Painful vs itchy

I know that it's wrong to say "I feel painful".
I should say "I feel pain".
But it seems that it's OK to say "I feel itchy".

Am I right? If so, why is there such a difference between painful and itchy?

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I'd say it's because of meaning, Simon. 'painful' means full of pain but it's very very unlikely that anyone could feel completely ful

Simon, it could have something to do with the word's origin, its original function and meaning.

Consider,

I feel aweful. It feels aweful. ( > Old Norse)

I feel *painful. It feels painful. ( > Latin) Cf. I feel pain. It feels pain.

Note, the symbol * means, ungrammatical.

In addition...

'Itchy' seems able to mean both 'having an itch' and 'causing an itch'. 'Painful' seems only to mean 'causing pain':

'It feels a bit itchy.' (Of a new wool sweater, worn next to the skin.)
'It feels quite painful.' (Of a tooth after the dentist's drill.)
'I've got itchy feet.' (I am restless.)
'I've got painful feet.' (They hurt.)
'It's a ver

Q: What's wrong with your elbow?

A: It's painful / it's itchy / it's sore / ? it's achy
A: I feel pain (there) / ? I feel an itch (there) / *I feel soreness (there) / ? I feel an ache (there)
A: ? It pains me / it itches / ?? it hurts (* it sores) / it aches.

(Sorry, I am just playing-- I have no answer.)

But it's all right to say "it pains me to see you like this", isn't it?
And when you're itchy, can it also mean sort of nervous, like in the 7 year itch?

Hello Pieanne

Yes, you can say 'it pains me to have to say this', 'it pains me to see you...', etc. It always has to be 'mental' pain, though. And I suspect it's always used insincerely (i.e. without real mental distress).

Itchy in the Seven Year Itch means 'restless': or more appropriately, 'restive'. 'Nervous' in English now usually means 'fearful', 'apprehensive'; 'nervy' h

Thank you MrP