This page teaches a complete list of French body parts vocabulary. Learning the parts of the body is an essential part of basic vocabulary learning. Here are the most important words to know:
French Body Parts Vocabulary
Notes on body parts in French
The most important and commonly mentioned part of the body are:
- la tête head
- les yeux eyes
- le nez nose
- la bouche mouth
- le bras arm
- la main hand
- la jambe leg
- le pied foot
Note on hair: les cheveux
Pay attention to the word for hair, les cheveux. This word is always plural. Also, be careful of the word for hand, la main, which appears to be masculine but is really feminine.
The same goes for tooth, which is la dent.
In French, articles must proceed all nouns. This goes for body parts. For example:
- Elle a les cheveux bruns. She has brown hair.
- Il a les yeux bleus. He has blue eyes.
Talking about your body
When combining reflexive verbs with body parts, make sure to use the definite article for the body part and not a possessive adjective. For example, we’ll take the sentence “I brush my teeth”.
This page covers reflexive verbs and this page covers the definite article (le, la, les).
- Correct: Je me lave les dents.
- Incorrect: Je me lave mes dents.
To express having pain, use the expression “avoir mal à + le/la/les body part name”. You must contract à + definite article. For example:
- Elle a mal à la tête. She has a headache.
- Il a mal au dos. He has a backache.
- Elle a mal aux pieds. Her feet hurt.
Complete vocabulary List
Head – la tête
A few notes about words for the head. You will immediately notice that the word for the eyes is different in the singular and plural form.
An eye is “un œil” while eyes in the plural form is “les yeux”. Interestingly, the word for tongue is “la langue”, which also means language.
- cheeks la joue
- chin le menton
- ear l’oreille (f)
- eye/eyes l’œil/les yeux
- face le visage
- forehead le front
- gums les gencives (f)
- hair les cheveux
- head la tête
- jaw la mâchoire
- lips les lèvres (f)
- mouth la bouche
- neck le cou
- nose le nez
- teeth les dents (f)
- throat la gorge
- tongue la langue
Midbody
A few notes about words for the midbody. You will immediately notice that word for finger, le doigt, has a strange spelling that does not resemble any other French words.
The word “doigt” comes from the old Latin word “digitus”, which means digit. Another fun note: The word for thumb, “pouce” also means inch, as in the measurement.
Lastly, the word for belly button is “le nombril”. You can pronounce this word both with and without the -l.
- arm le bras
- back le dos
- belly button le nombril
- chest la poitrine
- elbow le coude
- finger le doigt
- fingernail l’ongle (m)
- hand la main
- heel le talon
- index finger l’index (m)
- knuckle l’articulation du doigt (m)
- lower back le bas du dos
- middle finger le majeur
- midsection le ventre, l’abdomen (m)
- palm la paume
- rip la côte
- shoulder l’épaule (f)
- stomach le ventre
- stomach l’estomac
- thumb la pouce
- wrist le poignet
Lower body
Here are few fun notes on the lower body. The word “fesses” means backside or buttocks. The related verb to this noun is “fesser”, which means to spank or hit somebody’s backside.
The word for knee, “genou” comes from the Latin word “genuclum”, which is related to the English “genuflect”, which means to get down on one’s knees.
- ankle la cheville
- backside/buttocks les fesses (f)
- big toe gros orteil de pied
- foot le pied
- hip la hanche
- knee le genou
- leg la jambe
- little toe petit orteil de pied
- lower body les membres inférieurs
- shin le tibia
- thighs les cuisses
- toe l’orteil (m)
Let’s review the body parts in this video lesson:
Related lessons:
- Human anatomy vocabulary
- Physical appearances vocabulary
- Beauty vocabulary
- Pharmacy vocabulary
- Songs for learning French
- Seeing the doctor
More resources:
- Body parts terms and expressions – frenchtoday.com
- Parts of the body (Babbel)
- French body parts exercise – francaisfacile.com
- Body parts flashcards – Quizlet
- The human body exercises – lepointdufle.net
See all French vocabulary lists
