Part of learning English is learning the parts of the body! We’ve broken down into groups the most important words for body parts.

Body parts in English

Let’s start from the top—the top of the body, that is!

Parts of the head and face

  • cheeks
  • chin
  • crown
  • ears
  • eyebrows
  • eyes
  • forehead
  • hair
  • head
  • jaw
  • lips
  • mouth
  • nape
  • neck
  • nose
  • teeth
  • throat
  • tongue

Parts of the torso

Let’s make our way down to the middle of the body. In English, this is known as the torso, and it covers everything between the neck and legs!

  • back
  • butt / bum / buttocks
  • chest
  • collarbone
  • hips
  • ribs
  • spine
  • stomach / belly
  • waist

Organs

Inside your body are the organs and bones. Here are some of the words you need to know:

  • appendix
  • blood
  • bones
  • brain
  • heart
  • intestines
  • kidneys
  • liver
  • lungs
  • muscles
  • skeleton
  • skin
  • stomach

Parts of the arms and hands

You should get to know the words for the parts of the arms and the legs like the back of your hand (that’s an English expression that means you know something very well)!

  • armpits
  • bicep / upper arm
  • elbow
  • fingernail
  • forearm / lower arm
  • middle finger
  • palm
  • pinky finger
  • pointer finger / index finger
  • ring finger
  • shoulders
  • thumb
  • wrist

Parts of the legs and feet

  • ankle
  • big toe
  • calf
  • hamstring
  • heel
  • knee
  • kneecap
  • pinky toe / baby toe
  • quadricep (“quad”)
  • shin
  • thigh
  • toenail

How to talk about body parts in English

In English, you can describe a pain in a body part with the verb to hurt as in my wrist hurts or my knees hurt. Note how the possessive pronoun is used with the relevant body part, so you say my wrist or your leg. You can also say I have a pain in my wrist. If it is a more serious injury, you might say the bone or muscle is torn or broken, as in I broke my collarbone. Ouch!

There are many types of pain. If you have to be specific about your pain, like at the doctor’s office, you can identify it as sharp, burning, throbbing, aching, stabbing, or just dull. A body part might also feel sore, tight, or just plain painful.

If you feel sore or achy in a specific body part, you can say you have a headache, toothache, earache, muscle ache, or stomachache. Note how many of these words in English combine ache with the body part to make one word.

If you have a cold, you might say you are stuffy or congested. You can also say you have a stuffed up nose, a sore throat, a cough, the chills, or a fever.

Along with bruises, cuts, scrapes, and broken or fractured bones, you could also pull a muscle, strain or sprain a muscle, twist an ankle, or dislocate a shoulder. There are also a few injuries that take their names from the sports that usually cause them, like tennis elbow (a painful injury that makes it difficult to move your arm) and runner’s knee (pain in the front of your knee).

Ready to use all of this new vocabulary? Here are a few example sentences!

  • Your teeth are very straight!
  • They have such blue eyes.
  • Are my cheeks red?
  • He has food on his chin.
  • Her hair is so long it reaches her waist.
  • My back is sore.
  • I sprained my ankle.
  • I have a cough and a sore throat.

Animal body parts

English has some additional words for the unique parts of bugs, birds, fish, and animals.

  • antennae
  • antler
  • beak
  • bill
  • claw
  • fang
  • feathers
  • fins
  • fur
  • gills
  • hoof
  • horn
  • hump
  • mane
  • paw
  • pouch
  • scales
  • shell
  • snout
  • tail
  • talon
  • tentacles
  • trunk
  • tusk
  • whiskers
  • wings

Use your head!

Have fun learning all of these new words and putting them to use. If you’re looking for more English vocabulary, check out: