I have a pain in my stomach

[milan2003_07]

Hello everyone,

I would like to ask you about the word "stomach". In the Russian language there are two different words used for speaking about an organ where food is digested and the front part of the body below the chest and over intestines, liver, gall bladder, and spleen.

Here are the definitions from the Collins Cobuild Dictionary:

1. Your stomach is the organ inside your body where food is digested before it moves into the intestines (e.g.: he had an upset stomach)
2. You can refer to the front part of your body below your waist as the stomach (e.g.: the children lay down on their stomachs)

When we say "I have a pain in my stomach" how do you know if a person has a pain in his organ where food is digested or in the front part of his body?

Probably, in some other languages, not only in Russian, there are different words to mean this.

By the way, is "stomach" is the 2nd meaning is a part of the body below your waist? Isn't is over your waist?

 

[jutfrank]

I have a pain in my stomach.

Without more context, we'd most readily interpret stomach to mean 'abdomen'.