The German word for pain is die Schmerzen (plural only).
Schmerzen in German covers both physical and emotional pain. It’s used when talking about health, accidents, heartbreak, and more. Unlike English, it’s always used in the plural form—even for a single pain.

It’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German (get the free illustrated PDF to learn all the essentials).

Gender and Pronunciation

It’s a plural noun: die Schmerzen.
Want to lock in tricky gender and number rules? This video lesson can help.

Pronunciation:
Schmerzen is pronounced [SHMAIR-tsen]

• “SHMAIR” like “share”

• “tsen” like “zen”
  Two syllables: SHMAIR-tsen

Example sentences

Ich habe Kopfschmerzen.

I have a headache.

Die Schmerzen sind kaum auszuhalten.

The pain is unbearable.

Sie leidet unter starken Schmerzen.

She’s suffering from intense pain.

How does this word come up in real conversations?

"Haben Sie Schmerzen?"

Do you have pain?

"Ich nehme Tabletten gegen die Schmerzen."

I’m taking pills for the pain.

"Emotionale Schmerzen dauern oft länger."

Emotional pain often lasts longer.

Sample Dialogue (Beginner Level)

Lena: Geht’s dir gut?
Ben: Nicht wirklich – ich habe Rückenschmerzen.
Lena: Warst du schon beim Arzt?
Ben: Nein, aber ich sollte…

Translation:
Lena: Are you okay?
Ben: Not really—I have back pain.
Lena: Have you seen a doctor yet?
Ben: No, but I should…

Grammatical case examples

Nominative:
Die Schmerzen sind weg.

The pain is gone.

Accusative:
Ich spüre die Schmerzen im Bein.

I feel pain in my leg.

Dative:
Mit den Schmerzen kann ich nicht schlafen.

I can’t sleep with the pain.

Genitive:
Die Ursache der Schmerzen ist unbekannt.

The cause of the pain is unknown.

Other ways to say pain in German

While Schmerzen is the standard term for pain in German, you might hear Weh (used in poetic or old-fashioned contexts), Leiden (suffering), or Verletzung (injury) depending on the situation. But Schmerzen is the most direct and common term.

Word variations and tidbits

Schmerzen appears in many compound words: Kopfschmerzen (headache), Zahnschmerzen (toothache), Rückenschmerzen (back pain), Liebesschmerzen (heartache), Schmerzmittel (painkiller), and Schmerzgrenze (pain threshold). Idioms include vor Schmerz schreien (to scream in pain) and jemandem Schmerz zufügen (to cause someone pain).

📘 Duden entry for Schmerzen
🎥 Want to learn German without the Schmerzen? Our free video course teaches the top 1000 nouns—with grammar, clarity, and a printable PDF.

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