could say Jo tinc mal de cap avui, but that adds emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

For example:

• Jo tinc mal de cap, però ella no. = I have a headache, but she doesn’t.

Because tinc is the 1st person singular present form of tenir (to have) in Catalan.

A few present-tense forms of tenir are:

• tinc = I have
• tens = you have
• té = he/she has
• tenim = we have
• teniu = you all have
• tenen = they have

So tinc mal de cap is the correct form for I have a headache.

Avui means today. It tells you that the headache is happening today.

Catalan allows some flexibility in word order, so these are all possible:

• Tinc mal de cap avui.
• Avui tinc mal de cap.
• Tinc avui mal de cap. (less common in neutral speech)

The most natural choices are usually:

• Avui tinc mal de cap
• Tinc mal de cap avui

The position can slightly affect emphasis, but the meaning stays the same.

Yes, it is in the present tense.

• tinc = I have

In English, the natural translation is usually I have a headache today, but depending on context, English might also use I’ve got a headache today. Catalan simply uses the present here.

Yes, absolutely. Tinc mal de cap is a complete and very natural sentence meaning I have a headache.

Adding avui just gives extra time information:

• Tinc mal de cap. = I have a headache.
• Tinc mal de cap avui. = I have a headache today.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation guide is:

teenk mahl duh kahp ah-VWEE

A few notes:

• tinc sounds roughly like teenk
• mal sounds like mahl
• cap sounds like kahp
• avui is approximately ah-VWEE

Pronunciation varies somewhat by dialect, but this guide will get you close enough to be understood.

It is neutral and perfectly normal in both everyday and polite contexts. There is nothing especially formal or informal about it.

You could say it to:

• a friend
• a teacher
• a doctor
• a coworker

It is a standard, natural sentence.

Yes. This is a very productive pattern. Some useful examples are:

• Tinc mal de coll = I have a sore throat / neck pain
• Tinc mal d’esquena = I have back pain
• Tinc mal de panxa = I have a stomachache
• Tinc mal de queixal = I have a toothache
• Tinc mal de peu = My foot hurts / I have foot pain

So once you know tenir mal de + body part, you can build many common health-related sentences.