What hurts in whom: ağrımak, acımak and the body part with a possessive
English says I have a headache, and the owner stands out in front. Turkish does without an owner: the body part takes the my-tail, and that is enough. For example: “Başım çok ağrıyor” — I have a bad headache. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English says I have a headache, and the owner stands out in front. Turkish does without an owner: the body part takes the my-tail, and that is enough.
One pattern covers every complaint: body part plus my plus the verb. Başım çok ağrıyor is literally my head hurts a lot. The word ben is not needed, because it is not the person that hurts but the head.
There are two verbs of pain. ağrımak is the dull, lasting ache of an organ: midem ağrıyor. acımak is the sharp sting of a cut or a burn: Elim kesildi, çok acıyor.
The trap is the doctor's question. It comes as a noun, and you answer with a noun too: baş ağrısı, a headache.
Table
| the pattern | example | literally | translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| body part + my + ağrıyor | midem ağrıyor | my stomach hurts | I have a stomachache |
| ağrımak | dişim ağrıyor | my tooth hurts | I have a toothache |
| acımak | yaram acıyor | my wound stings | the wound hurts |
| acımak + to-tail | sana acıyorum | I pity you | I feel sorry for you |
| ağrı as a noun | baş ağrısı | the pain of the head | a headache |
| -e yakalanmak | gribe yakalandım | caught by the flu | I came down with the flu |
| hasta olmak | çocuk hasta oldu | the child became ill | the child fell ill |
| a formula | Geçmiş olsun | may it be past | get well soon |
By example
- Başım çok ağrıyorI have a bad headache
- Elim kesildi, çok acıyorI cut my hand — it stings badly
- Geçmiş olsun, çabuk iyileşGet well soon, recover quickly
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 in whom: how does it work in Turkish?
English says I have a headache, and the owner stands out in front. Turkish does without an owner: the body part takes the my-tail, and that is enough.
What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?
“Başım çok ağrıyor” — I have a bad headache. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.