Telling doctor stomach hurts: Saying your stomach hurts and for how long

💬 Asseyez-vous is literally "seat yourself": French says sit, lie down and similar actions as something you do to yourself. Allongez-vous "lie down" works the same way.

🇫🇷 This is the standard way a French doctor opens the consultation once you sit down. Answer straight away with your main symptom.

💬 French says "I have pain at the stomach" with avoir mal à, not "my stomach hurts." Swap the body part: J'ai mal à la tête "I have a headache," J'ai mal au dos "my back hurts."

🇫🇷 Ventre covers the whole belly area, so it's what people actually say to a doctor. Estomac "stomach" sounds more precise and is used less in everyday talk.

🇫🇷 Expect this question at every French consultation. Have a clear answer ready, like a number of days.

💬 Use depuis for something that started in the past and is still going on, where English says "for." Swap in any length of time: depuis une semaine "for a week," depuis hier "since yesterday."

💬 Mal here is a noun meaning pain, used with avoir "to have." So French literally says "you have pain," not "you are in pain."

💬 In spoken French the question word où "where" can simply go at the end, just like a statement with rising voice. You'll hear doctors ask questions this way all the time.