duele
/dwele/from spelling rules
duele is the Spanish word for "it hurts" and is used to express that something is causing physical pain.
duele is used to describe something that causes physical pain. While English speakers often say "I hurt" to express being in pain, Spanish uses an impersonal construction where the thing causing the pain is the subject of the sentence.
Which one should you use?
While English speakers frequently use the subject "I" to describe their pain (e.g., "I hurt"), in Spanish, the subject is the thing that is painful.
How does it change in a sentence?
duele is the third-person singular form of the verb doler. If the source of the pain is plural, you must use the form duelen instead. To specify who is feeling the pain, you must add an indirect object pronoun before the verb, such as me (me), te (you) or le (him/her/it). For example, me duele means "it hurts me."
How do you pronounce it?
/dwele/
Did you know?
- The verb doler is a linguistic relative of the English word 'dolorous', which means feeling or expressing great sorrow or distress.
- The phrase no me duele can be used colloquially to mean that a particular task or sacrifice is not a burden or is easy to do.
- In Spanish, you can use duele to describe emotional pain, such as 'me duele el alma', which translates to 'my soul hurts'.
Examples in context
- Me duele la cabezaMy head hurts
- Me duele la espaldaMy back hurts
- Me duele un montón la cabezaMy head hurts a lot
- Me duele un montón el estómagoMy stomach hurts a lot
- Estoy hecho polvo, me duele todo el cuerpoI am feeling terrible, my whole body hurts
- Estoy hecho polvo, me duele mucho la gargantaI am in bad shape, my throat hurts a lot
- Me duele el pie.My foot hurts.
- Nos duele la garganta.Our throat hurts.
- Le duele la espalda.His/Her/Your back hurts.
- Me duele la cabeza.My head hurts.
- ¿Te duele el brazo?Does your arm hurt?
- Me duele mucho la espalda.My back hurts a lot.
Example conversation
Mateo and Elena are talking about a minor injury at home.
- MateoElena, ¿te duele la pierna?Elena, does your leg hurt?
- ElenaSí, me duele un poco.Yes, it hurts a little.
- MateoA mí también me duele el pie.My foot hurts too.
- ElenaDebemos descansar hoy.We should rest today.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
