Ache x Pain: Qual a diferença

josneywat 6
Both of these words are most commonly used as nouns. They refer to unpleasant sensations that you feel in your body, although they are slightly different feelings. A pain is usually used to refer to a kind of sharp discomfort that is difficult to ignore. For example:

Yesterday I suddenly felt a lot of pain in my stomach. I was taken to hospital where they discovered I had appendicitis.

Ache is similar to pain, but it usually is used to refer to a duller kind of discomfort that may continue for longer than a pain might. Common examples are:

headache, stomach ache, backache and heartache

Note that heartache is used to refer to a kind of emotional pain, for example if you are in love with someone and they are not treating you well you can say:

He is causing me a lot of heartache.

Less commonly, both pain and ache can be used as verbs. Pain in this form means to cause someone unhappiness. Note that you cannot use pain in the progressive or continuous form in standard UK or US English.

It pains me to think of you being so unhappy with your life – meaning it makes me feel unhappy that you are so sad.

You can also use ache as a verb. Unlike pain, ache can be used in the progressive form. For example:

My back is really aching.
I wish my leg would stop hurting, it really aches.

Interestingly, you can also use the expression aches and pains to refer to a general feeling of being unwell.

Sabe a resposta? Seja um colaborador(a)! Ao responder questões no English Experts você ganha pontos de Reputação. Se você atua na área de idiomas, suas participações na comunidade podem ser uma ótima vitrine para o seu trabalho.

Registre-se agora e faça parte!
Colabore