"Hurt" is the verb (to ache/injure); "pain" is the noun (the feeling of hurt itself).
Verb: to cause physical or emotional pain / to feel pain. Adjective: injured, harmed.
My back hurts so much. I think I slept in a bad position.
Me duele mucho la espalda. Creo que dormi en mala posicion.
She hurt herself when she fell off the bike.
Ella se lastimo cuando se cayo de la bicicleta.
It hurts when you ignore me. I thought we were close.
Duele cuando me ignoras. Pensaba que eramos cercanos.
Noun: the physical or emotional suffering. "Painful" is the derived adjective. "Pain" as a verb exists but is formal and rare.
The pain in her knee was unbearable after the marathon.
El dolor en su rodilla era insoportable despues del maraton.
He has been dealing with chronic back pain for ten years.
El ha lidiado con dolor cronico de espalda por diez anos.
No pain, no gain. That is what every coach tells you.
Sin dolor no hay ganancia. Eso es lo que te dice cada entrenador.
Common mistake
The classic error: "I have hurt in my back" — in Spanish "tengo dolor de espalda" and "me duele la espalda" are both natural, but in English you must choose the right form. "I have pain in my back" (noun — correct). "My back hurts" (verb — correct). "I have hurt in my back" is incorrect because "hurt" is not a standard noun for physical pain (it exists as an emotional noun: "the hurt inside" — informal).
Trick to remember it
Noun structure: "I have pain / I feel pain / there is pain" — "pain" goes with "have", "feel", or "there is". Verb structure: "it hurts / my back hurts / she hurt herself / that hurts" — "hurt" works as a verb with any subject. Derived adjective: painful (causing pain): "a painful memory / a painful injury." "Hurtful" exists but is mainly emotional: "a hurtful comment".
Quick rule
Hurt = verb (to ache / to injure). Pain = noun (the suffering you feel).
Did you know?
"Pain in the neck" and "pain in the backside" are idiomatic expressions meaning something or someone very annoying or tiresome. "That meeting was a real pain in the neck" = that meeting was a real nuisance. The expression comes from the idea that something constantly bothering you is like a chronic physical pain in an inconvenient place.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
She was in tremendous _____ after the accident. She could barely move.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Does it _____ when I press here? Tell me if it is too much.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Hurt = verb (to ache / to injure). Pain = noun (the suffering you feel).
The classic error: "I have hurt in my back" — in Spanish "tengo dolor de espalda" and "me duele la espalda" are both natural, but in English you must choose the right form. "I have pain in my back" (noun — correct). "My back hurts" (verb — correct). "I have hurt in my back" is incorrect because "hurt" is not a standard noun for physical pain (it exists as an emotional noun: "the hurt inside" — informal).
Noun structure: "I have pain / I feel pain / there is pain" — "pain" goes with "have", "feel", or "there is". Verb structure: "it hurts / my back hurts / she hurt herself / that hurts" — "hurt" works as a verb with any subject. Derived adjective: painful (causing pain): "a painful memory / a painful injury." "Hurtful" exists but is mainly emotional: "a hurtful comment".
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy