Dolor de cabeza

[DailyWord]

This is a discussion thread for the Daily Spanish Word for October 24, 2009

dolor de cabeza (masculine noun (el)) — headache. Look up dolor de cabeza in the dictionary

Si me da dolor de cabeza trato de dormir para que se me quite.
If I get a headache, I try to sleep it off.

[bobjenkins]

Me duelen los ojos porque tengo un dolor de cabeza

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by bobjenkins

Me duelen los ojos porque tengo un dolor de cabeza

En español no dices "tengo un dolor de cabeza", sino "tengo dolor de cabeza" (de muelas, de estómago, de pie, etc.). Sólo se utiliza el determinante para enfatizar:

Tengo un dolor de cabeza que no me deja vivir.
Tenía un dolor de cabeza tan fuerte que no me levanté de la cama en todo el día.

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by irmamar

En español no dices "tengo un dolor de cabeza", sino "tengo dolor de cabeza" (de muelas, de estómago, de pie, etc.). Sólo se utiliza el determinante para enfatizar:

Tengo un dolor de cabeza que no me deja vivir.
Tenía un dolor de cabeza tan fuerte que no me levanté de la cama en todo el día.

gracias!

[CrOtALiTo]

I always headache.

I don't know if as the Doctor told me it's migraine until my eyes paining me.

[irmamar]

Have you gone to an ophthalmologist? Sometimes a bad eyesight produces headache.

[CrOtALiTo]

Already I went with the Doctor, only that he told me that even I don't need the eyeglasses and but that I'm a trouble in the eyes, and perhaps in this year I will need the eyeglasses.

[irmamar]

I think "gafas" is "glasses"

Maybe eyeglass is "ojo de cristal"

[laepelba]

So you would say "dolor de ..." and fill in whatever body part? The "de" is a unique sentence structure with "dolor"?

Also, is "dolor" used figuratively, too? For example, in English we say that something is "a pain in the neck" or something is "a pain". In Spanish, can I say that something/someone "es un dolor" or "es un dolor de cuello"?

[irmamar]

You can say also "me duele", commonly used:

Me duele la cabeza = tengo dolor de cabeza.
Me duele el cuello = tengo dolor de cuello
etc.

Is a "pain in the neck" an idiom? .Sorry, I don't understand your question

[laepelba]

I guess it must be an idiom. Someone or something is "a pain in the neck" if they are bothersome. Doing my taxes is a pain. Or, that student in my colleague's 3rd period class is a pain in the neck.

[irmamar]

Ah!, then, I'd say: "esto es peor que un dolor de muelas". A toothache is much worse than a pain in the neck

[laepelba]

I like that!

[irmamar]

Well, if you don't have a toothache, of course

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by irmamar

I think "gafas" is "glasses"

Maybe eyeglass is "ojo de cristal"

No, ojo de cristal es "glass eye". "Eyeglass" es telescopio.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Lou Ann: Right. A figurative of "dolor de cabeza" can also be something/someone that bothers you.

Mi hijo es un dolor de cabeza. Siempre se mete en problemas.
My son is a pain. He's always getting in trouble.

Pues yo soy el dolor de cabeza de mis padres. Nunca me porto bien.
Well, I'm my parents' pain in the neck. I never beave well.

El álgebra es mi dolor de cabeza. Nunca saco buenas notas.
Algebra is my weakness. I never get good marks there.

Mi suegra dejó de ser un dolor de cabeza el día que falleció.
My mother-in-law stopped being a pain in the neck the day she died.

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

@Lou Ann: Right. A figurative of "dolor de cabeza" can also be something/someone that bothers you.

Mi hijo es un dolor de cabeza. Siempre se mete en problemas.
My son is a pain. He's always getting in trouble.

Pues yo soy el dolor de cabeza de mis padres. Nunca me porto bien.
Well, I'm my parents' pain in the neck. I never beave well.

El álgebra es mi dolor de cabeza. Nunca saco buenas notas.
Algebra is my weakness. I never get good marks there.

Yeah, um ... whatever..........

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

Mi suegra dejó de ser un dolor de cabeza el día que falleció.
My mother-in-law stopped being a pain in the neck the day she died.

This last example is more like something that Hernan would say.......

Thanks for these great examples, Malila.

[irmamar]

In such cases I'd say: es un quebradero de cabeza (el álgebra me resulta un quebradero de cabeza )

[poli]

Originally Posted by irmamar

In such cases I'd say: es un quebradero de cabeza (el álgebra me resulta un quebradero de cabeza )

In English, we call this a splitting headache

[Jessica]

I think I learned headache as something else. not sure