Ouch! How do you say that in French? While you might know a basic verb for "to hurt", the French language, with its characteristic richness, offers many ways to express pain, injury, and emotional distress.

Whether you've stubbed your toe, have a headache, or are talking about a more figurative heartache, there's a specific word or phrase that fits just right.

Learning these different expressions will not only expand your vocabulary but also help you sound more like a native speaker. Let's dive into 9 different ways to say "to hurt" in French!

The standard 'to hurt' or 'to wound' – blesser

The verb blesser is the most common and direct way to say 'to hurt' or 'to wound' in French. It covers both physical and emotional injury, making it a versatile and essential verb to learn.

In its most literal sense, blesser refers to causing a physical wound or injury. It's the verb you would use to describe someone getting cut, scraped, or more seriously wounded.

For example: Le couteau a blessé son doigt. (The knife hurt his finger.)

Just as in English, blesser is also widely used to describe emotional pain. It means 'to hurt someone's feelings', 'to offend', or 'to wound emotionally'. The context usually makes it very clear which meaning is intended.

For example: Tes paroles m'ont blessé. (Your words hurt me.)

A crucial and frequently used form is the reflexive verb se blesser, which means 'to get hurt' or 'to injure oneself'. This is used when the person performing the action is also the one receiving the injury.

• Je me suis blessé. (I got hurt / I hurt myself.)
• Il s'est blessé en tombant. (He got hurt falling down.)

You will often encounter blesser in the passive voice, especially in news or reports. The structure être blessé(e) means 'to be injured/wounded'. The past participle blessé must agree in gender and number with the subject.

• Le conducteur a été gravement blessé. (The driver was seriously injured.)
• Plusieurs personnes ont été blessées. (Several people were injured.)

💡 * Attention, ce clou pourrait te blesser.

• Je ne voulais pas te blesser avec ma critique.
• Elle s'est blessée en jouant au football.
• Le soldat a été blessé au combat.
• Ses mensonges m'ont profondément blessé.

The common 'to cause pain' – faire mal (à)

When you want to say that something or someone is causing pain or hurting another person in French, the most common and versatile expression you'll use is faire mal (à). This is a key idiomatic phrase that directly translates to 'to do/make bad (to)' but is universally understood as 'to hurt' or 'to cause pain'.

The structure is built around the verb faire (to do/make). The subject of the sentence is the person or thing causing the pain. The person or body part receiving the pain is introduced by the preposition à and functions as the indirect object of the verb.

In practice, you conjugate faire to match the subject (the source of the pain). The preposition à contracts with definite articles when necessary: à + le = au, à + les = aux. For example, 'The noise hurts my ears' becomes Le bruit me fait mal **aux** oreilles.

Often, the person being hurt is represented by an indirect object pronoun (me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur) placed before the conjugated verb faire. This is very common in everyday speech. For instance, Tu me fais mal means 'You are hurting me'.

A great feature of faire mal is its versatility. It can describe both physical pain, like Ce sac lourd me fait mal au dos (This heavy bag hurts my back), and emotional pain, such as Ses paroles lui ont fait mal (His/her words hurt him/her). The context makes the meaning clear.

💡 * Attention, tu me fais mal avec cette branche !

• Mes nouvelles chaussures font vraiment mal aux pieds.
• Leurs critiques lui ont fait beaucoup de mal.
• Le soleil fait mal aux yeux si on ne porte pas de lunettes.
• Ne te fais pas mal en jouant dehors.

The 'to ache' or 'to be in pain' – avoir mal (à)

To express pain or an ache in French, the most common phrase is avoir mal. This is an idiomatic expression that literally translates to 'to have pain,' and it uses the verb avoir (to have), not être (to be).

The fundamental structure involves conjugating the verb avoir for the correct subject, followed by the word mal. For instance, J'ai mal means 'I am in pain' or 'I have an ache.'

To say where it hurts, you add the preposition à followed by the definite article (le, la, l', les) and the specific body part. This tells you the location of the pain.

Crucially, the preposition à must contract with the definite articles le and les. The rules are:

• à + le becomes au (e.g., J'ai mal au ventre - I have a stomach ache).
• à + la does not change (e.g., J'ai mal à la gorge - I have a sore throat).
• à + l' does not change (e.g., J'ai mal à l'épaule - My shoulder hurts).
• à + les becomes aux (e.g., J'ai mal aux dents - I have a toothache).

English speakers often mistakenly use the verb être. Remember, in French, you have pain. Always use avoir. Saying Je suis mal would mean something different, like 'I am unwell' or 'I feel bad,' not that a specific part of you hurts.

