Body Parts

1. la testa

   Head

   Usage

   Show it at a clinic and point to your head. "Ho mal di testa" means my head hurts

   Grammar Note

   Feminine. Italian builds pain as "ho mal di" plus the body part

2. i capelli

   Hair

   Usage

   Used at a salon or barber, and always in the plural in Italian

   Grammar Note

   Masculine plural; the singular "il capello" is a single strand

3. il viso

   Face

   Usage

   Marks the treatment area at a spa or the spot of a rash at a clinic. "La faccia" is the more casual word; beauty contexts prefer "il viso"

4. gli occhi

   Eyes

   Usage

   Point to them for pain or redness, or to ask for "il collirio" — eye drops

   Grammar Note

   The singular is "l'occhio", masculine — say "l'occhio destro" if only the right eye is affected

5. l'orecchio

   Ear

   Usage

   For earache or blocked ears on a plane: "ho mal d'orecchi"

   Grammar Note

   An irregular noun: the plural "le orecchie" is feminine. Medical writing also uses the masculine "gli orecchi"

6. il naso

   Nose

   Usage

   A blocked nose is "il naso chiuso" and a runny nose "il raffreddore". Hay fever is "l'allergia ai pollini"

7. la bocca

   Mouth

   Usage

   For the dentist or a mouth ulcer, "l'afta". The same word sits inside the good-luck idiom "in bocca al lupo"

8. i denti

   Teeth

   Usage

   Show it at the dentist and point to the tooth. "Ho mal di denti" — I have toothache

   Grammar Note

   The singular is "il dente", but toothache is idiomatically plural: "mal di denti"

9. la lingua

   Tongue

   Usage

   Point out a burn or an ulcer. The same word means "language", as in "la lingua italiana"

10. il collo

    Neck

    Usage

    For a stiff neck; pain on swallowing belongs to "la gola". Whiplash is "il colpo di frusta"

11. la gola

    Throat

    Usage

    "Ho mal di gola" — I have a sore throat. Also how to ask a pharmacist for lozenges

12. la spalla

    Shoulder

    Usage

    Point to it at a massage to say where you want the work done

13. il braccio

    Arm

    Usage

    Used for blood draws and vaccinations. Italian keeps the arm ("il braccio") separate from the hand ("la mano")

    Grammar Note

    Irregular: the plural "le braccia" is feminine

14. il gomito

    Elbow

    Usage

    For a bang from a fall. The plural is normally "i gomiti" today, though "le gomita" also exists

15. la mano

    Hand

    Usage

    For injuries and security checks. "Vorrei lavarmi le mani" — I would like to wash my hands

    Grammar Note

    Feminine despite the -o ending, with the plural "le mani" — one of Italian's best-known exceptions

16. il dito

    Finger

    Usage

    The same word covers toes; say "il dito del piede" when you need to be specific

    Grammar Note

    Irregular: the plural "le dita" is feminine

17. l'unghia

    Nail

    Usage

    For a nail salon or an ingrown or broken nail. Nail clippers are "il tagliaunghie"

18. il petto

    Chest

    Usage

    For chest pain or breathlessness — urgent, so show it together with "mi fa male qui" (it hurts here)

19. la pancia

    Belly / Abdomen

    Usage

    The belly you can point at from outside: "ho mal di pancia". The stomach organ itself is "lo stomaco"

20. la schiena

    Back

    Usage

    For a massage or an orthopaedist: "ho mal di schiena"

21. la parte bassa della schiena

    Lower back

    Usage

    Italian has no single word for the Japanese "koshi", so this descriptive phrase does the job. A sudden lumbago is "il colpo della strega" — the witch's blow

22. l'anca

    Hip

    Usage

    For hip pain or explaining a hip replacement. The side of the body as a whole is "il fianco", a different word

23. il sedere

    Bottom

    Usage

    The everyday neutral word — for instance to indicate where an intramuscular injection goes. Clinics also say "i glutei"

24. la gamba

    Leg

    Usage

    From thigh to ankle. The part below the ankle is "il piede", a separate word

25. il ginocchio

    Knee

    Usage

    For a hiking or football injury

    Grammar Note

    Irregular: the plural "le ginocchia" is feminine

26. il piede

    Foot

    Usage

    At a shoe shop or a massage. "A piedi" means on foot

27. la caviglia

    Ankle

    Usage

    A sprain is "la distorsione". "Mi sono storto la caviglia" — I twisted my ankle; a woman says "storta"

28. la pelle

    Skin

    Usage

    For a rash, sunburn or insect bites. Sunscreen is "la crema solare"; a sunburn is "la scottatura"

29. l'osso

    Bone

    Usage

    A fracture is "la frattura". "Penso di essermi rotto un osso" — I think I broke a bone

    Grammar Note

    The human skeleton takes the feminine plural "le ossa"; separate or animal bones take the masculine "gli ossi"

30. il sangue

    Blood

    Usage

    A blood test is "le analisi del sangue" and your blood type "il gruppo sanguigno". "Sto sanguinando" — I am bleeding

31. il cuore

    Heart

    Usage

    For explaining a condition: heart disease is "la malattia cardiaca" and a pacemaker "il pacemaker"

32. lo stomaco

    Stomach

    Usage

    Use it to ask a pharmacist for something: "ho mal di stomaco". The visible belly is "la pancia", a different word

    Grammar Note

    Masculine nouns starting with s plus a consonant take "lo"; the plural is "gli stomaci"

33. l'intestino

    Intestine / Bowel

    Usage

    For diarrhoea ("la diarrea") or constipation ("la stitichezza")

34. il polmone

    Lung

    Usage

    For asthma ("l'asma") or pneumonia ("la polmonite"). The plural is "i polmoni"

35. il fegato

    Liver

    Usage

    Comes up when a doctor asks about hepatitis ("l'epatite") or drinking. It is also the liver in Venice's "fegato alla veneziana"

36. il rene

    Kidney

    Usage

    A stone is "il calcolo renale" and dialysis "la dialisi". The plural is "i reni"

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