The Spanish words for the body start with the obvious ones: cabeza (head), cara (face), mano (hand), pie (foot), ojo (eye), boca (mouth). Learn the list below, with audio, and then the part that actually matters at a pharmacy or a doctor's office: how to say something hurts. Spanish does that one differently from English, and it is worth getting right.
The body words
This is the body slice of Vocabcord's A1 Spanish set, head to foot. Tap the play button on any row to hear it.
| Spanish | English | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| cuerpo | body | Take care of your body. |
| cabeza | head | I have a headache. |
| cara | face | Wash your face. |
| ojo | eye | She has blue eyes. |
| oreja | ear | Cover your ears. |
| nariz | nose | My nose is cold. |
| boca | mouth | Open your mouth. |
| diente | tooth | Brush your teeth. |
| pelo | hair | She has long hair. |
| mano | hand | Wash your hands. |
| dedo | finger | I cut my finger. |
| brazo | arm | My arm hurts. |
| pierna | leg | My legs are tired. |
| pie | foot | Sore foot from walking. |
| espalda | back | My back hurts. |
| corazón | heart | Listen to your heart. |
Saying what hurts: me duele
To say a body part hurts, Spanish uses doler, and it works back to front compared with English. Instead of my head hurts, you say me duele la cabeza, which is literally the head hurts to me. The verb agrees with the body part, so one thing takes duele and more than one takes duelen: me duele la espalda (my back hurts), me duelen los pies (my feet hurt). Swap me for te to ask a friend: ¿Te duele algo? (does something hurt?).
Spanish uses 'the' where English uses 'my'
Notice the la in me duele la cabeza. With body parts, Spanish almost always reaches for the definite article (el, la, los, las) where English would use a possessive. So I wash my hands comes out as me lavo las manos, with las standing in for my. A teacher tells a child levanta la mano (raise your hand). The owner is already clear from the rest of the sentence, so Spanish leaves the possessive out.
la mano: the gender that catches everyone
One word here breaks the usual pattern. Nouns ending in -o are nearly always masculine, but mano is feminine: la mano, las manos, la mano derecha (the right hand). It is a leftover from Latin, and it is worth memorizing on its own, because el mano is one of the most common slips beginners make. Most other body parts behave normally: el brazo, la pierna, el corazón.
Where these earn their keep
Body vocabulary pays off fastest in the places you least want to be stuck: a pharmacy, a clinic, a sport. Pair the words with me duele and you can describe almost any everyday ache without a phrasebook. If you are heading abroad, this is a set worth having solid before you go, right alongside the travel words.
Common questions
How do you say the parts of the body in Spanish?
The core words are cabeza (head), cara (face), ojo (eye), nariz (nose), boca (mouth), mano (hand), brazo (arm), pierna (leg), pie (foot), and espalda (back).
How do you say 'my head hurts' in Spanish?
Me duele la cabeza. The verb doler works like gustar: the body part is the subject and you are the indirect object, so it is literally the head hurts to me. For more than one part, use duelen: me duelen los pies.
Do you use 'mi' or 'la' with body parts in Spanish?
Usually the definite article. Spanish says me lavo las manos (I wash my hands) and me duele la cabeza (my head hurts), using la or las rather than a possessive, because the owner is already clear from the sentence.
Why is it 'la mano' if mano ends in -o?
Mano is an irregular feminine noun, a holdover from Latin, so it takes la: la mano, las manos. It is one of the few -o words that does not follow the masculine rule, which is exactly why it is worth learning on its own.
