The Body Parts in Spanish – From Head to Toe

The names of the body parts in Spanish are some of the most basic and useful words a Spanish language aficionado can learn. Whether you are at the doctor’s office, in a clothing store, or scuba diving in Mexico, various parts of the body can come up in conversation more often than you think.

Does your head hurt and you need a pill? Do you need to disinfect your hands? Do you have to tell someone they have beautiful eyes? Let’s learn the names of the body parts in Spanish so you can say all that and even more!

The main parts of the body in Spanish

The main or the general parts of the body are the ones you’ll probably use the most in your daily conversations. That’s why we are going to focus on these high-frequency, high-value words first and then move to the other body parts.

The first thing you ought to know is that ‘the body’ is called ‘el cuerpo’ in Spanish and ‘the human body’ is ‘el cuerpo humano’. Furthermore, ‘the parts of the body’ are ‘las partes del cuerpo’ and ‘the skeleton’ is ‘el esqueleto’.

The most commonly used words for body parts in Spanish are:

• (the) head — (la) cabeza
• (the) hair — (el) pelo
• (the) neck — (el) cuello
• (the) chest — (el) pecho
• (the) arm — (el) brazo
• (the) finger — (el) dedo
• (the) foot — (el) pie
• (the) face — (la) cara
• (the) eye — (el) ojo
• (the) hand — (la) mano
• (the) nose — (la) nariz
• (the) mouth — (la) boca
• (the) leg — (la) pierna
• (the) knee — (la) rodilla

Are you all ears? To learn the correct pronunciation of the names of these body parts in Spanish, you can play this short video:

Easy enough, isn’t it? By the way, if you want to learn even more, Mondly teaches everything Spanish: from body parts to numbers, days of the week, conversations, grammar and beyond.

Body parts in Spanish: head

Now that you know that ‘head’ in Spanish is ‘cabeza’, let’s move forward to all the body parts you can find on and in the head. For example, did you know that ‘brain’ in Spanish is ‘cerebro’? If you are an X-men fan and know that ‘cerebro’ is also the name of a machine used by Professor X to amplify his telepathic ability, this one won’t be too difficult to remember.

Considering the number of square centimeters available, the head area is probably the most “crowded” area on the human body. Here are all the body parts you can find in this region:

• (the) brain — (el) cerebro
• (the) face — (la) cara
• (the) hair — (el pelo)
• (the) forehead — (la) frente
• (the) cheek — (la) mejilla
• (the) ear — (la) oreja (the inside ear is ‘el oído’)
• (the) eye — (el) ojo
• (the) eyelid — (el) párpado
• (the) eyelashes — (las) pestañas
• (the) eyebrows — (las) cejas
• (the) nose — (la) nariz
• (the) mouth — (la boca)
• (the) lips — (los) labios
• (the) tongue — (la) lengua
• (the) tooth — (el) diente (plural: los dientes)
• (the) throat — (la) garganta
• (the) jaw — (la) la mandíbula
• (the) chin — (la) barbilla
• (the) skull — (el) cráneo

Body parts in Spanish: from neck to torso

Time to explore the area where the most important organ lies: the heart. Some will argue that el cerebro (‘the brain’) is more important, but the heart (‘el corazón’) is the one pumping blood all over the body. By the way, did you know that every day your heart beats about 115,000 times and pumps about 6,000-7,500 liters (1,500-2,000 gallons) of blood? To better take care of it, make sure you laugh a lot. Laughing reduces stress, boosts your immune system, and makes your heart stronger.

But let’s not get cold feet and discover what are the Spanish names of the body parts located between neck and torso.

• (the) neck — (el) cuello
• (the) organs — (los) órganos
• (the) heart — (el) corazón
• (the) stomach — (el) estómago (or ‘el vientre’ if you are referring to the abdomen)
• (the) lungs — (los) pulmones
• (the) liver — (el) hígado
• (the) kidneys — (los) riñones
• (the) intestines — (los) intestinos
• (the) skin — (la) piel
• (the) muscle — (el) músculo
• (the) bone — (el) hueso
• (the) spine — (la) espina
• (the) backbone — (la) columna vertebral
• (the) back — (la) espalda
• (the) shoulder — (el) hombro
• (the) arm — (el) brazo
• (the) forearm — (el) antebrazo
• (the) elbow — (el) codo
• (the) wrist — (la) muñeca
• (the) hand — (la) mano
• (the) palm — (la) palma
• (the) finger — (el) dedo
• (the) thumb — (el) pulgar
• (the) fingernails — (las) uñas
• (the) chest — (el) pecho
• (the) breast — (el) seno
• (the) ribs — (las) costillas
• (the) waist — (la) cintura
• (the) navel — (el) ombligo
• (the) hip — (la) cadera
• (the) torso — (el) torso

Body parts in Spanish: legs and feet

We promised that we are going to give you the Spanish names of all the body parts from head to toe, didn’t we? Here is the entire ‘body of knowledge’ you need for legs, feet and toes.

• (the) buttocks — (las) nalgas
• (the) leg — (la) pierna
• (the) thigh — (el) muslo
• (the) knee — (la) rodilla
• (the) calf — (la) pantorrilla
• (the) ankle — (el) tobillo
• (the) foot — (el) pie
• (the) toe — (el) dedo del pie (‘dedo’ can refer to both fingers and toes)
• (the) heel — (el) talón

Grammar rules and practice

In terms of grammar, there’s nothing too difficult when it comes to the parts of the body in Spanish. You just have to remember that, in Spanish, names of parts of the body are more likely to be accompanied by the definite articles el, la, los and las (meaning ‘the’) instead of the usual English possessive adjectives like ‘my’, ‘your’, ‘our’ or ‘their’.

For example:

• Me duele el pie. (‘My foot hurts.’)
• Protéjase las manos con guantes. (‘Protect your hands with gloves.’)

However, Spanish doesn’t shy away from using possessive adjectives when things need to be clear.

• Sus brazos son atléticos. (‘His arms are athletic.’)
• Sal de tu pecho. (‘Get it off your chest.’)

Additionally, there are situations when Spanish uses the definite article, but English drops even the possessive adjective.

• Tengo los ojos azules. (I have blue eyes.)

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