💡 * J'ai très mal à la tête. (I have a very bad headache.)

• Mon fils a mal au dos à force de porter son sac. (My son's back hurts from carrying his bag.)
• Elle a mal à l'estomac après avoir trop mangé. (She has a stomach ache after eating too much.)
• Nous avons mal aux pieds après la longue marche. (Our feet hurt after the long walk.)

The emotional 'to hurt' or 'to grieve' – peiner

The verb peiner in French captures the deep emotional sense of 'to hurt,' 'to sadden,' or 'to grieve.'

Primarily, peiner is used when an action or situation causes someone emotional distress or sorrow. For example, 'Cette nouvelle me peine' means 'This news saddens me.' It implies a deeper emotional impact than just being annoying or upsetting.

A second common meaning of peiner is 'to struggle' or 'to have difficulty with something.' This is often seen in the structure peiner à + verb. For instance, 'Je peine à comprendre' translates to 'I'm struggling to understand.'

The verb is directly related to the noun la peine, which means 'sorrow,' 'grief,' or 'trouble/effort.' This connection is clear in famous expressions like 'C'est pas la peine' ('It's not worth the trouble').

💡 * Ça me peine de le voir dans cette situation. (It hurts me to see him in this situation.)

• Son indifférence a beaucoup peiné sa mère. (His indifference greatly grieved his mother.)
• Elle peine à joindre les deux bouts. (She struggles to make ends meet.)
• Le moteur peine dans les côtes. (The engine struggles on the hills.)

The 'to hurt someone's feelings' or 'to slight' – vexer

The French verb vexer directly translates to 'to hurt someone's feelings,' 'to offend,' or 'to slight.' It's a common verb used to describe causing emotional upset or annoyance.

Vexer specifically refers to emotional or psychological hurt, not physical pain. It's the feeling you cause when a comment, a joke, or an action makes someone feel disrespected, annoyed, or slighted. The offense is often minor but can still strain a relationship.

The reflexive form, se vexer, is extremely common and means 'to get offended' or 'to take offense.' You use this when the subject of the sentence is the one whose feelings are being hurt. For example, Il s'est vexé means 'He got offended.'

As a regular -er verb, vexer is easy to conjugate. In the present tense, it follows the standard pattern: je vexe, tu vexes, il/elle vexe, nous vexons, vous vexez, ils/elles vexent. Remember to conjugate the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, etc.) when using se vexer.

You'll hear this verb often in everyday conversations. It's a useful word to know when you want to apologize or explain that you didn't mean to cause offense. For example: Je ne voulais pas te vexer (I didn't mean to offend you).

💡 * Je crois que j'ai vexé Marie avec ma remarque. (I think I hurt Marie's feelings with my remark.)

• Ne te vexe pas, c'était juste une blague ! (Don't get offended, it was just a joke!)
• Il se vexe très facilement, il faut faire attention à ce qu'on dit. (He gets offended very easily, you have to be careful what you say.)
• Ses paroles m'ont vexé. (His words hurt my feelings.)

The 'to harm' or 'to be detrimental to' – nuire (à)

To express the idea of harming someone or something, or being detrimental to a situation, the French verb you need is nuire. It's an important irregular verb that is always followed by the preposition à to indicate what is being harmed.

Nuire is an irregular third-group verb. Its conjugation pattern is similar to other verbs ending in -uire, like conduire (to drive). The key is its past participle, which is nui. In the present tense, it is conjugated as follows: je nuis, tu nuis, il/elle nuit, nous nuisons, vous nuisez, ils/elles nuisent.

The verb nuire is intransitive, meaning it doesn't take a direct object. Instead, the person or thing being harmed is always introduced by the preposition à. The structure is always sujet + nuire + à + objet. This emphasizes that the action is detrimental to something, rather than acting directly upon it.

Unlike blesser (to physically injure) or faire du mal (to hurt someone, often emotionally), nuire typically refers to a more abstract, indirect, or gradual form of harm. It's perfect for talking about things that are detrimental to health, a reputation, a project, or the environment.

💡 * Le tabagisme nuit gravement à la santé. (Smoking is seriously harmful to health.)

• Ses actions ont nui à la réputation de l'entreprise. (His actions harmed the company's reputation.)
• Le bruit constant peut nuire à votre concentration. (Constant noise can be detrimental to your concentration.)
• Cette politique risque de nuire aux plus démunis. (This policy risks harming the most disadvantaged.)

