Illnesses, aches and pains

Where does it hurt?

where does it hurt?

= où est-ce que ça vous fait mal? or (more formally) où avez-vous mal?

his leg hurts

= sa jambe lui fait mal

(Do not confuse faire mal à qn with the phrase faire du mal à qn, which means to harm sb.)

he has a pain in his leg

= il a mal à la jambe

Note that with avoir mal à French uses the definite article (la) with the part of the body, where English has a possessive (his), hence :

his head was aching

= il avait mal à la tête

English has other ways of expressing this idea, but avoir mal à fits them too :

he had toothache

= il avait mal aux dents

his ears hurt

= il avait mal aux oreilles

Accidents

she broke her leg

= elle s’est cassé la jambe

Elle s’est cassé la jambe means literally she broke to herself the leg ; because the se is an indirect object, the past participle cassé does not agree. This is true of all such constructions :

she sprained her ankle

= elle s’est foulé la cheville

they burned their hands

= ils se sont brûlé les mains

Chronic conditions

Note that the French often use fragile (weak) to express a chronic condition :

he has a weak heart

= il a le cœur fragile

he has kidney trouble

= il a les reins fragiles

he has a bad back

= il a le dos fragile

Being ill

Mostly French uses the definite article with the name of an illness :

to have flu

= avoir la grippe

to have measles

= avoir la rougeole

to have malaria

= avoir la malaria

This applies to most infectious diseases, including childhood illnesses. However, note the exceptions ending in -ite (e.g. une hépatite, une méningite) below.

When the illness affects a specific part of the body, French uses the indefinite article :

to have cancer

= avoir un cancer

to have cancer of the liver

= avoir un cancer du foie

to have pneumonia

= avoir une pneumonie

to have cirrhosis

= avoir une cirrhose

to have a stomach ulcer

= avoir un ulcère à l’estomac

Most words in -ite (English -itis) work like this :

to have bronchitis

= avoir une bronchite

to have hepatitis

= avoir une hépatite

When the illness is a generalized condition, French tends to use du, de l’, de la or des :

to have rheumatism

= avoir des rhumatismes

to have emphysema

= avoir de l’emphysème

to have asthma

= avoir de l’asthme

to have arthritis

= avoir de l’arthrite

One exception here is :

to have hay fever

= avoir le rhume des foins

When there is an adjective for such conditions, this is often preferred in French :

to have asthma

= être asthmatique

to have epilepsy

= être épileptique

Such adjectives can be used as nouns to denote the person with the illness, e.g. un/une asthmatique and un/une épileptique etc.

French has other specific words for people with certain illnesses :

someone with cancer

= un cancéreux/une cancéreuse

If in doubt check in the dictionary.

English with is translated by qui a or qui ont, and this is always safe :

someone with malaria

= quelqu’un qui a la malaria

people with Aids

= les gens qui ont le Sida

Falling ill

The above guidelines about the use of the definite and indefinite articles in French hold good for talking about the onset of illnesses.

French has no general equivalent of to get. However, where English can use catch, French can use attraper :

to catch mumps

= attraper les oreillons

to catch malaria

= attraper la malaria

to catch bronchitis

= attraper une bronchite

to catch a cold

= attraper un rhume

Similarly where English uses contract, French uses contracter :

to contract Aids

= contracter le Sida

to contract pneumonia

= contracter une pneumonie

to contract hepatitis

= contracter une hépatite

For attacks of chronic illnesses, French uses faire une crise de :

to have a bout of malaria

= faire une crise de malaria

to have an asthma attack

= faire une crise d’asthme

to have an epileptic fit

= faire une crise d’épilepsie

Treatment

to be treated for polio

= se faire soigner contre la polio

to take something for hay fever

= prendre quelque chose contre le rhume des foins

he’s taking something for his cough

= il prend quelque chose contre la toux

to prescribe something for a cough

= prescrire un médicament contre la toux

malaria tablets

= des cachets contre la malaria

to have a cholera vaccination

= se faire vacciner contre le choléra

to be vaccinated against smallpox

= se faire vacciner contre la variole

to be immunized against smallpox

= se faire immuniser contre la variole

to have a tetanus injection

= se faire vacciner contre le tétanos

to give sb a tetanus injection

= vacciner qn contre le tétanos

to be operated on for cancer

= être opéré d’un cancer

to operate on sb for appendicitis

= opérer qn de l’appendicite

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.