by Tomoyuki Higuchi
How do you say “I have a headache.” in Japanese?
Today’s phrase is :
I have a headache.
頭痛い。
atama itai
If you want to speak politely, you can say :
頭痛いです。
atama itaidesu
Pronunciation
- I have … ＝ わたしは … がある watashiwa … ga aru
- a headache ＝ 頭痛 zutsuu
The literal translation of “I have a headache.” is “わたしは頭痛がある (watashiwa zutsuuga aru)”, but we do not usually say like that.
We usually say “頭痛い” when we have a headache. “頭 (atama)” means “head” and “痛い (itai)” means “hurt”.
We do not usually say “わたしは = I” in everyday conversation.
頭
head
＋
痛い
hurts
