Korean Body Parts: 45 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Body Parts at a Glance

This list moves from the head down to the feet, then covers the torso and what is under the skin. It belongs to People and Relationships and links to the health words on health and medicine. Most body words are one syllable or two, native Korean, and used in the pattern body part + 이/가 + verb.

Which Body Part Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 머리, 눈, 코, 입, 귀, 손, 발 and 배 first. They are short, common and the words for a doctor visit. Then add 팔, 다리, 등 and 목, which are the parts you describe when something hurts.

• Words to say. 머리, 눈, 코, 입, 귀, 손, 발, 배, 등.
• Words to recognise. 어깨, 무릎, 발목, 손목. They appear in sports and health talk.
• Words to attach to 아파요. 머리가, 배가, 목이, 허리가. These are the pain pattern you will use most.

Some words have more than one meaning. 눈 is eye and snow, 다리 is leg and bridge, 팔 is arm and eight, and 배 is belly, boat and pear. The scene below shows a labelled body figure with ten numbered parts.

Word · 10

1. 1

   머리

   Play

   meori

   head; hair (on the head)

2. 2

   눈

   Play

   nun

   eye

3. 3

   코

   Play

   ko

   nose

4. 4

   입

   Play

   ip

   mouth

5. 5

   귀

   Play

   gwi

   ear

6. 6

   팔

   Play

   pal

   arm

7. 7

   손

   Play

   son

   hand

8. 8

   다리

   Play

   dari

   leg

9. 9

   발

   Play

   bal

   foot

10. 10

    등

    Play

    deung

    back (of the body)

Head and Face

The head is 머리, and the face is 얼굴. The features follow in a fixed order: 이마 (forehead), 눈 (eye), 눈썹 (eyebrow), 코 (nose), 입 (mouth), 입술 (lip), 귀 (ear), 볼 (cheek), 턱 (jaw) and 혀 (tongue). 머리 also means the hair on the head, so 머리가 길어요 says the hair is long. For a single strand, see 머리카락 later in the list.

Example Sentences

The pattern for pain is body part + 이/가 + 아파요, as in 귀가 아파요. 아프다 changes to 아파요 in the polite present. For a description, use body part + 이/가 + adjective, as in 눈이 커요. Korean usually drops the word for my because it is clear from the context. Say each sentence aloud after the audio.

The face has the largest group of words because it is the part people name most often. The arms and hands come next.

How Do You Say Arms and Hands in Korean?

Korean separates the arm and the hand. 팔 is the arm, from the shoulder to the wrist, and 손 is the hand. The joints are 어깨 (shoulder), 팔꿈치 (elbow) and 손목 (wrist). The hand has 손가락 (finger), 손바닥 (palm), 손톱 (fingernail) and 주먹 (fist). The word 손 is also used in compounds for things you do by hand.

If you hurt your hand, say 손을 다쳤어요. If you hurt your arm, say 팔을 다쳤어요. The two are different parts, so the right word matters at a clinic.

Legs and Feet

The leg is 다리, and the foot is 발. The leg has 허벅지 (thigh), 무릎 (knee), 종아리 (calf) and 발목 (ankle). The foot has 발가락 (toe) and 발바닥 (sole). The word 다리 is also a bridge, and the context shows which. The same pattern as the hand applies: 손 is to 팔 as 발 is to 다리.

When you talk about being tired from walking, say 다리가 아파요 (my legs hurt) or 발이 아파요 (my feet hurt), depending on where it hurts.

How Do You Say Torso and Back in Korean?

몸 is the whole body. 목 joins the head and body and covers both the neck and the throat. Below it are 가슴 (chest), 배 (belly), 등 (back), 허리 (waist or lower back) and 엉덩이 (bottom). 배꼽 is the belly button. 배 has three meanings: belly, boat and pear. 등 also means a lamp or light. The sentence tells you which.

배가 고파요 means I am hungry, and 배가 아파요 means my stomach hurts. Those two sentences are among the first you will hear in daily life.

