Palabra Lexi · words by topic · Spanish
Spanish Words: Body Parts — with Pronunciation and Memory Hooks
Level A0 · first words · 20 words
Head, hand, back, knee: the words you need at the doctor's, at the gym and at the pharmacy when you have to explain what hurts and where.
Spanish is read almost exactly as it's written: stress falls on the second-to-last syllable when a word ends in a vowel, n or s, otherwise on the last one, and exceptions carry an accent mark (café, estación). Nouns are masculine (el) or feminine (la). Pronunciation below is spelled out in English, stressed syllable in capitals.
Body Parts in Spanish: word list
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| cabeza | kah-BEH-sah | head |
| cara | KAH-rah | face |
| ojo | OH-hoh | eye |
| nariz | nah-REES | nose |
| boca | BOH-kah | mouth |
| oreja | oh-REH-hah | ear |
| diente | DYEHN-teh | tooth |
| pelo | PEH-loh | hair |
| cuello | KWEH-yoh | neck |
| hombro | OHM-broh | shoulder |
| brazo | BRAH-soh | arm |
| mano | MAH-noh | hand |
| dedo | DEH-doh | finger |
| pierna | PYEHR-nah | leg |
| pie | pyeh | foot |
| rodilla | roh-DEE-yah | knee |
| espalda | ehs-PAHL-dah | back |
| corazón | koh-rah-SOHN | heart |
| estómago | ehs-TOH-mah-goh | stomach |
| piel | pyehl | skin |
Memory hooks for these words
A sound-alike is an English word or phrase that sounds like the foreign one. The scene ties it to the meaning: you recall the sound, the sound brings back the picture, the picture brings back the meaning. Read each scene once, then try to recall the meaning a minute later without looking at the list.
cabeza [kah-BEH-sah] — head
Sounds like: “cab-EH-sah”. A taxi cab crashes into a spa, and the driver bumps his head hard on the wheel.
Me duele la cabeza — My head hurts
cara [KAH-rah] — face
Sounds like: “car-uh”. A car crashes and a giant face-shaped mask flies out, landing right on the windshield.
Tiene una cara bonita — She has a pretty face.
ojo [OH-hoh] — eye
Sounds like: “oh-ho”. You say 'Oh-ho!' surprised as a giant eye peeks through the curtains at you.
ojo — eye
nariz [nah-REES] — nose
Sounds like: “nah-REESE”. A giant nose sneezes and says 'nah, RE-sneeze!' spraying mist all over your face.
Me duele la nariz. — My nose hurts.
boca [BOH-kah] — mouth
Sounds like: “bow-car”. A car shaped like a giant mouth honks and opens its hood like lips to bite the road.
La boca me duele. — My mouth hurts.
oreja [oh-REH-hah] — ear
Sounds like: “o-reggae-ah”. Loud reggae music blasts straight into your ear from a giant speaker on the beach.
La oreja escucha música — The ear listens to music.
diente [DYEHN-teh] — tooth
Sounds like: “dent”. A tooth bites the car door and leaves a dent, cracking white enamel on the metal.
Me duele un diente — My tooth hurts
pelo [PEH-loh] — hair
Sounds like: “peel-oh”. You peel a banana and long hairs stick out from under the peel, tangled and messy.
pelo largo — long hair
cuello [KWEH-yoh] — neck
Sounds like: “kway-yo”. A swan stretches its long neck like a curled 'kway-yo' noodle wrapped around its throat.
Me duele el cuello — My neck hurts
hombro [OHM-broh] — shoulder
Sounds like: “hombre-oh”. A man ('hombre') shouts 'oh!' as a heavy bag falls right on his shoulder.
Me duele el hombro. — My shoulder hurts.
brazo [BRAH-soh] — arm
Sounds like: “brass oh”. You lift a heavy brass trophy and your whole arm shakes as you shout 'oh!' holding it up.
Me duele el brazo. — My arm hurts.
mano [MAH-noh] — hand
Sounds like: “man-oh”. A man raises his hand high shouting 'oh!' while waving it at the crowd.
mano — hand
dedo [DEH-doh] — finger
Sounds like: “dead toe”. Your finger goes numb like a dead toe when you hold ice too long in your hand.
El dedo me duele. — My finger hurts.
pierna [PYEHR-nah] — leg
Sounds like: “pier gnaw”. A shark swims under the pier and gnaws on a swimmer's leg dangling in the water.
Ella tiene una pierna rota. — She has a broken leg.
pie [pyeh] — foot
Sounds like: “pier”. You walk barefoot down a wooden pier, splinters poking your foot with every step.
El pie toca el agua — The foot touches the water
rodilla [roh-DEE-yah] — knee
Sounds like: “rod-deal-ya”. You strike a deal to buy a metal rod, but it hits your knee and you yelp loudly.
Me golpeé la rodilla. — I hit my knee.
espalda [ehs-PAHL-dah] — back
Sounds like: “esplat-er”. A splatter of paint hits his back as he turns away from the wall.
Llevo una mochila en la espalda. — I carry a backpack on my back.
corazón [koh-rah-SOHN] — heart
Sounds like: “core a zone”. You dig into the core of a zone deep in your chest, finding a pulsing red heart there.
Mi corazón late rápido. — My heart beats fast.
estómago [ehs-TOH-mah-goh] — stomach
Sounds like: “stomp a go”. A man stomps and grabs his stomach, then goes running to find food fast.
El estómago está vacío — The stomach is empty
piel [pyehl] — skin
Sounds like: “peel”. You peel an orange and see the thin skin cling to your fingers like human skin.
Tiene la piel suave — She has soft skin