me duele el pie
/me dwele el pje/from spelling rules
To say "my foot hurts" in Spanish, use me duele el pie.
This phrase is used to state that you are experiencing physical pain in your foot.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "to me it hurts the foot".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, you may hear the phrase Me molesta el pie to mean "my foot hurts".
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to parts of the body that are already understood to belong to the subject, Spanish uses the definite article el or la instead of a possessive adjective like mi (my).
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly say mi pie duele. Instead of using the possessive adjective mi and a direct subject, use the indirect object pronoun me and the definite article el.
Did you know?
- The Spanish word pie is a distant cousin of the English word 'foot', as both share a common ancestor from the Proto-Indo-European root *pṓds.
- The phrasing me duele treats the pain as something happening to the person rather than something the foot is doing, essentially saying 'the foot causes pain to me'.
Examples in context
- Me duele el pie.My foot hurts.This sentence is useful for stating me duele el pie.Tatoeba #750387 by Shishir, translation #792061 by Swift
- Me duele tanto el pie que no puedo caminar bien. Espero que no sea nada serio.My foot hurts so much that I can't walk properly. I hope it's nothing serious.
- No puedo caminar porque me duele el pie.I cannot walk because my foot hurts.
- Creo que me duele el pie derecho.I think my right foot hurts.
Example conversation
Daniel is limping after a long walk.
- DanielElena, me duele el pie.Elena, my foot hurts.
- Elena¿Qué pasó, Daniel?What happened, Daniel?
- DanielCreo que mis zapatos son muy pequeños.I think my shoes are too small.
- ElenaSiéntate y descansa un momento.Sit down and rest for a moment.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries el, me, pie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
