我頭疼 / 我头疼
wǒ tóuténg
To say "I have a headache" in Chinese, you can use 我頭疼 / 我头疼 (wǒ tóuténg). If unsure, use 我頭疼 / 我头疼. Wiktionary also lists 我頭痛 / 我头痛 (wǒ tóutòng).
Meaning: I have a headache (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 我頭疼 / 我头疼 | wǒ tóuténg |
| 我頭痛 / 我头痛 | wǒ tóutòng |
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 我 (I/me), 頭 (head) and 疼 (ache/pain).
Which one should you use?
While both forms express a headache, the character 疼 (téng) is more commonly used in spoken, colloquial Chinese to describe physical pain.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Taiwanese, you can say Góa thâu-thòng. to mean I have a headache.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express that the headache is severe, you can add 得很厲害 (de hěn lìhài) after the verb.
How do you pronounce it?
wǒ tóuténg
Did you know?
- The character 疼 (téng) can also mean 'to love' or 'to dote on' in certain contexts, such as '疼爱' (téng'ài), which is a beautiful linguistic shift from pain to affection.
- While 头疼 (tóuténg) describes a physical headache, it is frequently used as a metaphor in business or social settings to mean 'a massive headache' or a troublesome problem.
- In certain contexts, saying 我头疼 (wǒ tóuténg) can be a polite, indirect way to signal that you are overwhelmed or find a specific topic too difficult to discuss.
Example sentences for Chinese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I have a headache” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
