What hurts: με πονάει το κεφάλι
"My head hurts" turns around in Greek: the head does the hurting, and you stand aside. Με πονάει το κεφάλι μου — word for word, "me hurts my head". For example: “Με πονάει ο λαιμός μου” — My throat hurts. A rule from the Greek course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
"My head hurts" turns around in Greek: the head does the hurting, and you stand aside. Με πονάει το κεφάλι μου (me ponái to kefáli mu) — word for word, "me hurts my head".
So the verb agrees with what aches, not with you. One place — πονάει (ponái); several — πονάνε. Με πονάνε τα πόδια μου — my legs hurt. Πονάω on its own means "I am in pain", with no place named.
A symptom you do not feel in Greek, you have it: έχω πυρετό (ékho piretó), έχω βήχα (ékho víkha), έχω συνάχι (ékho sinákhi). No word for "a" or "the" comes with it — the pair is fixed.
States take verbs in -ομαι: ζαλίζομαι (my head spins), ανακατεύομαι (I feel sick), κουράζομαι (I get tired). Nobody is doing anything in them, and that is the point.
Table
| one place aches | several places ache | |
|---|---|---|
| at me | με πονάει το κεφάλι | με πονάνε τα πόδια |
| at you | σε πονάει το κεφάλι | σε πονάνε τα πόδια |
| at him, at you (pl.) | τον πονάει το κεφάλι | τον πονάνε τα πόδια |
By example
- Με πονάει ο λαιμός μουme ponái o lemós muMy throat hurts
- Έχω πυρετό από χθεςékho piretó apó khthesI've had a temperature since yesterday
- Δεν νιώθω καλά, ζαλίζομαιden niótho kalá, zalízomeI feel unwell, my head is spinning
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
What hurts: how does it work in Greek?
"My head hurts" turns around in Greek: the head does the hurting, and you stand aside. Με πονάει το κεφάλι μου — word for word, "me hurts my head".
What does it look like in an example sentence Greek?
“Με πονάει ο λαιμός μου” (me ponái o lemós mu) — My throat hurts. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.