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Tengo un dolor... versus Me duele?

Tengo un dolor... versus Me duele?

4
votes

I was doing some flashcards and came upon 2 differences that seem confusing to me.

I have a headache. = Me duele la cabeza.

I have a stomach ache. = Tengo un dolor de estomago.

What is the difference between ¨tengo un dolor¨ and ¨me duele¨?

14350 views
updated Mar 19, 2015
posted by yogamamaof2
Thank you for the help! - yogamamaof2, Aug 7, 2010

8 Answers

3
votes

You´re both right about Head and Stomach (both forms can be used). It´s just a matter of usage, but you would never say "I have a liver, finger, eye, skin ache, etc. In these cases, it must be, "Me duele(n) el higado, dedo, los ojos, la piel."

I´m afraid this is a case of memorization.

updated Mar 19, 2015
posted by 005faa61
quite similar to English although we might say 'my eyes ache' lol - Kiwi-Girl, Aug 7, 2010
3
votes

As far as I can tell - and I am open to corrction - there is no obvious/discernable difference in 'meaning' between: tengo dolor de cabeza (I have a headache)

and, me duele la cabeza (My head hurts. lit to me pains/hurts the head)

I am reasonably sure that they are interchangeable.

If I am wrong about this then we will both be learning something new lol tongue wink

updated Nov 2, 2014
edited by FELIZ77
posted by FELIZ77
2
votes

Dolor & Duele essentially mean the same thing, but dolor = pain, and duele = hurt. I actually just wrote a blog post on this. Check it out here for a complete description of meaning and usage: Pain in Spanish: ¿Dolor vs Duele?

updated Mar 19, 2015
posted by rolefoster
Hi R F , thank you for the advice , but please take not that advertising on this site is totally forbidden . I will post the SD rules for you . - ray76, Mar 19, 2015
2
votes

I too would love to hear the clarification smile

...but, if you're saying 'my head hurts' then the Spanish equivalent would be 'me duele la cabeza'.

However, if you are saying 'I HAVE a headache', then I suspect 'tengo dolor en mi cabeza' would be a more parallel translation.

updated Nov 5, 2014
edited by primus
posted by primus
Es mejor decir: Tengo dolor DE cabeza. - Daniela2041, Nov 5, 2014
2
votes

i think it's easy to remember the difference in use if you think in terms of:

-"Me duele": It hurts, I feel pain

-"Tengo un dolor": I have an ache, I have a pain.

So, you can say: "my head hurts" - "me duele la cabeza", or,

"I have a headache" - "tengo un dolor de cabeza".

updated Aug 8, 2010
posted by Gekkosan
That seems like a logical way of putting it. - yogamamaof2, Aug 8, 2010
2
votes

I think they are interchangeable: me duele el hígado me duele el dedo

tengo dolor de hígado tengo dolor en el dedo anular

me duelen los ojos me arden los ojos

siento ardor en los ojos tengo dolor de ojos

updated Aug 8, 2010
posted by Blackbull
The question I always ask people is 'how would say this without worrying about translation'? So, if you were telling your wife (or whoever) you had a headache.... what phrase would you use in Spanish? - primus, Aug 7, 2010
1
vote

These expressions are somewhat synonomous. I have a headache/My head hurts. The latter could be the result of being hit over the head with a baseball bat but that's another problem. Estoy de acuerdo con todos aquí.

updated Mar 19, 2015
posted by Daniela2041
And who was wielding said club might I enquire ? - ray76, Mar 19, 2015
I don't know. He snuck up from behind, popped me on the head and ran away. :) - Daniela2041, Mar 19, 2015
1
vote

There's no differences between "Tengo un dolor" con "Me duele" We also say "Me duele el estómago" and "Me duele la cabeza" as well as "Tengo un dolor en la cabeza" and "Tengo un dolor en el estómago" but we use more the short sentence.

Kind regards.

Rox.

updated Nov 2, 2014
posted by Yocchy
:) - FELIZ77, Nov 2, 2014