Body parts in Spanish: the face, the body, me duele, and why it is la mano
You need the body words in Spanish for two things, describing people and saying what hurts. Both are different from English. In Spanish you say “the head hurts me” and “I washed the hands”, and both are explained below.
The head and face
| English | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| head | la cabeza | |
| hair | el pelo or el cabello | Cabello is more formal. Both are singular: tengo el pelo largo |
| face | la cara | |
| forehead | la frente | |
| eyebrow | la ceja | |
| eyelash | la pestaña | |
| eye | el ojo | |
| nose | la nariz | Plural narices |
| ear | la oreja (outer), el oído (inner, and hearing) | Me duele el oído is earache |
| cheek | la mejilla or el cachete | See the regional table |
| mouth | la boca | |
| lip | el labio | |
| tooth | el diente | A back tooth is la muela |
| tongue | la lengua | Also “language” |
| chin | la barbilla or el mentón | |
| jaw | la mandíbula | |
| beard | la barba | |
| neck | el cuello | Also a collar |
| back of the neck | la nuca | |
| throat | la garganta |
The body
| English | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| shoulder | el hombro | The h is silent: OHM-broh |
| arm | el brazo | |
| elbow | el codo | Codo in Mexico also means stingy |
| wrist | la muñeca | Also a doll |
| hand | la mano | Feminine, despite the -o |
| finger, toe | el dedo | A toe is el dedo del pie |
| thumb | el pulgar or el dedo gordo | |
| nail | la uña | |
| chest | el pecho | |
| breast | el pecho or el seno | Seno is the medical and polite word |
| back | la espalda | Singular in Spanish |
| stomach | el estómago | The organ, and the area in everyday speech |
| belly | la barriga, la panza, la tripa | See the regional table |
| waist | la cintura | |
| hip | la cadera | |
| bottom | el trasero or las nalgas | See the note below |
| leg | la pierna | |
| thigh | el muslo | Also a chicken thigh |
| knee | la rodilla | |
| calf | la pantorrilla | |
| ankle | el tobillo | |
| foot | el pie | Plural pies |
| heel | el talón | |
| skin | la piel | Feminine |
Inside the body
| English | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| heart | el corazón | |
| lungs | los pulmones | |
| liver | el hígado | |
| kidney | el riñón | Plural riñones |
| bone | el hueso | |
| muscle | el músculo | |
| blood | la sangre | Feminine |
| brain | el cerebro |
What trips learners up
Me duele, me duelen. “My head hurts” is me duele la cabeza, literally “the head hurts me”. You use doler the way you use gustar. You match the verb to the thing that hurts, so with plural body parts it is plural: me duelen los pies, me duelen las muelas. The person goes in front as me, te, le, nos or les: ¿te duele?, a mi hijo le duele la garganta.
Tengo dolor de. The other way to say it is tengo dolor de cabeza, tengo dolor de estómago. Both are normal everywhere.
The article, not the possessive. In Spanish you do not say mi with your own body when the owner is already clear. Me lavo las manos, I wash my hands. Me rompí el brazo, I broke my arm. Levanta la mano, raise your hand. Abre la boca, open your mouth. If you say me lavo mis manos, people understand you and know you are a learner.
To describe people, you use tener with the article. Tiene los ojos verdes, she has green eyes. Tengo el pelo rizado, I have curly hair. Tiene ojos verdes, without the article, is also correct.
La mano is feminine. La mano derecha, las manos frías. It is one of the few Spanish nouns in -o that is feminine. El pie is masculine and la piel feminine.
Oreja or oído. La oreja is the part you can see. El oído is the inner ear and the sense of hearing. Earache is dolor de oído, and “I have a good ear for music” is tengo buen oído.
Diente or muela. A front tooth is un diente and a molar is una muela. Toothache at the back is me duele una muela, and wisdom teeth are las muelas del juicio.
Pelo is singular. Tengo el pelo largo, I have long hair. Los pelos means individual hairs, including the ones on the floor of the shower.
