He Hurt In Spanish | Say It Right

Use le dolió, se lastimó, or él hizo daño based on pain, injury, or harm caused.

English makes “hurt” do too much. A boy can feel pain, get injured, harm another person, or wound someone’s feelings. Spanish splits those ideas into different verbs, so the right wording depends on who felt pain and what caused it.

Start by naming the job of the sentence. If he felt pain, use le dolió. If he injured himself, use se lastimó or se hirió. If he caused harm, use hizo daño, lastimó, or hirió.

He Hurt In Spanish With Natural Sentence Choices

The safest everyday choice for “he hurt” is not one single Spanish phrase. Spanish cares about the direction of the pain. Did pain happen to him? Did he damage his own body? Did he hurt someone else?

Use these three buckets:

• He felt pain:le dolió, as in Le dolió la rodilla.
• He got injured:se lastimó, as in Se lastimó el tobillo.
• He caused harm:hizo daño, as in Le hizo daño a su hermano.

When He Felt Pain

Use doler when the sentence means pain was felt by him. This verb works like gustar: the body part is the subject, and the person gets an indirect object pronoun. So “his head hurt” becomes Le dolía la cabeza, not él dolía su cabeza.

For past tense, choose le dolió for a finished pain moment and le dolía for pain that was ongoing. Le dolió el brazo means his arm hurt at that moment. Le dolía el brazo means his arm was hurting over a stretch of time.

When He Got Injured

Use se lastimó when he injured himself or got hurt in an accident. This sounds natural in everyday Spanish across many regions. A parent might say Se lastimó jugando fútbol, meaning he got hurt while playing soccer.

Se hirió is stronger and often points to a wound, cut, or injury with blood or force. Use it when the harm is more physical than mild soreness. The verb herir points to producing a wound and often pairs with en before the injured body part.

When He Hurt Someone Else

If he hurt another person, Spanish often uses hacer daño. The person harmed takes le, then the personal a can name the person: Le hizo daño a su amigo. This works for physical harm and for emotional pain.

The RAE entry for doler connects the verb with feeling pain or grief. The RAE entry for lastimar gives related senses tied to injury and offense, which is why it can work for the body or feelings. The RAE note on herir gives a tighter reading for wounds.

How To Choose The Right Past Tense

The past tense can change the feel of the sentence. Use preterite when the pain or injury is seen as a completed event. Use imperfect when the pain was ongoing, repeated, or part of the scene.

Preterite For A Finished Moment

Le dolió, se lastimó, and lo lastimó fit completed moments. They answer “what happened?” A fall, a hit, one harsh comment, or one sudden pain fits this tense well.

• Le dolió el golpe. The blow hurt him.
• Se lastimó al correr. He got hurt while running.
• El perro lo lastimó. The dog hurt him.

Imperfect For Ongoing Pain

Le dolía works when the pain was still there during the scene. It sounds like “he was hurting” or “his body part hurt.” Use it for background details, repeated pain, or a condition that lasted.

• Le dolía la garganta toda la noche. His throat hurt all night.
• Le dolían las piernas después del viaje. His legs hurt after the trip.
• Le dolía caminar. Walking hurt him.

A strong translation choice comes from two checks: the type of pain and the time shape. If the pain arrived and ended in one scene, use preterite. If the pain sat in the background, use imperfect. If he caused the harm, switch away from doler and choose hacer daño or lastimar.

English Meaning	Best Spanish Choice	Natural Sample
He felt pain once	Le dolió	Le dolió la espalda.
He was in pain	Le dolía	Le dolía el pecho.
He injured himself	Se lastimó	Se lastimó la mano.
He got wounded	Se hirió	Se hirió en la pierna.
He hurt another person	Le hizo daño	Le hizo daño a Carlos.
He hurt her feelings	La lastimó / Le hizo daño	La lastimó con sus palabras.
Something hurt him	Le dolió / Lo lastimó	La caída lo lastimó.
He hurt himself badly	Se lastimó mucho	Se lastimó mucho al caer.

Common Mistakes With Hurt In Spanish

The biggest trap is translating word by word. Spanish usually does not say él dolió for “he hurt.” Doler points pain toward a person, so the structure changes.

Another trap is using su with body parts every time English uses “his.” Spanish often lets the pronoun do that job. Say le dolió la cabeza and se lastimó el pie. Both sound cleaner than forms with su cabeza or su pie in many everyday sentences.

Don’t Say	Say	Why It Works
Él dolió su brazo.	Le dolió el brazo.	The arm caused pain to him.
Él lastimó.	Se lastimó.	The reflexive form shows he got hurt.
Él hirió sus sentimientos.	La lastimó.	Lastimar fits feelings in natural speech.
Él hizo dolor a ella.	Le hizo daño.	Hacer daño is the natural set phrase.

Body Parts Use The Definite Article

Spanish often uses el, la, los, or las with body parts where English uses “his.” Say le dolió la cabeza, not le dolió su cabeza. The pronoun le already tells the reader whose head hurt.

Pronoun Clues That Prevent Mix-Ups

Use le with doler and hacer daño when the person receives pain or harm. Use lo or la with lastimar when he or she is the direct object. In casual speech, many speakers will still choose le in some regions, but learners get cleaner results by learning the pattern first.

Spanish Phrases You Can Copy

These ready-made lines sound natural in daily speech. Pick the one that matches the scene, then swap the body part or person as needed.

• Le dolió la cabeza. His head hurt.
• Le dolía el estómago. His stomach was hurting.
• Se lastimó el pie. He hurt his foot.
• Se hirió en el brazo. He wounded his arm.
• Le hizo daño a ella. He hurt her.
• La lastimó con lo que dijo. He hurt her with what he said.

How Region And Tone Change The Choice

Lastimar is common and easy for learners because it works for many injuries and for hurt feelings. Herir can sound stronger, more formal, or more tied to a visible wound. Hacer daño is broad and useful when you do not want to name the exact type of harm.

For mild pain, le dolió is usually enough. For an accident, se lastimó sounds plain and useful. For damage done to another person, le hizo daño keeps the meaning broad without sounding stiff.

If you learn only one rule, make it this: pain felt by him uses le dolió; injury to himself uses se lastimó; harm caused by him uses hizo daño. That split will make most sentences sound closer to real Spanish.