Questions & Answers about У мене болить гомілка.
Why does Ukrainian use У мене here instead of something like я?
Because Ukrainian usually expresses physical sensations like pain with a construction that is closer to At me, the shin hurts than to I hurt my shin.
So in У мене болить гомілка:
- у мене = at me / in me / I have
- болить = hurts / is hurting
- гомілка = shin / lower leg
This is a very common Ukrainian pattern:
- У мене болить голова. = My head hurts.
- У мене болить спина. = My back hurts.
- У мене болить зуб. = My tooth hurts.
English uses my, but Ukrainian often uses у мене for this kind of idea.
What case is мене in after у?