2.2.1 Parts of the body

Table of Contents

Overview

In this chapter you learn the most important German words for parts of the body. You also see how to use them with the verb “haben” and in very simple sentences that are useful at the doctor or in everyday conversation. Detailed grammar of cases and other structures will be covered in later chapters, so here we focus on essential vocabulary and simple patterns.

Basic body vocabulary

These are the most common body words in German. Learn them with their article, because the article shows the grammatical gender.

Remember:

Masculine: der, Feminine: die, Neuter: das

German	English	Notes
der Körper	body
der Kopf	head
das Gesicht	face
das Haar	hair (single)	often used in plural: die Haare
die Haare	hair (in general)
der Hals	neck, throat	context decides meaning
die Schulter	shoulder
der Arm	arm
die Hand	hand	plural: die Hände
der Finger	finger	plural: die Finger
das Bein	leg	plural: die Beine
das Knie	knee	plural: die Knie
der Fuß	foot	plural: die Füße
der Rücken	back
die Brust	chest, breast
der Bauch	belly, stomach

Try to always learn the singular with its article: “der Kopf,” not just “Kopf.”

The face

Now focus on the parts of the face. These words are very common in daily conversations, at the doctor, or when describing people.

German	English
das Gesicht	face
das Auge	eye
die Augen	eyes
das Ohr	ear
die Ohren	ears
die Nase	nose
der Mund	mouth
die Lippen	lips
der Zahn	tooth
die Zähne	teeth

Example sentences:

“Mein Auge tut weh.”
“My eye hurts.”

“Ich habe Zahnschmerzen.”
“I have toothache.”

You will learn more about pain phrases in later health chapters. For now, focus on recognizing these nouns.

Upper body and arms

Here you see vocabulary for the upper body and arms.

German	English
der Hals	neck, throat
die Schulter	shoulder
die Schultern	shoulders
der Arm	arm
die Arme	arms
der Ellbogen	elbow
der Ellenbogen	elbow (variant spelling)
die Hand	hand
die Hände	hands
der Finger	finger
die Finger	fingers
der Daumen	thumb

Simple sentences:

“Ich habe zwei Hände.”
“I have two hands.”

“Mein Arm ist müde.”
“My arm is tired.”

Torso and internal areas

When you talk about pain or health, these words are useful.

German	English
der Rücken	back
die Brust	chest, breast
der Bauch	belly, stomach
der Magen	stomach (organ)
das Herz	heart
die Lunge	lung
die Lungen	lungs

The everyday word for “stomach area” is often “der Bauch.” For the organ, doctors use “der Magen.”

Example:

“Mein Rücken tut weh.”
“My back hurts.”

Lower body and legs

These words help you talk about movement, sports, and injuries.

German	English
das Bein	leg
die Beine	legs
das Knie	knee
die Knie	knees
der Fuß	foot
die Füße	feet
die Zehe	toe
die Zehen	toes

Example:

“Ich habe zwei Beine und zwei Füße.”
“I have two legs and two feet.”

Skin, bones, and general terms

Here are some extra words that you will often see in health contexts.

German	English
die Haut	skin
der Knochen	bone
die Knochen	bones
das Blut	blood

These are especially useful in medical texts or at the doctor.

Using body vocabulary with “haben” and “sein”

You already know “sein” and “haben” from earlier chapters. With body parts you can say what you have and what something is like.

Structure with “haben”:

Subject + form of haben + body part (plural if needed)
Example: “Ich habe zwei Augen.”

More examples:

“Ich habe lange Haare.”
“I have long hair.”

“Du hast kalte Hände.”
“You have cold hands.”

With “sein,” you describe the body part:

“Mein Fuß ist groß.”
“My foot is big.”

“Meine Augen sind blau.”
“My eyes are blue.”

The detailed grammar of adjectives and cases will come later. At this level, copy the patterns as fixed phrases.

Short useful patterns for pain

You will learn health phrases in detail later, but you can already use very simple patterns. These are very common, so it is good to recognize them.

“Mein / Meine” + body part + “tut weh.”
= “My … hurts.”

Examples:

“Mein Kopf tut weh.”
“My head hurts.”

“Meine Augen tun weh.”
“My eyes hurt.”

Do not worry now about why it is “mein” or “meine.” This belongs to later grammar. Here, just memorize the whole sentence as a useful pattern.

New vocabulary list

German	Article	English
der Körper	der	body
der Kopf	der	head
das Gesicht	das	face
das Haar	das	hair (single)
die Haare	die	hair (in general, plural)
der Hals	der	neck, throat
die Schulter	die	shoulder
die Schultern	die	shoulders
der Arm	der	arm
die Arme	die	arms
die Hand	die	hand
die Hände	die	hands
der Finger	der	finger
die Finger	die	fingers
das Bein	das	leg
die Beine	die	legs
das Knie	das	knee
die Knie	die	knees
der Fuß	der	foot
die Füße	die	feet
der Rücken	der	back
die Brust	die	chest, breast
der Bauch	der	belly, stomach
der Magen	der	stomach (organ)
das Herz	das	heart
die Lunge	die	lung
die Lungen	die	lungs
das Auge	das	eye
die Augen	die	eyes
das Ohr	das	ear
die Ohren	die	ears
die Nase	die	nose
der Mund	der	mouth
die Lippen	die	lips
der Zahn	der	tooth
die Zähne	die	teeth
der Ellbogen	der	elbow
der Ellenbogen	der	elbow (variant)
der Daumen	der	thumb
die Zehe	die	toe
die Zehen	die	toes
die Haut	die	skin
der Knochen	der	bone
die Knochen	die	bones
das Blut	das	blood

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