To say something hurts, Catalan makes the body part the subject: em fa mal el cap is literally "the head does hurt to me". The pronoun (em, et, li, ens, us, els) says who it hurts, and the verb agrees with the body part: fa mal for one, fan mal for several. Feelings and symptoms use tenir + noun: tinc febre, tinc fred, tinc son.
Examples
- Em fa mal el cap.
- My head hurts.
- Li fan mal els peus.
- His feet hurt.
- Tinc febre i tinc molta son.
- I have a fever and I'm very sleepy.
- Et fa mal la panxa?
- Does your tummy hurt?
The mistake to avoid
Don't translate "I am cold" or "I am hungry" with ser or estar - Catalan says them with tenir (tinc fred, tinc gana), exactly like tinc febre.
Where this fits in
Salut i cos, Catalan A2: Say what hurts, describe your symptoms at the doctor's, and talk about healthy habits.