Me duele el estómago
My stomach hurts.
This is the classic office announcement, the line that comes before going home early after lunch. Notice el estómago, with no word for my.
From The Office · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "stomach" in Spanish
el estómago
nounmasculineplural: los estómagos
"Stomach" in Spanish is el estómago, with the stress on -tó-. For a stomach ache, say Me duele el estómago. The belly you can see from the outside is usually la barriga.
Hear "estómago" in real scenes
An excuse at the office and a question at the hospital. Each video starts and stops on that line.
¿Cómo está tu estómago?
How's your stomach?
You ask this after a heavy dinner or a bad night, and the answer is often just a grimace. Estar fits because it's about how the stomach feels now.
From Dr. House · Spanish audio
Stomach, belly or tummy?
The organ has one name. The part you can see has several.
| Spanish | English | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| el estómago | stomach | The organ, and the usual word for stomach trouble. |
| la barriga | belly, tummy | The round front of the body. Understood everywhere. |
| la tripa | tummy | Informal in Spain: Me duele la tripa. |
| la panza | belly | Informal in Mexico and much of Latin America. |
| el dolor de estómago | stomach ache | Tengo dolor de estómago. |
| mariposas en el estómago | butterflies in your stomach | The same image as in English, for nerves or a crush. |
Tip: Con el estómago vacío means on an empty stomach: No tomes café con el estómago vacío.
Grammar: el estómago
Four points, from the accent mark to the doctor's office.
Masculine, regular plural
el estómago, los estómagos. The adjective comes after and agrees: el estómago vacío, un estómago sensible.Never drop the ó
The stress falls on the third syllable from the end, and Spanish always marks that with an accent: es-TÓ-ma-go, like música.Two ways to complain
Me duele el estómago and Tengo dolor de estómago mean the same. In the second one, estómago has no article.How is it now
Ask with estar, because it's about a passing state: ¿Cómo está tu estómago? The answer: Está mejor.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Me duele el estómago.
My stomach hurts.
¿Cómo está tu estómago?
How's your stomach?
El estómago está perfecto.
The stomach is perfect.
Tengo dolor de estómago.
I have a stomach ache.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗estomago
✓estómago
Without the accent mark the word would be stressed on -ma-. The ó shows where the voice goes up.
✗Estoy dolor de estómago
✓Tengo dolor de estómago
Pain is something you have in Spanish, so dolor goes with tener.
✗Mi padre tiene estómago (meaning a big belly)
✓Mi padre tiene barriga
A belly you can see is la barriga. Tener estómago means you can stand something unpleasant.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 26 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Estómago is English stomach with an e in front and an -o at the end: e-STOMAG-o.
Questions about "stomach" in Spanish
How do you say stomach in Spanish?
El estómago, pronounced ehs-TOH-mah-goh with the stress on the ó.
How do you say "my stomach hurts" in Spanish?
Me duele el estómago. Another common way is Tengo dolor de estómago.
What's the difference between estómago and barriga?
El estómago is the organ inside, and la barriga is the belly you see. For a tummy ache both work, and Me duele la barriga sounds more casual.
How do you say "butterflies in my stomach" in Spanish?
Tengo mariposas en el estómago. Spanish uses the same picture as English.
