Expressing pain: "Ha ont i"
To say that something hurts in Swedish, use the phrase har ont i (to have pain in) followed by a specific body part.
| pain / hurt | ont |
Båda (Both)
To talk about two of something—especially paired body parts like eyes or ears—use båda (both).
When using båda, the noun that follows must be in the definite plural form. While in English you say "both eyes", in Swedish you literally say "both the eyes" (båda ögonen).
| She has pain in both eyes. | Hon har ont i båda ögonen. |
| Both ears are injured. | Båda öronen är skadade. |
| He can lift both arms. | Han kan lyfta båda armarna. |
Båda två (Both of them / Both of us)
When you drop the noun because it is understood from context, use the standalone pronoun båda två (literally: "both two") to mean "both of them" or "both of us".
| Both of them have pain in their shoulders. | Båda två har ont i axlarna. |
Use båda två to refer back to things you just mentioned without repeating yourself:
| My legs hurt, I do not have the energy to stand on both of them. | Mina ben gör ont, jag orkar inte stå på båda två. |
You can also add it to clarify that a statement applies to both people involved:
| Both of us have problems with our knees. | Vi har problem med knäna, båda två. |
More body parts
As you practice, pay close attention to the definite plural forms of the body parts when they follow båda.
| Both feet and all the toes hurt. | Det gör ont i båda fötterna och alla tårna. |
| I had pain in both knees a year ago. | Jag hade ont i båda knäna för ett år sedan. |