mal de ventre
The English phrase stomach ache is translated into French as mal de ventre.
mal de ventre is used to describe a pain felt in the abdominal area. When expressing that you are experiencing this pain, you do not use a noun phrase as in English. Instead, you use the verbal construction avoir mal au ventre, which literally means to have pain to the belly.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of mal (pain/ache), de (of) and ventre (belly/stomach).
Which one should you use?
While mal de ventre is a general term for any abdominal pain, mal d'estomac specifically refers to pain localized in the stomach organ itself.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase mal de ventre is typically used in the singular to describe the sensation, even if the pain is widespread.
Did you know?
- The word ventre traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *wend-, which is also related to the English word 'wind' in the sense of turning or twisting.
- While mal de ventre is used for a stomach ache, the phrase avoir le ventre noué describes the feeling of a 'knot in your stomach' caused by anxiety or stress.
- In French, the same word mal can mean 'pain' as a noun or 'badly' as an adverb, depending on the context of the sentence.
Examples in context
- Pierre a mal à l'estomac depuis ce matin, il ne peut rien manger.Pierre has a stomach ache since this morning, he can't eat anything.
- J'ai des douleurs au ventre depuis hier.I have had stomach pains since yesterday.
- J'ai mal au ventre.I have a stomach ache.
- Le médicament calme mon mal de ventre.The medicine calms my stomach ache.
Example conversation
Manon and Hugo are talking in the kitchen.
- ManonHugo, pourquoi tu ne manges pas ?Hugo, why aren't you eating?
- HugoJe ne peux pas, j'ai un mal de ventre.I can't, I have a stomach ache.
- ManonC'est grave ? Tu veux voir un médecin ?Is it serious? Do you want to see a doctor?
- HugoNon, je pense que ça va passer.No, I think it will go away.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, mal, ventre, CC BY-SA 4.0.
