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How to Say ‘My stomach has been hurting since last night.’ in French

J'ai mal au ventre depuis hier soir.

zhay ay mal oh VAHN-truh duh-PWEE ee-AIR swahr

[zhay ay mal oh VAHN-truh duh-PWEE ee-AIR swahr]

💬 Usage Tip: French uses the plain present j'ai mal where English says "has been hurting". With depuis, the present means it started then and is still going on.

Phrase Breakdown

J'ai mal au ventre

zhay ay mal oh VAHN-truh

I have a stomachache

'Avoir mal à' plus a body part says where it hurts. Say 'zhay mal oh vahn-tr'.

Example

J'ai mal au ventre ce matin.

I have a stomachache this morning.

Words in this phrase

[zhay]

Pronoun used by the speaker to refer to himself or herself.

Example

J'aime les bonbons.

I like candies.

[ay]

have

Form of 'avoir' used with past participles to make the past tense.

Example

J'ai beaucoup appris grâce à notre discussion.

I learned a lot thanks to our discussion.

mal

[mal]

pain / ache

Noun meaning pain; 'avoir mal à' means to have pain in a body part.

Example

J'ai mal au dos.

My back hurts.

[oh]

at the

A phrase used to indicate location, time, or a condition.

Example

Elle est au parc.

She is at the park.

ventre

[VAHN-truh]

stomach / belly

Masculine noun for the belly or abdomen; used with 'avoir mal au' for stomach ache.

Example

Mon fils a mal au ventre.

My son has a stomach ache.

depuis hier soir.

duh-PWEE ee-AIR swahr

since last night.

'Depuis' says when something started. Say 'duh-pwee yehr swahr'.

Example

Je suis malade depuis hier soir.

I've been sick since last night.

Words in this phrase

depuis

[duh-PWEE]

since / for

Used with time expressions to show how long something has been happening.

Example

Depuis trois ans, je développe mon réseau professionnel.

For three years, I have been building my professional network.

hier

[ee-AIR]

yesterday

Refers to the day before today; often used in follow-up messages after an event.

Example

Hier, j'ai apprécié notre conversation sur votre projet.

Yesterday, I appreciated our conversation about your project.

soir

[swahr]

evening

Refers to the evening time, often after work or during an event.

Example

Ce soir, je vous envoie un message de remerciement.

This evening, I am sending you a thank-you message.

Guides for French learners

The Most Common French Verbs: the 20 You'll Actually UseThe 20 most common French verbs, with the present-tense forms you need, real example sentences with native audio, and two shortcuts for past and future.Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.

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