El corte en mi mano es pequeño, pero duele un poco.

The cut on my hand is small, but it hurts a little.

Breakdown of El corte en mi mano es pequeño, pero duele un poco.

• un: a
• pequeño: small
• ser: to be
• mi: my

Questions & Answers about El corte en mi mano es pequeño, pero duele un poco.

Why is it el corte and not la corte or just corte?

• Corte (meaning cut on the skin) is a masculine noun in Spanish, so it takes the masculine article el: el corte.
• La corte exists, but it means court (law court / royal court), not a physical cut.
• You could also say un corte (a cut) instead of el corte (the cut).
  
  • Un corte en mi mano es pequeño – introducing a cut for the first time.
  • El corte en mi mano es pequeño – talking about a specific cut that is already known from context (e.g. you’ve just shown it).

Why is it en mi mano and not en la mano?

Both are grammatically correct, but there is a nuance:

• en la mano – very common, neutral: on/in the hand (the owner is usually clear from context).
  
  • Me corté la mano. – I cut my hand.
• en mi mano – adds a bit of emphasis to my hand, often used:
  • to contrast with someone else’s: El corte en mi mano es pequeño, pero el tuyo es grande.
  • when you just personally want to stress it’s my hand.

In everyday speech, many native speakers in Spain would naturally say:
El corte en la mano es pequeño, pero duele un poco, especially if it’s obvious whose hand you’re talking about.

Why is mano feminine if it ends in -o?