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What does “doet pijn” mean in Dutch?

When something hurts in Dutch, you say it “doet pijn” — literally “does pain.” “Mijn keel doet pijn” means “my throat hurts”; “mijn hoofd doet pijn” is “my head hurts.” The verb “doen” (to do) carries the ache where English uses “hurt” as a verb. This works for any body part: swap in the part that aches and the rest stays the same. “Pijn” means pain, and it also builds the word “pijnstiller” — painkiller, literally pain-stopper.

In this short story about feeling unwell, three symptoms appear in a row: “Ik word wakker met hoofdpijn” (I wake up with a headache), “mijn keel doet pijn” (my throat hurts), “en ik heb koorts” (and I have a fever). Three aches, three different Dutch structures. “Hoofdpijn” packs the pain into a compound noun (hoofd = head + pijn = pain). “Mijn keel doet pijn” uses the “doet pijn” verb phrase. And “koorts hebben” (to have a fever) uses “hebben” (to have). You can also say “het doet pijn” (it hurts, without naming a body part) or ask “doet het pijn?” (does it hurt?). Related forms: “pijnlijk” means painful and “pijnloos” means painless.