Home/Vocabulary/“I don’t feel well”
A2How to saymnye plókha

How to say “I don’t feel well” in Russian

A short sentence that Russians take seriously: Мне пло́хо means something is genuinely wrong.

Quick answer

Мне пло́хо.

mnye plókha — the dative pattern again — and it is stronger than it looks

The options

Мне пло́хо.I feel ill. — strong
Я пло́хо себя́ чу́вствую.I don’t feel well. — neutral
Мне нехорошо́.I feel a bit off.
У меня́ боли́т голова́.I have a headache.
У меня́ температу́ра.I have a temperature.

Three strengths

Мне пло́хо is the strong one — faint, sick, something serious. Мне нехорошо́ is milder. Я пло́хо себя́ чу́вствую is the neutral, slightly formal version you would use to explain an absence from work.

Naming the part

Use У меня́ боли́т plus the body part as the subject: боли́т голова́, боли́т го́рло, боли́т живо́т, and боля́т но́ги for a plural. The temperature phrase needs no verb at all: У меня́ температу́ра already means you have a fever.

What you hear back

Что у вас боли́т?What hurts?
Сади́тесь, вот вода́.Sit down, here’s some water.
Вы́звать врача́?Shall I call a doctor?
Выздора́вливайте!Get well soon!

Typical mistakes

Я пло́хо.

Мне пло́хо.

The person feeling it is dative.

У меня́ есть температу́ра.

У меня́ температу́ра.

The есть is dropped and the word alone implies a fever.

Check yourself

Which is correct?

Dative plus adverb.

Want it all in one place?

Russian Basics has Cyrillic, the cases and 1,000 words in one PDF — stress marked on every word, exercises with answers.

Get the guide — $19