У мене болить литка.

I

Breakdown of У мене болить литка.

• у: in
• боліти: to hurt
• литка: the calf

Questions & Answers about У мене болить литка.

Why does Ukrainian say У мене instead of using a verb like I have?

In Ukrainian, pain is often expressed with a structure that literally looks more like At me, the calf hurts than I have a hurting calf.

So in У мене болить литка:

• у мене = at me / with me
• болить = hurts / aches
• литка = calf

This is a very common pattern with body parts and symptoms:

• У мене болить голова = my head hurts
• У нього болить спина = his back hurts
• У нас болять зуби = our teeth hurt

English and Ukrainian organize this idea differently.

What case is мене, and why is it used here?

Мене is in the genitive case.

That is because the preposition у in this kind of possession/state expression takes the genitive:

• у мене = at me / with me
• у тебе = at you / with you
• у нього = at him
• у неї = at her

This construction is extremely common in Ukrainian for saying that someone has something or is experiencing something.

Why is there no word for my before литка?