Parts of the body in Spanish: vocabulary, doler and a classroom routine

Parts of the body in Spanish

In the pronunciation column, capitals mark the stressed syllable. “h” stands for the jota, as in Scottish “loch”. “th” is the Spain pronunciation of z, and of c before e or i; in Latin America it is “s”.

Head and face

Body and limbs

A toe is un dedo del pie; Spanish has no separate everyday word. Informal words for tummy vary: la tripa is common in Spain, la panza in much of Latin America.

Gender and plurals

1. La mano is feminine. It ends in -o but takes la: la mano derecha, las manos. It is one of the few exceptions pupils meet early.
2. Nouns in -z change to -ces. la nariz → las narices.
3. The accent comes and goes. el corazón → los corazones, but el estómago keeps its accent in los estómagos.
4. Oreja or oído? La oreja is the outer ear you can see; el oído is the inner ear and the sense of hearing: Me duele el oído (I’ve got earache).
5. Animals have patas. A person has piernas; an animal or a table has patas.

Saying what hurts

1. Doler works like gustar. Me duele la cabeza (singular), Me duelen los pies (plural). The body part is the subject.
2. Use the article, not the possessive. Me duele la espalda, not “mi espalda”: the me already says whose back it is.
3. Tengo dolor de… is an alternative. Tengo dolor de cabeza, Tengo dolor de garganta, Tengo dolor de muelas (toothache).

¿Qué te pasa? – Me duele la garganta.What’s wrong? – I’ve got a sore throat.

Me duelen las piernas después del partido.My legs hurt after the match.

Me he roto el brazo.I’ve broken my arm. (Spain; Me rompí el brazo in Latin America)

Me lavo las manos antes de comer.I wash my hands before eating.

Describing people

Physical descriptions use tener with the article, and ser for general build:

Tengo los ojos azules y el pelo castaño.I’ve got blue eyes and brown hair.

Mi hermana tiene el pelo largo y rizado.My sister has long, curly hair.

Es alto y delgado.He’s tall and slim.

The word order is the reverse of English: noun first, then colour and length, and the adjectives agree: los ojos verdes, el pelo rubio.

Pronunciation for English speakers

• The jota: ojo, oreja, ceja, mejilla. Pupils who say “oh-oh” or “oreya” need to hear the throaty sound modelled.
• h is silent: el hombro is “OM-broh”.
• ll and y: rodilla, tobillo, cuello, mejilla.
• pie is one syllable: “pyeh”, not “pie” as in apple pie.
• Diphthongs: pierna, diente, cuello, lengua: glide the two vowels together.

Idioms and expressions

Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners

• “El mano”: it is la mano.
• “Mi cabeza duele”: a word-for-word calque of English. It is Me duele la cabeza.
• “Me duele los pies”: plural body parts need duelen.
• “Tengo azules ojos”: the adjective follows: Tengo los ojos azules.
• “Pelo” in the plural for a head of hair: el pelo is singular. Los pelos means individual hairs.
• Oreja and oído mixed up when talking about earache.
• Pronouncing the h of hombro.

In class: the body as a word of the day

The body is the one theme every pupil carries with them: every word can be pointed at.

1. Show the picture and the English word: “knee”.
2. Ask ¿Cómo se dice en español? Pupils guess with a partner or on a mini whiteboard.
3. Reveal la rodilla with its pronunciation. The class repeats it and touches their knee.
4. Show the example sentence: Me duele la rodilla porque me he caído.
5. Give the reuse task: each pupil says what hurts, with a different body part: Me duele el brazo, Me duelen los ojos.
6. Recall yesterday’s word: Tocaos la cabeza. (Touch your heads.)

That is exactly what a daily routine does: a word that pupils see, say and act out, every lesson.

Games

Simón dice is the Spanish Simon says: Simón dice: tocaos la nariz. (in Latin America, tóquense la nariz). The song Cabeza, hombros, rodillas y pies follows the English tune. For A2, a doctor role-play: ¿Qué te pasa? – Me duele… – Tienes que descansar. For riddles: Tengo cinco dedos, pero no soy un pie. ¿Qué soy? (la mano).

• A1The word with its article; point and repeat: la cabeza, los ojos
• A2Describe people and say what hurts: Tengo los ojos verdes. Me duele la garganta.
• B1Past accidents and health advice: El sábado me rompí el tobillo jugando al fútbol.
• B2Health and idioms: Si quieres estar en forma, es importante que duermas bien. No tiene pelos en la lengua.

At KS2, songs and Simon says are enough. At KS3, insist on la mano and on me duele / me duelen. At GCSE, the body returns through health, sport and descriptions.

For more illustrated vocabulary between lessons, the free site unapalabrapordia.es, created by the maker of VocaDial, publishes an illustrated Spanish word every day, translated into French, English and German, with its pronunciation and an example sentence recorded in all four languages.

Frequently asked questions