Aches and Pains

In honor of Obama signing the national healthcare bill[1], I believe it’s a good time to talk about aches and pains[2]! I know this is a little late, but we’re used to waiting (lists) in the healthcare system, aren’t we?! Well, let’s check out the symptoms.

Tell me where it hurts? How did you hurt yourself?

My ankle hurts. I hurt my ankle playing football.

As you can see, a body part can hurt or you can hurt a part of your body.

Is anything sore?

My ankle is sore[3]. It hurts a lot. I think it is sprained[4].

I have a sore[5] throat. My throat is irritated.

My eyes are sore from so much reading.

In the examples above, sore is used as an adjective.

But it can also be used as a noun:

Where do you have soreness? I have muscle soreness.

I have a sore[6] on my lip. I have an open infection on my lip. How gross[7]!

We can even use hurt and sore to talk about our feelings.

You hurt my feelings. Not inviting me to the party hurt my feelings. You don’t know how much you hurt me.

I’m sore about[8] not being invited to the party. I’m mad about not being invited to the party. I’m sore at[9] you for not inviting me to the party! You really made me mad by not inviting me to the party.

Aches and Pains. The difference between aches and pains is very fine. Pain is more general, whereas aches are usually duller[10] and more persistent. But in general, they can be used interchangeably. I have a pain in my back. = I have a backache.

We usually use -ache as a suffix to show where the pain originates. For example: headache, stomachache, toothache.

Aches can also be associated with emotions, like sadness: I’ve been suffering heartache since my girlfriend left me.

Or desire: I ache for you. I want you so much, it hurts.

I’m aching for a cigarette. I haven’t had one all morning, and I can’t stand it any longer[11].

There are a variety of pains too.

I have pains all over my body. My whole body is bothering[12] me.

When something or someone is annoying[12], we can say: What a pain!

Or: What a pain in the neck! / You are a pain in the ass!

Often we take pains to do something, which means you had to make a big sacrifice:

I took pains to come on time. I left work early and now the doctor’s appointment is cancelled!

Knowingly or unknowingly, people can cause others pain. Or if they are malicious, people inflict pain on others. He caused her pain by forgetting their anniversary. The bombs kept inflicting pain on the war-torn country.

Do you feel better now, after learning this? If not, take two painkillers[13] and call me in the morning.

[1] proyecto de ley, [2] achaques, [3] dolorido, [4] esguince, [5] irritado, [6] llaga, [7] asqueroso, [8] estar resentido por algo, [9] estar enfadado con alguien, [10] mas sordo, [11] no puedo soportarlo mas, [12] molestando, [13] analgésico, calmante