Word
Hun har ondt i øjet i aften.
Meaning
She has pain in her eye tonight.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Hun har ondt i øjet i aften.
Why does Danish use har ondt (literally “has bad”) to talk about pain?
At have ondt is a very common Danish fixed expression meaning “to be in pain / to hurt.”
It behaves like a verb phrase: hun har ondt = “she is in pain.” You then add the body part with a preposition phrase: i øjet = “in the eye.”
Why is it ondt and not ond?
Ond is the base adjective (“evil/bad”). Ondt is the neuter form and is also the form used in several set patterns where English would use an adverb-like word:
- Det gør ondt (It hurts)
- Jeg har ondt (I’m in pain)
So here ondt is the standard form in the expression har ondt.
What exactly is the role of i øjet? Why i (“in”)?
In Danish, pain is commonly described as being in a place: ondt i + body part.
Examples: ondt i maven (stomachache), ondt i hovedet (headache), ondt i ryggen (back pain).
So i øjet is the normal way to specify where the pain is.
Why is it øjet (the eye) and not et øje (an eye) or hendes øje (her eye)?