Body Parts in Spanish
The main body parts in Spanish are la cabeza (head), el pelo (hair), los ojos (eyes), la nariz (nose), la boca (mouth), las manos (hands), la panza (tummy), las piernas (legs) and los pies (feet). To say something hurts, use me duele: me duele la panza.
Below you’ll find eighteen words with pronunciation, a labeled diagram, the Tócate la nariz game, the rhyme parents across Latin America say over every scraped knee, and a free printable chart.
All the body parts in Spanish: the list, with pronunciation
| Spanish | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| la cabeza | la ka-BE-sa | head |
| el pelo | el PE-lo | hair |
| la cara | la KA-ra | face |
| los ojos | los O-hos | eyes |
| las orejas | las o-RE-has | ears |
| la nariz | la na-REES | nose |
| la boca | la BO-ka | mouth |
| los dientes | los DYEN-tes | teeth |
| las mejillas | las me-HEE-yas | cheeks |
| el cuello | el KWE-yo | neck |
| los hombros | los OM-bros | shoulders |
| los brazos | los BRA-sos | arms |
| las manos | las MA-nos | hands |
| los dedos | los DE-dos | fingers, toes |
| la panza | la PAN-sa | tummy |
| las piernas | las PYER-nas | legs |
| las rodillas | las ro-DEE-yas | knees |
| los pies | los PYES | feet |
Two sounds to watch: the h in hombros is silent (OM-bros), and the ll in cuello and rodillas sounds like the y in yes (KWE-yo, ro-DEE-yas). The j in ojos and orejas is a breathy h.
Parts of the body in Spanish: labeled diagram
Pelo, panza, mejillas
These are everyday words kids actually use. El pelo is hair, la panza (or la pancita, little tummy) is the tummy, and las mejillas are the cheeks you kiss goodnight.
The head, not my head
Spanish says me duele la cabeza, literally “the head hurts me”. With body parts, la and los replace my: lávate las manos, wash your hands.
One word for fingers and toes
Los dedos are fingers and toes both. When it matters, toes are los dedos de los pies, the fingers of the feet. Kids find that very funny.
Bath time, getting dressed, washing hands
Your child’s body is the one visual aid that never gets lost. Three moments a day already point at every word on the chart.
Bath time
Wash and name: las manos, los pies, la panza. Same order every night, and the words line up on their own.
Getting dressed
La camiseta (T-shirt) goes over la cabeza, los zapatos (shoes) go on los pies, la chaqueta (jacket) over los brazos.
Before eating
Lávate las manos(wash your hands) is a phrase you’ll use three times a day. Say it in Spanish every time.
How to use this with your child: Tócate la nariz
You don’t need to speak Spanish to play this. It’s Simon Says with Spanish commands. You call out a command, your child does it, and nobody has to translate, because the action shows understanding. That’s the whole point: your child hears Spanish and answers with their body, not with a quiz answer.
—¡Tócate la nariz!
—¡Tócate las rodillas!
—¡Levanta los brazos!
(“Touch your nose! Touch your knees! Raise your arms!”) Say tócate as TO-ka-te and levanta as le-VAN-ta. Speed up as your child gets faster, and let them be the caller next round.
- 1
Read the chart aloud once, touching each part. Don’t worry about your accent; the touching does most of the teaching.
- 2
Start with the face. Ojos, nariz, boca, orejas, pelo: five words, all within reach.
- 3
Play Tócate la nariz for five minutes. Stop while everyone is still laughing.
- 4
Add Muéstrame (show me). Muéstrame las manos before dinner is a real reason to use it.
Body parts phrases in Spanish and English
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Tócate la nariz. | Touch your nose. |
| Muéstrame las manos. | Show me your hands. |
| Levanta los brazos. | Raise your arms. |
| Me duele la panza. | My tummy hurts. |
| Lávate las manos, por favor. | Wash your hands, please. |
Sana, sana, colita de rana
When a child bumps a knee or an elbow, parents across Latin America rub the sore spot and say this traditional rhyme. It’s the rhyme your child will hear most, and always with love attached:
Sana, sana,
colita de rana,
si no sana hoy,
sanará mañana.
(“Heal, heal, little frog’s tail; if it doesn’t heal today, it will heal tomorrow.”) Traditional rhymes keep their original forms, so we print it the way families have always said it.
Say it the next time there’s a small bump: ¿Te duele la rodilla? Sana, sana… By the third time, your child will say it with you. More traditional rhymes are on our Spanish nursery rhymes page.
Get the free body parts diagram (printable PDF)
One page: a simple line-drawn child with fourteen parts labeled in Spanish, plus the full word list with pronunciation and English. Tape it to the bathroom mirror and point while you brush teeth.
Download the Chart (Free PDF)Everything for this unit
Everything for body parts in one place
Questions parents ask
What are the parts of the body in Spanish?
The body is el cuerpo, and its parts are la cabeza (head), el pelo (hair), la cara (face), los ojos (eyes), las orejas (ears), la nariz (nose), la boca (mouth), el cuello (neck), los hombros (shoulders), los brazos (arms), las manos (hands), la panza (tummy), las piernas (legs), las rodillas (knees) and los pies (feet).
How do you say head, shoulders, knees and toes in Spanish?
Head is la cabeza, shoulders are los hombros, knees are las rodillas and toes are los dedos de los pies, literally the fingers of the feet. Spanish uses one word, dedos, for fingers and toes. Play the touching game with these four words, pointing to each part as you say it, and add eyes, ears, mouth and nose next.
What does "sana sana colita de rana" mean?
It is a traditional rhyme adults say to a child with a small bump or scrape: sana, sana, colita de rana, si no sana hoy, sanará mañana. It means heal, heal, little frog's tail; if it doesn't heal today, it will heal tomorrow. You say it while gently rubbing the sore spot. It doesn't fix anything, but it comforts.
How do you say "my head hurts" in Spanish?
Say me duele la cabeza (me DWE-le la ka-BE-sa). Spanish uses the, not my, for body parts, because it's already clear whose head it is. The same pattern works for everything on the chart: me duele la panza (my tummy hurts), me duelen los pies (my feet hurt). Children use this one constantly once they know it.
Where the body words show up next
For a story that gets your child moving, try Puedo saltar: Manuel jumps, runs and plays with Max. Read it after a round of Tócate la nariz and act out every page.
Chart Nº 7: Animals
Perro, gato, vaca and the sounds they make in Spanish.
Chart Nº 6: Family Members
Mamá, papá, abuela, and the ¿Quién es? photo game.
Chart Nº 10: Emotions
Feliz, triste, enojado, and how to ask ¿Cómo te sientes? at bedtime.
Chart Nº 9: The Alphabet
All 27 letters, from a for abuela to ñ for ñandú.
All free printables
Every chart, plus story readers you can print at home.
Get the Free Starter Story Pack
A short printable Manuel y Lola story with a parent guide in English.
For quieter practice, there are printable Spanish flashcards, word search puzzles and beginner worksheets for colors, numbers, family and more. Our Foundations Pack will cover much more ground once it’s ready; it isn’t for sale yet.
Sources
- USC Digital Folklore Archives: “Sana, sana, colita de rana: a Spanish children’s rhyme”, a collected entry documenting the rhyme as traditional oral folklore
- Stephen Krashen: Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition (1982), the influential input hypothesis: language is acquired by understanding messages, such as a command your child can act out