Last summer I broke my toe and it swelled up to the size of a grape.

When I went to the hospital to have a doctor take a look, the only thing I could say was 痛い！（いたい） or “Ow!”

With a broken bone, there really isn’t much more to say, it’s clearly broken and the doctor can’t gauge much from the type of pain you are feeling. But what about stomach pain? Cramps? Burning or stinging pain? Throbbing? All these words can be super useful to a doctor if it isn’t so clear what could be wrong with you.

Just like in English, Japanese has a plethora of words that you can use to describe how something hurts. Of course, my favorites are the fun and familiar, 擬声語（ぎせいご）or 擬態語（ぎたいご） ー Japanese onomatopoeia. In Japanese, onomatopoeia are a bit different from English. They can describe anything from sounds and sights to feelings. The last lesson I did about onomatopoeia was about words used to describe being happy. You can find that lesson here -> [NDL #143] - ♪ Happy Days ♫

Japanese onomatopoeia are mostly made up of two kana that repeat, like わくわく, which means "excited or eager."

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Here are five different onomatopoeia used to describe pain:

がんがん　pounding or splitting headache pain
Note: This is only used for head pain

頭ががんがんして起きていられない。
あたま　が　がんがん　して　おきていられない。
My head is pounding, I can’t get up.
Literally: “head + が +pounding pain + do + can’t get up”

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ちくちく 　prickling, stinging, poking pain
Note: Can be used for any type of poking pain, like a needle stick.

足の裏がちくちくする。靴に何か入ってるのかな。
あし　の　うら　が　ちくちく　する。　くつ　に　なんか　はいってる　の　かな。
The bottom of my foot stings. I wonder if there is something in my shoe.
Literally: “foot + の + bottom +が + stinging + do + shoe + に + something + inside + の + wonder”

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ひりひり　burning pain
Note: This can be used on anything from sunburn, to describing how your mouth feels after you eat something very spicy.

ひげそりあとがひりひりする。
ひげそり　あと　が　ひりひり　する。
My face feels like it's burning after I shave (beard).
Literally: “shave (beard) + after + が + burning pain + do”

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ふらふら　dizziness, feeling faint
Note: This is used when you feel like you are going to fall over.

朝から何も食べてなくてふらふらする。
あさ　から　なにも　たべてなくて　ふらふら　する。
I haven’t eaten anything since morning. I feel faint.
Literally: “morning + from + nothing + didn’t eat + dizzy + do”

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むかむか　feeling sick (to one’s stomach)
Note: This can be used any time you feel you might vomit. It can also be used for when you get angry about someone’s behavior.

食べすぎたせいで胃がむかむかする。
たべすぎた　せいで　い　が　むかむか　する。
I ate too much, and now I feel sick.
Literally: “ate too much + fault + で + stomach + が + feeling sick + do."

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So next time something hurts, take the time to think about how it hurts. It’s not going to stop the pain, but at least you will be practicing some Japanese!

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This lesson was written by Cassy L., a guest contributor: