All You Have To Know About Body Parts In German With Explanations And Examples
Being able to explain where it hurts to a doctor is only one of the advantages, that knowing the names of the different body parts in German brings!
Spring German teacher Brunhild will explain everything you need to know about the body parts in German.
1. Der Kopf (The head)
An important bodypart inside of the head is das Gehirn (The brain).
KIM
Aua!
(Ouch!)
MRS SCHMIDT
Was ist?
(What is it?)
KIM
Ich hab mir den Kopf angehauen!
(I hit my head!)
MRS SCHMIDT
Hast du keine Augen im Kopf?
(Don’t you have any eyes inside your head?)
CHUNK ALERT!
When someone runs into stuff, hurts themselves or is in general clumsy, we often say Hast du keine Augen im Kopf? It literally means “Don’t you have eyes inside of your head?”
The German language is full of chunks and figures of speech like this. Make sure to download our free essential German chunking kit to see more of them. The link is in the description!
✔️ Cheat Sheet with 53 Essential German Chunks: chunks and words you’ll hear and use in every German conversation
✔️ Tips on how to speak German WITHOUT thinking about grammar
✔️ A German Chunking Tutorial showing you the 1 technique that’ll help you make 100% of the German from our videos roll off the tongue in just 5 minutes a day (you’re probably only using 50% of our lessons’ potential right now…)
Now back to the head. Wichtige Körperteile am Kopf sind: (Important parts on the head are:)
| German | English |
|---|---|
| die Haare | the hair |
| die Ohren | the ears |
| das Gesicht | the face |
Let’s see how all of this works in a real-life German conversation that’s aimed for beginners:
MRS SCHMIDT
Kim! Bist du wach? Na hopp, geh dir ins Bad das Gesicht waschen. Du musst bald zur Schule!
(Kim! Are you awake? Chop chop, go to the bathroom and w ash your face. You’ll have to go to school soon!)
KIM
Ich geh ja schon.
(I’m going already.)
MRS SCHMIDT
Die Ohren nicht vergessen!
(Don’t forget the ears!)
KIM
Ja.
(Yes.)
MRS SCHMIDT
Und kämm dir doch mal die Haare. Du siehst immer so verstrubbelt aus.
(And brush your hair for once! Your hair always looks so ruffled.)
KIM
Ja doch.
(Yes, of course.)
2. Das Gesicht (The face)
MONIKA
Was kochst du heute?
(What are you cooking today?)
MARIE
Indisch! Riecht man das denn nicht?
(Indian! Can’t you smell that?)
MONIKA
Ich rieche nichts. Meine Nase ist verstopft!
(I can’t smell anything. My nose is blocked!)
Dein Gesicht (your face) means “your face”. Zu deinem Gesicht gehören: (Your face includes:)
| German | English |
|---|---|
| die Stirn | the forehead |
| die Augenbrauen | the eyebrows |
| die Augen | the eyes |
| die Nase | the nose |
| die Wangen | the cheeks |
| der Mund | the mouth |
| der Kiefer | the jaw |
| das Kinn | the chin |
Lots of body parts to keep track of!
MAX
Du hast wunderschöne Augen.
(You have beautiful eyes.)
KIM
Halt den Mund.
(Shut your mouth.)
MAX
Ich mein’s ernst…
(I mean it…)
Now let’s linger on the mouth just a little bit. Der Mund (the mouth) deserves a closer look, because it contains many parts that come up in our daily lives, such as:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| die Zähne | the teeth |
| die Zunge | the tongue |
| der Gaumen | the roof of the mouth |
| der Rachen | the throat |
In a real German conversation:
MRS SCHMIDT
Zeit zu schlafen! Hast du schon Zähne geputzt?
(Time to sleep! Have you brushed your teeth yet?)
KIM
Ich kann meine ZahnbĂĽrste nicht finden. Und die Zahnpasta ist auch alle.
(I can’t find my toothbrush. And the toothpaste is also empty.)
MRS SCHMIDT
Dann nimm eine neue ZahnbĂĽrste und nimm von meiner Zahnpasta!
(Then take a new toothbrush and have some of my toothpaste!)
KIM
Na gut.
(Alright.)
MRS SCHMIDT
Und die Zunge nicht vergessen!
(And don’t forget the tongue!)
3. Der Oberkörper (The upper body)
Neck down comes what we call: der Körper (the body). The upper part of the body is called: der Oberkörper (the torso).
Let’s take the different body parts n the order from top to bottom.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Hals | the neck |
| die Schultern | the shoulders |
| die Brust | the chest |
| die BrĂĽste | the breasts |
| die Taille | the waist |
| der Bauch | the belly |
| die Schulterblätter | the shoulder blades |
| der RĂĽcken | the back |
Attached to the Oberkörper (torso) are the arms!
4. Die Arme (The arms)
Die Arme sind die Gliedmaßen am Oberkörper. (The arms are the limbs attached to the torso). Zum Arm gehört: (The arm includes:)
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Oberarm | the upper arm |
| der Unterarm | the forearm |
| der Ellenbogen | the elbow |
At the end of the arm, we find the hands.
5. Die Hände (The hands)
Zu der Hand gehört (The hand includes):
| German | English |
|---|---|
| das Handgelenk | the wrist |
| der HandrĂĽcken | the back of the hand |
| die Handfläche | the palm |
| die Finger | the fingers |
| der Fingerknöchel | the knuckle |
| der Fingernagel | the fingernail |
Let’s see another convo:
THERESA
Wow, du bist so schnell mit deinen Händen!
(Wow, you’re so fast with your fingers.)
SAGA
Ja, meine Finger sind schneller als mein Gehirn.
(Yes, my fingers are faster than my brain.)
THERESA
Du hast so hĂĽbsche, lange Finger. Nicht wie meine Wurstfinger.
(You have such pretty, long fingers. Not like my sausage fingers.)
SAGA
Danke. Das kommt vom Klavierspielen.
(Thanks. That comes from playing the piano.)
What do you think?
Does Klavier spielen (playing the piano) really make lange Finger (long fingers)?
6. Der Unterleib (The abdomen)
This is the part between your Oberkörper (torso) and your legs. Der Unterleib (The abdomen). Here you find:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| die HĂĽfte | the hips |
| das Gesäß | the buttocks |
| das Geschlechtsorgan | the groin |
7. Die Beine (The legs)
The following parts are part of the leg:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Oberschenkel | the thighs |
| das Knie | the knee |
| die Kniekehle | the hollow of the knee |
| das Schienbein | the shin |
| die Wade | the calf |
| der FuĂź | the foot |
8. Die FĂĽĂźe (The feet)
The following parts are part of the foot:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Knöchel | the ankle |
| die Ferse | the heel |
| der FuĂźballen | the ball of the foot |
| die FuĂźsohle | the sole of the foot |
| die Zehen | the toes |
| der Zeh | the toe |
| der Zehennagel | the toenail (singular) |
| die Zehennägel | the toenails (plural) |
Let’s see some German sentences in a dialogue:
KIM
Au!
(Ouch!)
SAGA
Was ist los?
(What happened?)
KIM
Ich bin mit dem FuĂź umgeknickt!
(I sprained my foot!)
SAGA
Gib mir deine Hand, wir setzen uns kurz hin.
(Give me your hand, let’s have a seat.)
KIM
Ich glaube, ich habe mir den Knöchel verstaucht!
(I think I twisted my ankle!)
9. Das Körperteil-Lied (Body parts in German – a song)
I bet you all know the song “Head, shoulders, knees and toes! I’m going to do you a huge solid and sing this song in German, just because it’s so great to learn the body parts.
Here we go!
