This is in the lesson examples:
Sophie a mal à l'oreille.Sophie's ear aches.
Sophie has an earache
But when I entered « Aurélie a mal à l’oreille » as the quiz answer it said I was wrong and should have answered « Aurélie a mal aux oreilles ». Which version is actually correct?
Bonjour Aoede,
There is a difference
The question from the kwiz was about the plural form: à + les
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée!
Singular: avoir mal à l'oreille
Plural: avoir mal aux oreilles
Correct answer depends on the specific question, so best to report through the issue button, which links your answer to the quiz for clarification.
After wasting too much time researching this, I conclude that both work just fine. The only clear guidance I've found is in Word Reference which goes with "à l'oreille." I've found no support for "aux oreilles."
After wasting too much time researching this, I conclude that both work just fine. The only clear guidance I've found is in Word Reference which goes with "à l'oreille." I've found no support for "aux oreilles."
Wordreference has both listed under 'earache', as does Larousse bilingual.
https://www.wordreference.com/enfr/earache
https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/anglais-francais/earache/577509
Bonjour Max,
As a native speaker, there is a difference between both expressions: 'avoir mal à l'oreille' means that one ear is aching whilst 'avoir mal aux oreilles' involves both ears.
See examples below:
Lucie a mal aux oreilles = Lucie's ears ache / Lucie has an earache
Lucie a mal à l'oreille = Lucie's ear ache / Lucie has an earache
J'ai mal à l'oreille = my ear aches / I have an earache
J'ai mal aux oreilles = my ears ache / I have an earache
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !
Don't have an account yet? Join today
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level