Body Parts in Spanish
Body part vocabulary is essential for everyday life in Spanish — from describing symptoms at a doctor's office to following exercise instructions to understanding idioms. This guide covers over 25 body parts from head to toe, with their grammatical gender and the medical phrases you will need in real situations.
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Head and Face (La Cabeza y La Cara)
The head and face contain some of the most frequently used body part vocabulary. Pay close attention to the grammatical gender — the article (el/la) is part of learning each word.
Spanish distinguishes between la oreja (the outer ear you can see and touch) and el oído (the inner ear / sense of hearing). At the doctor, an earache is me duele el oído, not la oreja.
Upper Body (El Torso y Los Brazos)
Upper body vocabulary is essential for describing pain, giving directions to a doctor, and understanding fitness instructions.
La mano is the most famous gender exception in Spanish: it ends in -o but is feminine. Always say la mano, las manos. Also note that el dedo means both finger and toe — for clarity, say dedo de la mano (finger) or dedo del pie (toe).
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Lower Body (Las Piernas y Los Pies)
Lower body vocabulary completes your head-to-toe knowledge and is particularly useful for sports, exercise, and medical situations.
Medical Phrases: Describing Pain
Knowing body parts is most practical when you can describe symptoms. Here are the key patterns:
- Me duele la cabeza. — My head hurts. (singular body part)
- Me duelen los ojos. — My eyes hurt. (plural body part)
- Tengo dolor de estómago. — I have a stomachache.
- Me rompí el brazo. — I broke my arm.
- Me torci el tobillo. — I twisted my ankle.
In medical contexts, Spanish uses the definite article (el, la) rather than possessive adjectives (mi, tu) for body parts. Say me duele la cabeza, not me duele mi cabeza. The indirect object pronoun (me) already tells the listener whose body part it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are body part nouns masculine or feminine in Spanish?
Body parts follow standard Spanish noun gender rules but you cannot always guess from the meaning. Most parts ending in -a are feminine (la cabeza, la pierna, la espalda) and those ending in -o are masculine (el brazo, el dedo, el codo). There are exceptions: la mano (hand) ends in -o but is feminine, and el corazón (heart) ends in a consonant and is masculine.
How do you say "my head hurts" in Spanish?
Use the structure me duele + body part: Me duele la cabeza (my head hurts). For plural body parts, use duelen: Me duelen los pies (my feet hurt). Notice that Spanish uses the definite article (la, los) instead of a possessive (my) — this is a key grammar difference from English.
Why does Spanish use "la" instead of "mi" with body parts?
Spanish uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) instead of possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su) with body parts because the reflexive verb or indirect object already indicates whose body it is. Me lavo las manos means "I wash my hands" — the me tells you they are YOUR hands, so mis is unnecessary and sounds unnatural.
What body part vocabulary do I need for a doctor visit in a Spanish-speaking country?
The most critical words are: cabeza (head), garganta (throat), estómago (stomach), pecho (chest), espalda (back), brazo (arm), pierna (leg). Combine these with me duele (it hurts me) and tengo dolor de... (I have pain in...) and you can describe most symptoms.
What is "la mano" an example of in Spanish grammar?
La mano (hand) is the most famous irregular noun in Spanish — it ends in -o but is feminine. Its plural is las manos. This comes from the Latin word manus, which was feminine. It is one of very few Spanish words where the -o ending does not indicate masculine gender.