me duele la mano
/me dwele la mano/from spelling rules
To say "my hand hurts" in Spanish, you use me duele la mano.
A person uses this phrase to express that they are feeling pain in their hand.
What does it mean word for word?
A literal translation of me duele la mano is "to me hurts the hand".
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb doler functions like the verb gustar. The thing that hurts is the grammatical subject, and the person feeling the pain is the indirect object. In Spanish, you use the definite article la (the) instead of the possessive adjective mi (my) when referring to body parts that are the subject of a sensation.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly say me duele mi mano by translating "my" literally, but using mi with body parts in this context sounds unnatural to native speakers.
Did you know?
- The word mano is a feminine noun, even though it ends in '-o'. This is a rare exception to the general rule in Spanish where words ending in '-o' are masculine.
- The slang use of mano to mean 'brother' or 'friend' is actually a clipped version of the word hermano.
- While me duele la mano means the hand hurts, the phrase dar una mano is used idiomatically to mean 'to help someone'.
Examples in context
- ¡Ay, me duele la mano! Creo que me lastimé jugando al fútbol.Ouch, my hand hurts! I think I hurt myself playing soccer.
- Disculpe, señor(a), me duele la mano. ¿Podría ayudarme a encontrar una farmacia cercana?Excuse me, sir/ma'am, my hand hurts. Could you help me find a nearby pharmacy?
- Me duele la mano derecha.My right hand hurts.
- Me duele la mano después de escribir.My hand hurts after writing.
- No puedo levantar la maleta porque me duele la mano.I cannot lift the suitcase because my hand hurts.
Example conversation
Daniel and Elena are in the kitchen after cleaning.
- DanielElena, me duele la mano.Elena, my hand hurts.
- Elena¿Te duele mucho, Daniel?Does it hurt a lot, Daniel?
- DanielSí, un poco.Yes, a little.
- ElenaDeberías descansar un momento.You should rest for a moment.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries la, mano, me, CC BY-SA 4.0.
