español · A1 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Body parts
Name body parts in descriptions, commands, and simple symptoms.
Understand the choice
Use body words for simple descriptions, movement, and health problems. Pair them with doler, tener, mover, and the definite article.
Core rule: Spanish normally uses the definite article with body parts when the owner is clear: me duele la cabeza, not mi cabeza.
Notice it in context
Me duele la cabeza y tengo frío en las manos.
My head hurts and my hands are cold.
Me identifies the affected person, so la cabeza does not need a possessive.
Tiene los ojos verdes.
He has green eyes.
Eyes are described with tener and a definite article.
Levanta el brazo derecho.
Raise your right arm.
A body-part command uses el, not tu.
What to remember
- Mano is feminine: la mano, las manos.
- Pie becomes pies in the plural without an accent.
Common trap: Avoid overusing possessives with body parts when a pronoun already shows whose body it is.