douleur/du.lœʁ/
noun · A2 · Frequency 1088
nounfeminine
Meanings
physical pain
Usually refers to physical discomfort or pain, commonly used in medical and everyday contexts.
emotional or mental distress
Refers to emotional or mental suffering, often used to describe feelings of sadness or distress.
Examples
La douleur à son genou l'empêche de monter les escaliers.
The pain in her knee prevents her from climbing the stairs.
Après quelques minutes de repos, la douleur a commencé à diminuer.
After a few minutes of rest, the pain began to subside.
La douleur de cette séparation lui a longtemps pesé.
The pain of that separation weighed on her for a long time.
Collocations
- calmer une douleurto relieve pain
- une douleur moraleemotional distress
Common mistakes
J'ai douleur au dos.
J'ai une douleur au dos.
For a specific physical pain, douleur is normally a countable noun with a determiner; unlike English pain, French does not say avoir douleur without one.
Related words
synonymsouffrancesufferance, pain, suffering
antonymplaisirpleasure, a feeling of happiness or enjoyment
nounfeminine
Meanings
physical pain
Usually refers to physical discomfort or pain, commonly used in medical and everyday contexts.
emotional or mental distress
Refers to emotional or mental suffering, often used to describe feelings of sadness or distress.
Examples
Les douleurs au dos l'empêchent de dormir correctement.
The pain in his back prevents him from sleeping properly.
Après le match, ses douleurs musculaires ont disparu en deux jours.
After the match, his muscle pains disappeared within two days.
Elle a parlé de ses douleurs après la perte de son amie.
She spoke about her emotional distress after losing her friend.