Em fa mal el nas i avui no respiro gaire bé.

Catalan very often uses the expression fer mal to talk about pain.

So em fa mal el nas is literally something like the nose causes pain to me, but the natural meaning is simply my nose hurts or my nose is hurting.

This pattern is extremely common with body parts:

• Em fa mal el cap = My head hurts
• Em fan mal els peus = My feet hurt

A learner should treat fer mal as a normal Catalan way to express pain, even if it is structured differently from English.

Em is the unstressed pronoun meaning to me.

In em fa mal el nas, it marks the person who feels the pain. So:

• em = to me
• et = to you
• li = to him/her
• ens = to us
• us = to you all
• els = to them

For example:

• Em fa mal el nas = My nose hurts
• Et fa mal el nas? = Does your nose hurt?

Even though English does not use to me here, Catalan normally does.

With body parts, Catalan often uses the definite article instead of a possessive adjective when the owner is already clear from context.

So em fa mal el nas literally has the nose, but it naturally means my nose, because em already tells you whose nose it is.

This is very common in Catalan and also in other Romance languages.

Compare:

• Em rento les mans = I wash my hands
• Li fa mal l’esquena = His/Her back hurts

Using el meu nas is not impossible, but it is less natural here unless you want extra emphasis.

Because el nas is singular.

In this structure, the thing that hurts is what controls the verb:

• Em fa mal el nas = singular, because el nas is singular
• Em fan mal els peus = plural, because els peus is plural

Even though el nas comes after the verb, it is still the thing linked to the verb, so the verb agrees with it.

Yes. Em dol el nas is grammatically correct and means the same thing.

However, fer mal is often more common and everyday in speech, so em fa mal el nas is a very natural choice.

A rough way to think about it is:

• em fa mal el nas = very common, everyday
• em dol el nas = also correct, sometimes a bit less colloquial depending on the speaker or region

As a learner, fer mal is definitely worth mastering first.

Here gaire bé means very well or particularly well, but it appears inside a negative structure:

• no respiro gaire bé = I do not breathe very well

The word gaire is commonly used in negative sentences, questions, and some other contexts. In standard affirmative statements, you usually would not use it the same way.

So:

• No respiro gaire bé = I don’t breathe very well
• Respiro molt bé = I breathe very well

That is why gaire appears with no here.

Because bé is an adverb, and bo is an adjective.

Since respiro is a verb, you need the adverb that describes how you breathe:

• respiro bé = I breathe well

Compare:

• bo / bona describes a noun: un bon metge = a good doctor
• bé describes a verb: parla bé = he/she speaks well

So no respiro gaire bé is correct because bé modifies respiro.

Yes, Catalan word order is fairly flexible here.

Avui means today, and it can be placed in different spots depending on rhythm or emphasis:

• Em fa mal el nas i avui no respiro gaire bé
• Avui no respiro gaire bé
• No respiro gaire bé avui

All of these are possible. Putting avui before no respiro is very natural and makes the time frame clear right away.

Because the verb ending already shows the subject.

Respiro is first person singular, so it already means I breathe. Catalan often leaves subject pronouns out when they are not needed.

So:

• respiro = I breathe
• jo respiro = I breathe, with extra emphasis or contrast

In this sentence, jo is unnecessary unless you want to stress I specifically.

Not exactly.

No respiro gaire bé means I’m not breathing very well. It suggests difficulty, but not total inability.

If you want to say I can’t breathe, Catalan would more directly use:

• No puc respirar

So the sentence here sounds milder: the speaker is breathing badly or with difficulty, not necessarily completely unable to breathe.