How do you say “pain” or “hurt” in Chinese?
In English, you can say “I feel pain,” “I am in pain,” “My arm hurts,” or “It is painful.”
In Chinese,「痛 tòng」is often used like an adjective or state word. It means “painful,” “sore,” or “to hurt.”
For beginners, remember this simple idea:
- Person / body part + 很 / 好 / 有點 + 痛
- The subject can be a person or a body part.
1. 我很痛 / 我好痛: I am in pain
When the whole person is in pain, you can use「我」as the subject.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我很痛。 ♬ | wǒ hěn tòng | I am in pain. / It hurts. |
| 我好痛。 ♬ | wǒ hǎo tòng | It hurts so much. / I am in so much pain. |
「很」is often used before adjectives or state words in Chinese. It does not always mean “very.” Sometimes it simply helps the sentence sound complete.
「好」before an adjective can mean “so” or “really,” especially in emotional speech.「我好痛」sounds more emotional than「我很痛」.
2. Body part + 痛: my body part hurts
In Chinese, the body part can be the subject of the sentence. This is very natural.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我的手臂很痛。 ♬ | wǒ de shǒubì hěn tòng | My arm hurts. / My arm is painful. |
| 我的手臂好痛。 ♬ | wǒ de shǒubì hǎo tòng | My arm hurts so much. |
| 我頭痛。 ♬ | wǒ tóu tòng | I have a headache. / My head hurts. |
In daily speech, people often omit「的」with body parts, so「我頭痛」is very natural.
3. 有點痛: a little painful
Use「有點」before「痛」to say “a little painful” or “a bit painful.”
| Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 有點 + 痛 | a little painful / a bit painful |
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 有點痛。 ♬ | yǒudiǎn tòng | It is a little painful. |
| 我的腳有點痛。 ♬ | wǒ de jiǎo yǒudiǎn tòng | My foot hurts a little. |
| 這裡有點痛。 ♬ | zhèlǐ yǒudiǎn tòng | It hurts a little here. |
「有點」is very useful when you want to soften the sentence.
4. 會痛嗎？: Will it hurt?
Use「會痛嗎？」when asking whether something will hurt or whether someone will feel pain.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 會痛嗎？ ♬ | huì tòng ma | Will it hurt? |
| 你會痛嗎？ ♬ | nǐ huì tòng ma | Will you feel pain? / Does it hurt? |
| 打針會痛嗎？ ♬ | dǎzhēn huì tòng ma | Will getting an injection hurt? |
In many real situations, people may simply ask「會痛嗎？」because the context is already clear.
5. 感覺很痛: it feels very painful
You can use「感覺」to describe the feeling of pain.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 感覺很痛。 ♬ | gǎnjué hěn tòng | It feels very painful. |
| 他感覺很痛。 ♬ | tā gǎnjué hěn tòng | He feels a lot of pain. / He feels that it is very painful. |
「感覺很痛」is useful when describing the feeling instead of directly saying which body part hurts.
6. 痛的感覺: the feeling of pain
When「痛」modifies a noun, you can use「的」.
| Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 痛 + 的 + Noun | a painful noun / the noun related to pain |
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 痛的感覺 ♬ | tòng de gǎnjué | the feeling of pain |
| 痛的地方 ♬ | tòng de dìfang | the painful place / the place that hurts |
7. 哪裡痛？: Where does it hurt?
To ask where someone hurts, use「哪裡痛？」or「哪裡會痛？」.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 哪裡痛？ ♬ | nǎlǐ tòng | Where does it hurt? |
| 你哪裡痛？ ♬ | nǐ nǎlǐ tòng | Where do you hurt? |
| 這裡痛嗎？ ♬ | zhèlǐ tòng ma | Does it hurt here? |
These sentences are useful at a clinic, after an injury, or when asking someone about pain.
8. Common body parts with 痛
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 頭痛 ♬ | tóu tòng | headache; head hurts |
| 肚子痛 ♬ | dùzi tòng | stomachache; stomach hurts |
| 牙齒痛 ♬ | yáchǐ tòng | toothache; teeth hurt |
| 喉嚨痛 ♬ | hóulóng tòng | sore throat; throat hurts |
| 手臂痛 ♬ | shǒubì tòng | arm hurts |
| 腳痛 ♬ | jiǎo tòng | foot hurts |
Many body-part pain expressions can be formed directly with「body part + 痛」.
Quick review
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Person + 很痛 | the person is in pain | 我很痛。 ♬ |
| Person / body part + 好痛 | hurts so much | 我的手臂好痛。 ♬ |
| 有點 + 痛 | a little painful | 有點痛。 ♬ |
| 會痛嗎？ | Will it hurt? | 打針會痛嗎？ ♬ |
| 感覺很痛 | feels very painful | 感覺很痛。 ♬ |
| Body part + 痛 | body part hurts | 頭痛。 ♬ |
Useful vocabulary
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 痛 ♬ | tòng | painful; to hurt |
| 很痛 ♬ | hěn tòng | painful; hurts |
| 好痛 ♬ | hǎo tòng | hurts so much |
| 有點痛 ♬ | yǒudiǎn tòng | a little painful |
| 感覺 ♬ | gǎnjué | to feel; feeling |
| 痛的感覺 ♬ | tòng de gǎnjué | the feeling of pain |
| 哪裡 ♬ | nǎlǐ | where |
| 這裡 ♬ | zhèlǐ | here |
| 會 ♬ | huì | will; can |
| 打針 ♬ | dǎzhēn | to get an injection |
| 頭 ♬ | tóu | head |
| 肚子 ♬ | dùzi | belly; stomach |
| 牙齒 ♬ | yáchǐ | teeth |
| 喉嚨 ♬ | hóulóng | throat |
| 手臂 ♬ | shǒubì | arm |
| 腳 ♬ | jiǎo | foot; leg |
| 地方 ♬ | dìfang | place |
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