It’s time to learn how to say parts of the body in Russian and use them in the sentences correctly.

So, in the picture you can see the common parts of the body. Some of them have only singular form like belly-button — «пупок», one has only plural and it’s hair — «волосы», the rest are in both forms.

Parts of the body in Russian

One of the typical mistakes is using the verb «есть» in the construction like: I have brown eyes. Normally, we don’t include «есть» in the Russian sentence if a physical attribute characterised by an adjective. For example:

У меня широкие плечи.I have wide shoulders.
У него короткие светлые волосы.He has short fair hair.
У неё голубые глаза.She has light-blue eyes.
У футболистов сильные ноги.Football players have strong legs.
У пианистов красивые длинные пальцы.Pianists have nice long fingers.

Interesting fact: fingers and toes in Russian are named the same — «пальцы». If this is not clear from the context, the interlocutor says «пальцы рук» and «пальцы ног».

Я ударил свои пальцы об тумбочку.I hit my toes on the nightstand.
На каждой стопе по пять пальцев.There are five toes on each foot.

Another important moment: if you want to describe, what part of the body hurts / aches, you have to use the verb «болеть» (to hurt). And its form depends if one part or more feel pain, «болит» + singular, «болят» + plural.

У меня болит левое ухо.My left ear hurts.
У меня болят уши.My ears hurt.
У подруги болит нога.My friend has a leg ache.
У спортсмена болят колени.The sportsman’s knees hurt.

So, verb form does not depend on the person, who is in pain, but on the part/s of the body. And good news — after «болеть» use Nominative case.

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Also read about Seasons and months in Russian

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