aches and pains

[Graham & Brenda]

My dictionary gives faire mal or etre douloureux for ache and douleur for pain. This doesn't seem to be much of a distinction for what are two quite different conditions. Is there another way of explaining a dull ache rather than une douleur pas extreme, for example.

Thanks in advance for any guidance,

Graham

[Christine Animal]

Une douleur sourde ?

[Graham & Brenda]

Thanks for the new word. The dictionary calls that a vague or dull pain - so that's a useful expression.

Graham 

[Mochas]

When I'm looking at French-related - or other - sites on the internet I find it useful to have an online dictionary open in a separate window. I use www.wordreference.com which offers colloquial and compound forms as well as direct translations. With this I can look up unfamiliar words as I go along  (and God knows, there's a hell of a lot of those).

Try this Grs for your aches and pains and good luck.

[suein56]

Mochas

- I use www.wordreference.com

That is such a superb site - just what I have been looking for - thanks.

Sue

[Rob G]

You might also try

http://www.lexilogos.com/french_language_dictionary.htm. This is a

portal which allows you to type in a French or English word, then

select one of a range of online databases (wordreference is one) to

access various translations. I've found that wordreference is the most

comprehensive, but it does have some gaps. Also it can sometimes be

useful to look up a word or expression on more than one site to get a

better feel for its usage and connotations.

Rob