Anna har vondt i ryggen.

Anna

Breakdown of Anna har vondt i ryggen.

• ryggen: the back
• ha vondt i: to have pain in

Questions & Answers about Anna har vondt i ryggen.

What does the structure har vondt i + body part literally say, and is it the normal way to talk about physical pain?

Literally it is “has pain in + body part,” and yes—this is the default way to say that something hurts somewhere on the body. Examples:

• Jeg har vondt i hodet. (I have a headache / My head hurts.)
• Hun har vondt i magen. (She has a stomachache / Her stomach hurts.)

Why is it vondt and not vond?

Vond is the base adjective “painful/sore.” Its neuter singular form is vondt, and in the fixed expression ha vondt that neuter form is used idiomatically to mean “to have pain.” Think of vondt here as a set piece. Forms of the adjective:

• Masculine/feminine: vond
• Neuter: vondt
• Plural/definite: vonde

Is vondt functioning like a noun here?

Effectively, yes. Grammatically, you can view it as the neuter form of the adjective used substantively. You cannot count it (you don’t say “to have two pains”); it’s more like a mass noun sense: “to have pain.” You’ll also see it in the pattern det gjør vondt (“it hurts”).

Why is it i ryggen with the definite form (ryggen) instead of just i rygg?