bolí ma

Saying What Hurts

Level 3

Bolí ma hlava (I have a headache) and Bolia ťa nohy? (Do your legs hurt?): the body part is the subject and the person is in the accusative.

How It Works

The body part is the subject. Slovak says that the head hurts me. The body part is in the nominative and the verb agrees with it. The person is in the accusative: ma, ťa, ho, ju, nás, vás, ich.

  • Bolí ma hlava. I have a headache. (one body part, bolí)
  • Bolia ma nohy. My legs hurt. (plural, bolia)
  • Mamu bolí chrbát. Mom's back hurts. (a noun person in the accusative: mama → mamu)

Not the dative. Many other feeling verbs use the dative, as in Chutí mi or Páči sa mi. Bolieť is different: it takes the accusative, so it is ma, never mi.

Past tense. The past agrees in gender and number with the body part: Bolela ma hlava. (hlava is feminine) Bolel ma zub. (zub is masculine) Boleli ma nohy. (plural)

Without a subject. For a pain located in a place, use the impersonal form with v or na: Bolí ma v krku. (I have a sore throat.) Bolí ma v boku. (I have a pain in my side.)

At the doctor. Čo vás bolí? (What hurts?) Kde vás to bolí? (Where does it hurt?) Nič ma nebolí. (Nothing hurts.)

Feelings. Bolieť can also describe emotional pain: Bolí ma to. (It hurts me.) Jeho slová ma boleli. (His words hurt me.)

Examples (6)

  1. Bolí ma hlava.

    I have a headache.

    Word by Word: Hurts me head.

  2. Bolia ťa nohy?

    Do your legs hurt?

    Word by Word: Hurt you legs?

    Nohy is plural, so the verb is bolia.

  3. Včera ma bolel zub.

    I had a toothache yesterday.

    Word by Word: Yesterday me hurt(masc.) tooth.

    Zub is masculine, so the past form is bolel.

  4. Čo vás bolí?

    What hurts?

    Word by Word: What you hurts?

    A doctor's usual question.

  5. Bolí ma v krku.

    I have a sore throat.

    Word by Word: Hurts me in throat.

    No subject here: the place of the pain follows v.

  6. Mamu bolí chrbát.

    Mom's back hurts.

    Word by Word: Mom(acc.) hurts back.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the dative pronoun, as with chutí mi or páči sa mi.

    Bolí mi hlava.
    Bolí ma hlava.

    Bolieť takes the accusative. Use ma, ťa, ho, ju, nás, vás, ich.

  • Making the person the subject, as in English "I have a headache".

    Bolím hlavu.
    Bolí ma hlava.

    Bolím would mean that I myself am causing pain. The body part is the subject and you are the accusative ma.

  • Keeping the verb singular with a plural body part.

    Bolí ma nohy.
    Bolia ma nohy.

    The verb agrees with the body part. Nohy is plural, so use bolia.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

bolí maLevel 3Saying What Hurts

Learn This First

Before Saying What Hurts, learn Object Pronouns. bolí ma puts the person in the accusative: ma, ťa, ho.

Words in This Pattern

bolieťonona