What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to "To me hurts the neck". This is because Spanish uses the indirect object pronoun me and the definite article el instead of the possessive "my".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, you may hear Me duele el cuello or Tengo dolor de cuello. In Argentina, people might say Me duele el cogote. In Spain, you can use Me duele el pescuezo.
How does it change in a sentence?
If the thing causing the pain is plural, the verb doler must change from duele to duelen, as in Me duelen los músculos del cuello. To express that your neck was hurting in the past, you change the verb to the imperfect tense dolía, such as Me dolía el cuello.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying Mi cuello me duele. English speakers often mistakenly use the possessive mi (my) instead of the definite article el (the) when describing body parts in Spanish.
Did you know?
- Using the possessive mi for body parts instead of el can make a speaker sound like they are talking about a detached limb.
- Spanish uses the same word cuello for both the human neck and the neck of a bottle.
- The English word 'collar' and the Spanish word cuello share the same ancient ancestor, a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to turn' or 'to revolve'.
Examples in context
- Me duele el cuello.My neck hurts.Tatoeba #2471642 by BoriQa, translation #2471465 by Hybrid
- Me duele el cuello un poco.My neck hurts a little.Tatoeba #10006643 by arh, translation #3831729 by CK
- Me duele mucho el cuello.My neck hurts a lot.
- Me duele muchísimo el cuello.My neck hurts a whole lot.
- Tengo un dolor muy fuerte en el cuello.I have a very strong pain in my neck.
- Me duele el cuello por dormir mal.My neck hurts because I slept badly.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Lucía are talking at the office.
- AlejandroMe duele el cuello hoy.My neck hurts today.
- Lucía¿Quieres un masaje, Alejandro?Do you want a massage, Alejandro?
- AlejandroSí, por favor, Lucía.Yes, please, Lucía.
- LucíaEstá bien, yo te ayudo.Alright, I will help you.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cuello, el, me, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
