How to Talk About the Parts of the Body in Italian

How to Talk About the Parts of the Body in Italian While chatting about body parts isn’t something that’s often a part of small talk, the necessity of knowing body part of Italian vocabulary pops at the most unexpected times. Besides the typical doctor situation, it comes up in many Italian proverbs, when describing physical characteristics of a person, and in famous children’s songs. Head, Shoulders, Knees Toes Below you’ll find an extensive list of body parts in the singular form along with examples to demonstrate the various ways to use your newfound vocabulary in real life. ankle la caviglia arm il braccio armpit lascella artery larteria body il corpo bone losso brain il cervello calf il polpaccio chest il torace collarbone la clavicola elbow il gomito finger il dito foot il piede hand la mano heart il cuore heel il calcagno hip lanca index finger lindice knee il ginocchio larynx la laringe leg la gamba middle finger il medio muscle il muscolo nail lunghia nerve il nervo pinkie il mignolo rib la costola ring finger lanulare shoulder la spalla skin la pelle spine la spina dorsale stomach lo stomaco thumb il pollice vein la vena wrist il polso When you change some of the body parts from the singular into the plural form, they might seem strange at first because they don’t follow the regular rules of the ending of a feminine, plural word ending in the letter -e or a masculine, plural word ending in the letter -i. Per esempio L’orecchio (ear) becomes le orecchie (ears)Il braccio (arm) becomes le braccia (arms)Il dito (finger) becomes le dita (fingers)Il ginocchio (knee) becomes le ginocchia (knees) Esempi Mi fa male lo stomaco. - My stomach hurts.Ho mal di testa. - I have a headache.Ho la testa altrove. - My head is somewhere else; I’m not focused.Siamo nelle tue mani. - We’re in your hands; We’re trusting you.L’hai visto? Ha gli addominali a tartaruga! - Did you see him? He has six-pack abs!Devo farmi le unghie. - I need to do my nails; I need to get a manicure.Sei cosà ¬ rosso in viso! - You’re so red in the face!; You’re blushing.Ho un ginocchio messo male. - I have a bad knee. Finally, here are a few proverbs with body parts: Alzarsi con il piede sbagliato – To get up with the wrong foot; idiomatic meaning: to get up on the wrong side of the bed Stamattina, mi sono svegliato/a con il piede sbagliato e finora ho avuto una giornataccia! - This morning I got up with the wrong foot and since then I’ve had such a bad day! Non avere peli sulla lingua – To have no hairs on the tongue; idiomatic meaning: to speak frankly Lui sempre dice cose sprezzanti, non ha davvero peli sulla lingua! - He always says rude things, he truly doesn’t have any hair on the tongue! Essere una persona in gamba/essere in gamba – To be a person in leg; idiomatic meaning: to be a really great, upstanding person Lei mi ha sempre aiutato, à ¨ veramente una persona in gamba. – She’s always helped me, she’s really a good person.