The German words for many parts of the body are similar or identical to English: der Arm, die Hand, der Finger, das Haar, das Kinn. (English is, after all, a Germanic language.) But of course they’re not all that easy, and you still need to learn the genders of even the easy ones. (Don’t ask me why a hand is feminine but a finger is masculine. It’s pointless to worry about such things.)
German Expressions Using Parts of the Body
Hals- und Beinbruch!
Break a leg!
Break a leg!
(Neck and leg break!)
(Although it adds the neck, the
German expression actually wishes
someone good luck, as in English.)
(Although it adds the neck, the
German expression actually wishes
someone good luck, as in English.)
One element of this lesson relates to the way that German-speakers talk about the body. In the classic film “Casablanca,” Humphrey Bogart’s character says to Ingrid Bergman: “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.” In the German version, that Americanism became “Ich schau dir in die Augen, Kleines.” Instead of saying “your eyes,” German tends to be more like the English expression “I’m looking you in the eye,” using the definite article with the dative to show personal possession. Let’s learn the basic vocabulary of Körperteile (parts of the body).
German Glossary for Body Parts
In this glossary, the plural form is given only for those items that usually come in pairs or multiples (eyes, ears, fingers, etc.). You’ll notice that our glossary runs from the top of the body (head) to the bottom (foot, von Kopf bis Fuß).
| der menschliche Körper von Kopf bis Fuß The Human Body from head to toe (foot) |
|
| Englisch | Deutsch |
| hair* | das Haar/die Haare (pl.) |
| *In German “hair” can be referred to as singular or plural, when it is only singular in English: “my hair” = mein Haar (sing.) or meine Haare (pl.); “her long hair” = ihr langes Haar (sing.) or ihre langen Haare (pl.) | |
| head | der Kopf |
| ear, ears | das Ohr, die Ohren (pl.) |
| face | das Gesicht |
| forehead | die Stirn |
| eyebrow, eyebrows | die Augenbraue, die Augenbrauen |
| eyelash, eyelashes | die Wimper, die Wimpern |
| eye, eyes | das Auge, die Augen |
| nose | die Nase |
| lip, lips | die Lippe, die Lippen |
| mouth* | der Mund |
| *An animal’s mouth is called das Maul. When used for people, it’s considered rude: “Halt’s Maul!” = “Shut up!” | |
| tooth, teeth | der Zahn, die Zähne |
| chin | das Kinn |
| neck | der Hals |
| shoulder, shoulders | die Schulter, die Schultern |
| back | der Rücken |
| arm, arms | der Arm, die Arme |
| elbow, elbows | der Ell(en)bogen, die Ell(en)bogen |
| wrist, wrists | das Handgelenk, die Handgelenke |
| hand, hands | die Hand, die Hände |
| finger, fingers | der Finger, die Finger |
| thumb, thumbs* | der Daumen, die Daumen |
| *Instead of crossing your fingers, in German you “press your thumb” for good luck: Daumen drücken! = “Cross your fingers!” | |
| index finger | der Zeigefinger |
| finger nail (nails) | der Fingernagel (-nägel) |
| chest | die Brust |
| breast, breasts (bosom) | die Brust, die Brüste (der Busen) |
| stomach, belly | der Bauch |