Skin, Bones and Blood

This group goes beneath the surface. 피부 is skin, 뼈 is bone, 근육 is muscle and 피 is blood. 땀 is sweat. 머리카락 is a strand of hair, and 치아 is the formal word for teeth. 심장 is the heart as an organ. For the feeling heart, use 마음. See Korean Body Organs Vocabulary.

These words appear mostly in health talk, so learn them with a sentence such as 피가 나요 (I am bleeding) or 땀이 나요 (I am sweating). Both use the verb 나다, to come out.

Body-Part Idioms and Counting

Body words are the base of many Korean idioms. Two are common early: 손이 크다 means generous or given to large portions, and 발이 넓다 means well-connected, with a wide social network. Idioms like these are collected on Korean idioms.

Body words are often counted with 개 for a single item, as in 손가락 열 개 (ten fingers). Pairs such as eyes and arms are often said with 두, as in 두 눈 and 두 팔. Check the listed counter before you count in a test.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Body words show two common sound changes: tensing, where the sound after a final consonant becomes tight, and linking, where a final consonant moves onto the next syllable. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which does not mark every sound change.

The tense sounds in 손가락, 손바닥 and 발바닥 are a quick win. In these compounds, say the sound after 손 or 발 tight. Compare them with the plain sounds in 가슴 and 바닥 on its own.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word and sentence has its own clip. The five clips below replay the hardest words slowly. Play one, repeat it aloud, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Body Part Words?

Five mistakes come up again and again.

1. Adding my every time. 제 머리가 아파요 is correct but heavy. Say 머리가 아파요, since the owner is clear.
2. Mixing up homophones. 눈 (eye or snow), 다리 (leg or bridge), 팔 (arm or eight) and 배 (belly, boat or pear) are spelled the same, and the rest of the sentence tells you which.
3. Using 목 for only the neck. 목이 아파요 can mean my throat hurts, so the sentence decides. 목구멍 names the inside of the throat.
4. Using 손 for arm. 손 is the hand. For the arm, say 팔.
5. Using 머리 for hair only. 머리 is the head and also the hair. Say 머리카락 for a single hair.

Most mistakes here come from words with more than one meaning. Pair each word with a verb the first time you learn it. The practice section turns the list into drills.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Use three steps. Run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until the 45 words come quickly. Switch to listening mode, then take the quiz. The deck holds every word on this page with audio, and your progress stays in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks.

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, draw a person and label ten parts in Korean, or stick notes on yourself before you read the lists aloud.

Where to Go Next

After this page, continue with Korean Body Organs Vocabulary or Personality and Appearance. For jobs that use these words, see Jobs and Occupations. To move up a level, return to People and Relationships.

Pages in This Section

See Korean Body Organs Vocabulary.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Arm in Korean?

Arm is 팔 (pal). Say 팔을 다쳤어요 for I hurt my arm. 팔 is also the number eight in Sino-Korean numbers, so the sentence shows which one is meant. The hand is a different word, 손.

How Do You Pronounce 등 (deung)?

Say deung with one syllable. The vowel ㅡ is said with the lips spread and not rounded, and the word ends with ㅇ as in sing. Press the audio button on this page to hear the word and the slow clip.

How Many Body Part Words Should I Learn First?

Start with about eight: 머리, 눈, 코, 입, 귀, 손, 발 and 배. They are short and cover most doctor visits. Then add 팔, 다리, 등 and 목. The whole list of 45 takes about nine days at five new words a day, with a short review of earlier words each day.

Where Can I Practise Body Part Words with Flashcards?

Use the deck on this page, which holds all 45 words with Hangul, romanization and audio, in recognition and listening modes. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the decks for the other people topics. Progress is saved only in your browser.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid and does not mark every sound change, so rely on the Hangul and the audio.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Body Part Words?

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, use the flashcard deck, which carries the same 45 words, or copy the tables by hand. You can also draw a person and label ten parts in Korean from memory.