Minha cabeça dói quando eu durmo pouco.

My head hurts when I sleep too little.

Breakdown of Minha cabeça dói quando eu durmo pouco.

• eu: I
• minha: my
• quando: when
• dormir: to sleep

Questions & Answers about Minha cabeça dói quando eu durmo pouco.

Why is it minha cabeça and not meu cabeça?

Because cabeça is a feminine singular noun in Portuguese.

So the possessive has to match the noun being possessed, not the gender of the speaker:

• minha cabeça = my head
• meu braço = my arm

Even if the speaker is male, he would still say minha cabeça, because cabeça is feminine.

Why is the verb dói?

Dói is the third-person singular form of the verb doer.

The subject of the sentence is minha cabeça, so the verb agrees with cabeça:

• Minha cabeça dói. = My head hurts.
• Meus olhos doem. = My eyes hurt.

This is different from English, where we often say I have a headache. In Portuguese, it is very normal to make the body part the subject of the verb.

Is Minha cabeça dói a natural way to say this in Brazilian Portuguese?

Yes, it is correct and understandable.

That said, many Brazilians would also say things like:

• Fico com dor de cabeça quando durmo pouco.
• Tenho dor de cabeça quando durmo pouco.

These can sound a bit more everyday and idiomatic in some contexts. But Minha cabeça dói quando eu durmo pouco is still perfectly valid.

Why are both verbs in the present tense: and ?