Regional differences
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cheek | el cachete | la mejilla | el cachete or la mejilla | el cachete |
| belly | la panza | la barriga or la tripa | la barriga | la panza |
| bottom (casual) | las pompas or las nalgas | el culo | la cola | la cola |
| a bruise | un moretón | un moratón or un cardenal | un morado | un moretón |
| a pimple | un grano or un barro | un grano | un barro | un grano |
Culo is a casual everyday word in Spain. In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina it is vulgar, and the polite words are pompas in Mexico and cola in Colombia and Argentina. Cola in Spain means a queue or a tail.
Barriga and panza mean the same thing. Tripa in Spain is the belly in casual speech, and tripas are guts everywhere.
Health phrases you will need
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| My head hurts | Me duele la cabeza. | |
| My feet hurt | Me duelen los pies. | Plural verb |
| I have a stomach ache | Tengo dolor de estómago. | Or me duele la panza (Mexico, Argentina) |
| I have a sore throat | Me duele la garganta. | |
| I twisted my ankle | Me torcí el tobillo. | |
| I broke my arm | Me rompí el brazo. | Me quebré el brazo in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina |
| I cut my finger | Me corté el dedo. | |
| I have a blocked nose | Tengo la nariz tapada. | |
| My back hurts | Me duele la espalda. | |
| Where does it hurt? | ¿Dónde le duele? (usted) / ¿Dónde te duele? (tú) | What a doctor will ask |
| Does it hurt here? | ¿Le duele aquí? | |
| It hurts a lot | Me duele mucho. |
Body idioms
| Spanish | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| costar un ojo de la cara | to cost an eye of the face | to cost an arm and a leg |
| echar una mano | to throw a hand | to give a hand |
| tomar el pelo | to take the hair | to pull someone’s leg |
| meter la pata | to put the paw in | to put your foot in it |
| no tener pelos en la lengua | to have no hairs on the tongue | to speak your mind |
| estar hasta las narices | to be up to the noses | to be fed up (Spain) |
| con las manos en la masa | with the hands in the dough | red-handed |
| ser uña y carne | to be nail and flesh | to be inseparable |
| hablar por los codos | to talk through the elbows | to talk non-stop |
| tener buen ojo | to have a good eye | to have a good eye for something |
The words in real sentences
- Me duele la cabeza desde esta mañana. I’ve had a headache since this morning.
- A mi hija le duelen los oídos. My daughter has earache.
- Lávate las manos antes de comer. Wash your hands before you eat.
- Tiene los ojos marrones y el pelo corto. He has brown eyes and short hair. (Spain)
- Me torcí el tobillo jugando al fútbol. I twisted my ankle playing football.
- ¿Te duele la espalda? Does your back hurt?
- Me duele una muela, tengo que ir al dentista. I have toothache, I need to go to the dentist.
- Tengo la piel muy seca. I have very dry skin.
- Me quebré el brazo cuando era niño. I broke my arm when I was a child. (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina)
- Esa chaqueta cuesta un ojo de la cara. That jacket costs an arm and a leg.
Questions people ask
How do you say “my head hurts” in Spanish? Me duele la cabeza. For plural body parts the verb changes: me duelen los ojos.
Why is it “la mano” and not “mi mano”? When the owner of the body part is already clear from the verb or the pronoun, you use the article in Spanish. In me lavo las manos it is already clear whose hands they are.
Is mano masculine or feminine? Feminine: la mano. It is the common exception to the rule that nouns ending in -o are masculine.
What is the difference between oreja and oído? La oreja is the outer ear, el oído the inner ear and the sense of hearing. Earache is dolor de oído.
How do you say “stomach” in Spanish? El estómago is the organ and also the area in everyday speech. For the belly you will hear la panza in Mexico and Argentina and la barriga in Spain and Colombia.
Is “culo” a bad word? In Spain it is informal and common, like “bum”. In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina it is vulgar. Use trasero or nalgas if you are not sure.
How do you say “toes” in Spanish? Los dedos de los pies. Spanish has one word, dedo, for fingers and toes.
Practise these words
cabeza, cara, ojo, nariz, boca, diente, cuello, mano, brazo, pierna, pie, espalda, doler. Vozelu is a free website for practising Spanish, and it has each of these. You see a sentence with one word missing, you type the word, and a native voice reads the sentence back. Practise the words on this page.