How to Say ‘You have pain’ in French
Vous avez mal
voo ah-vay mahl
[voo ah-vay mahl]
💬 Usage Tip: Another chunk of avoir mal. Add a body part after it: au dos, à la gorge, au ventre.
🇫🇷 In France: French loves reusable sentence patterns—learn one frame, then swap in the body part.
Phrase Breakdown
Vous
[voo]
you
Formal or plural pronoun used to address a patient politely.
Vous avez mal ici ?
Do you have pain here?
avez
[ah-vay]
have
Form of avoir used with vous; often used in questions about symptoms.
Vous avez mal depuis hier.
You have pain since yesterday.
mal
[mahl]
pain / hurting
Used with avoir to say that something hurts: avoir mal.
Vous avez mal au dos.
You have back pain.
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