The 'to damage' (an object) – endommager / abîmer

To talk about damaging an object in French, the two most common verbs are endommager and abîmer. While both translate to 'to damage,' they have slightly different connotations regarding formality and the type of damage.

Endommager is often used in more formal contexts or to describe significant, functional damage. It's the preferred verb for technical reports, insurance claims, or news about accidents. Think of it as damage that impairs an object's primary function, like a storm damaging a bridge or an accident damaging a car's engine.

Abîmer is more common in everyday conversation and covers a wider range of damage, including aesthetic flaws, wear and tear, or spoiling. You would use abîmer if you scratch a table, scuff your shoes, or leave fruit out to rot. It means to ruin, spoil, or damage in a general sense.

💡 * La grêle a endommagé la carrosserie de la voiture. (The hail damaged the car's body.)

• Fais attention, tu vas abîmer ton nouveau pull ! (Be careful, you're going to damage your new sweater!)
• J'ai fait tomber mon téléphone et l'écran est tout abîmé. (I dropped my phone and the screen is all damaged.)
• Le transport a endommagé plusieurs meubles. (The transport damaged several pieces of furniture.)

The 'to offend' or 'to insult' – offenser

The verb for 'to offend' or 'to insult' – offenser.

Offenser is the direct French equivalent of 'to offend.' It's used when someone's words or actions cause hurt, anger, or disrespect to another person. It covers a wide range of situations, from minor slights to serious insults.

It's crucial to know the reflexive form, s'offenser, which means 'to take offense' or 'to be offended.' You use this when the person feeling offended is the subject of the sentence. For example, Je m'offense means 'I am taking offense.'

This verb is standard in French and can be used in both formal and informal contexts. However, accusing someone of offenser is a direct and serious charge, implying a genuine breach of respect.

💡 * Je ne voulais pas vous offenser. (I did not mean to offend you.)

• Ses commentaires ont offensé beaucoup de monde. (His comments offended a lot of people.)
• Ne t'offense pas, ce n'était qu'une blague. (Don't be offended, it was just a joke.)
• Il s'offense pour un rien. (He takes offense at the slightest thing.)

1. The Verb for Suffering: Souffrir

The French verb souffrir is the direct equivalent of the English 'to suffer.' It's a key verb for expressing pain, hardship, or enduring a difficult situation. Although it ends in -ir, it is an irregular verb that follows a specific conjugation pattern similar to verbs like offrir (to offer) and ouvrir (to open).

In the present tense, souffrir is conjugated like a regular -er verb, which makes it easier to remember. The endings are -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. For example: je souffre (I suffer), tu souffres (you suffer), il/elle souffre (he/she suffers).

To talk about suffering in the past, you use the passé composé. Souffrir uses the auxiliary verb avoir and its past participle is souffert. For instance, 'She suffered' translates to Elle a souffert.

A very common and important structure is souffrir de + [noun], which means 'to suffer from...'. This is frequently used to talk about illnesses, allergies, or other conditions. For example, souffrir de la chaleur means 'to suffer from the heat'.

💡 * Il souffre d'allergies au printemps. (He suffers from allergies in the spring.)

• Nous avons beaucoup souffert pendant la canicule. (We suffered a lot during the heatwave.)
• Je ne supporte pas de voir les gens souffrir. (I can't stand to see people suffer.)
• Elle souffre en silence. (She suffers in silence.)

Are there other ways to say 'to hurt' in French?

Are there other ways to say “to hurt” in French?

Our list covers the most common and versatile verbs for expressing 'to hurt' in French. But the language is full of other terms, including more specific medical vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and evolving slang that capture different kinds of pain.

You can explore further by doing an online search for phrases like “expressions idiomatiques pour la douleur” to discover more figurative ways to talk about hurting.

Pay close attention to whether a verb is used for physical pain (la douleur physique) or emotional hurt (la douleur émotionnelle). The context will almost always tell you which is which, and using the wrong term can sometimes lead to confusion.

As you listen to French speakers, watch movies, or read books, take note of how they describe pain. You'll pick up on the subtle differences and sound more natural in your own conversations.

If you want to explore more synonyms or related concepts, looking up words like douleur (pain), peine (sorrow/grief), or blessure (injury) on a resource like WordReference or Larousse is a great next step.

I hope this article was useful for you. Let's end with a fitting quote from French writer Alfred de Musset, who knew a thing or two about emotional pain: Rien ne nous rend si grands qu'une grande douleur. (Nothing makes us as great as a great pain.)