Module 6.3 – I have a headache

In Lesson 3, we learned that for the English verbs “like,” “dislike” and “want,” we use the pattern “[person] は [target of desire] が [adjective] です”

We use a similar pattern to describe our body parts or our skills.

In general, は is a topic marker and が is a subject marker, so “xxx は yyy が xxx です” literally means “Talking about xxx, yyy is zzz.”

わたしはおなかがいたいです (おなか = stomach, いたい = painful) therefore means “As for me, my stomach is painful,” i.e. “I have a stomachache.”

How to use this pattern.

[person] は [body part] がいたいです。= [person] has sore/painful [body part]
[person] は [body part] がかゆいです。= [person] has itchy [body part]
[person] は [body part] が [noun/adjective] です。= [person] has [adjective] [body part].
[person] は [activity] がじょうずです。= [person] is good at [activity].
[person] は [activity] がへたです。= [person] is bad at [activity].

わたしはかぜをひきました。あたまがいたいです。
Watashi wa kaze wo hikimashita. atama ga itai desu.
I’ve caught a cold. I have a headache.
(わたしは)* おなかがいたいです。
(watashi wa)* onaka ga itai desu.
I have tummy-ache.
(わたしは)* めがかゆいです。
(watashi wa)* me ga kayui desu.
I have itchy eyes.
あにはめがみどりです。
ani wa me ga midori desu.
My older brother has green eyes.
あねはせがたかいです。
ane wa se ga takai desu.
My older sister is tall (<- My older sister has high stature.)
はははこえがちいさいです。
haha wa koe ga chiisai desu.
My mother has small voice. => My mother talks softly.
あにはかみがながいです。
ani wa gami ga nagai desu.
My older brother has long hair.
あねはこえがきれいです。
ane wa koe ga kirei desu.
My older sister has beautiful voice.
あにはスキーがじょうずです。(Japanese people tend not to use this structure for yourself. Also, you don’t use じょうず for somebody else’s professional skills.)
ani wa suki- ga jouzu desu.
My older brother is good as skiing.
（わたしは）* えがへたです。
(watashi wa) * e ga heta desu.
I’m not good at drawing.

* ( ) part is often skipped.

Course: JLPT N5