Hebrew Body Parts: The 20 Words Every Learner Needs

Body parts are one of those vocabulary topics that feels simple until you're at a doctor's office trying to describe exactly where it hurts. Knowing the 20 most important Hebrew body parts covers just about every daily situation, from doctor visits to yoga classes to complimenting someone's eyes. Here's the whole list.

The head

• Rosh (רֹאשׁ), head.
• Panim, face.
• Einayim (עֵינַיִם), eyes. Dual ending, always.
• Af, nose.
• Pe, mouth.
• Sfatayim, lips.
• Shiniyim, teeth.
• Lashon, tongue.
• Oznayim (אָזְנַיִם), ears. Dual.
• Se'ar, hair.

The upper body

• Tzavar, neck.
• Katef, shoulder. Ktefayim, shoulders.
• Yad (יָד), hand or arm. In Hebrew, the same word covers both. Yadayim, hands/arms.
• Etzba, finger. Etzba'ot, fingers.
• Chazeh, chest.
• Beten, stomach or belly.
• Gav, back.

The lower body

• Regel (רֶגֶל), leg or foot. Like yad, one word covers both. Raglayim, legs/feet.
• Berkh... actually berek, knee.
• Kaf regel, sole of the foot / the foot specifically.

Internal organs (for medical situations)

• Lev, heart.
• Kaved, liver.
• Re'ot, lungs.
• Mo'ach, brain.

These are the ones you're most likely to hear at a doctor's office.

The dual ending oddity

Notice that Hebrew uses the dual ending -ayim for body parts that come in pairs: eyes (einayim), ears (oznayim), hands (yadayim), legs (raglayim). This is a small grammatical relic from ancient Hebrew that modern Hebrew kept specifically for body parts and a few time words.

You don't need to "learn" the dual form separately. It's baked into the word itself.

A tricky one: yad vs. regel

English splits hand from arm and foot from leg. Hebrew doesn't. Yad can mean either "hand" or "arm" depending on context, and regel can mean either "foot" or "leg". If you really need to be specific, you can say kaf yad (palm of the hand) or kaf regel (sole of the foot) to clarify.

In daily speech, most Israelis don't bother with the clarification. If you say "ke'ev yad" (pain in the yad), the listener will figure out from context whether you mean your hand or your arm.

Useful body-part phrases

• Yesh li ke'ev rosh, I have a headache. Literally "there is to me pain in head".
• Ke'ev beten, stomach ache.
• Ke'ev gav, back pain.
• Yesh li chom, I have a fever.
• Ani ayef, I'm tired.

A compliment opportunity

Body-part vocabulary comes in handy for compliments too. Yesh lach einayim yafot (you have beautiful eyes, to a woman) is a classic Israeli compliment. Yesh lecha chiyuch yafe (you have a beautiful smile) works for anyone.

Just remember to use it in the right context. Israelis are direct but not creepy. Compliments on smiles and eyes are fine in casual conversation. Other body parts, not so much.

Practice trick

Next time you shower, point to a part of your body and say its Hebrew name out loud. Yes, you'll feel ridiculous. By day three you'll know all 20 words. No study session required.

For more body and health vocabulary, our topics pages include detailed lists with audio. And our phrases section has medical and everyday health-related sentences.

20 words, one shower session, a lifetime of useful vocabulary.