German · A1 · Family moment
Comfort and Cuddles in German
Gentle questions to help your child show you what hurts. Learn how to ask about little aches using common German body-part words.
What you'll learn
- Ask your child where it hurts.
- Name common body parts in German.
- Use tut … weh to ask whether something hurts.
German phrases for comfort and cuddles
Wo tut es dir weh?
Where does it hurt?
A gentle, everyday question. Dir refers to the child you are speaking to.
Tut dir der Bauch weh?
Does your tummy hurt?
Bauch is the everyday word for tummy or belly.
Tut dir der Kopf weh?
Does your head hurt?
Kopf means head.
Tut dir das Ohr weh?
Does your ear hurt?
Das Ohr refers to one ear.
Tut dir der Mund weh?
Does your mouth hurt?
Mund means mouth.
Tut dir die Hand weh?
Does your hand hurt?
Die Hand refers to one hand.
Tut dir der Fuß weh?
Does your foot hurt?
Fuß means foot. The letter ß sounds like s in English “see.”
Tut dir der Zahn weh?
Does your tooth hurt?
Der Zahn refers to one tooth.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
wo
where
Use this to ask your child to show you the sore spot.
wehtun
to hurt
In these questions, it splits into tut and weh.
dir
to you
Use dir when speaking directly to one child.
der Bauch
tummy; belly
Learn the article der together with Bauch.
der Kopf
head
Learn the article der together with Kopf.
das Ohr
ear
Learn the article das together with Ohr.
der Mund
mouth
Learn the article der together with Mund.
die Hand
hand
Learn the article die together with Hand.
der Fuß
foot
Learn the article der together with Fuß.
der Zahn
tooth
Learn the article der together with Zahn.
Asking where it hurts
Start with Wo (where), followed by tut. The verb wehtun splits up, so weh goes at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Where-question | Wo + tut + es + dir + weh? | Wo tut es dir weh? — Where does it hurt? |
Asking about a body part
For a yes/no question, start with Tut. German does not add a separate word for English “does.” All the body parts here are singular, so use tut.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yes/no question | Tut + dir + article + body part + weh? | Tut dir die Hand weh? — Does your hand hurt? |
Saying whose body part hurts
German commonly uses dir with der, die or das where English uses “your.” For a reply about yourself, change dir to mir (to me).
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Speaking to your child | dir + der / die / das + body part | Tut dir der Kopf weh? — Does your head hurt? |
| Speaking about yourself | Article + body part + tut + mir + weh. | Der Kopf tut mir weh. — My head hurts. |
More examples
Hier.
Here.
Your child can say this while pointing to the sore spot.
Ja, der Bauch tut mir weh.
Yes, my tummy hurts.
A simple answer to Tut dir der Bauch weh?
Nein, der Fuß tut mir nicht weh.
No, my foot doesn't hurt.
Put nicht before weh to say that it does not hurt.