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Body parts in Dutch

The Dutch word for “body” is het lichaam, and a body part is een lichaamsdeel (plural lichaamsdelen). The core words are het hoofd (head), het oog (eye), de mond (mouth), de arm, de hand, het been (leg) and de voet (foot). Every noun below comes with its article and plural, because you cannot use a word correctly in Dutch without them. Most body parts are de-words; the handful of het-words are worth memorising deliberately.

The head and face

Note the two big irregular plurals here: het oog → ogen and het oor → oren, both dropping a consonant and lengthening the vowel.

The torso and internal organs

Het hart and het lichaam are the notable het-words; the rest are de. Watch de maag → magen (long vowel in the plural).

Arms, hands, legs and feet

Two irregular plurals to flag: het been → benen (legs) and de knie → knieën with a trema. Note that het been also means “bone”, but the bone plural is the older beenderen.

Skin, bone and muscle

Example sentences: “The hand is a body part”

A frequent beginner exercise is translating simple statements about the body. The pattern is straightforward: article + noun + is + een lichaamsdeel. Because lichaamsdeel is a compound ending in het deel, it is a het-word, but after een you do not see that.

Two points of usage. First, English uses a possessive with body parts where Dutch often uses the definite article when the owner is obvious: Hij schudde het hoofd (he shook his head) is more natural than zijn hoofd in written Dutch, although in speech both occur. Second, mijn is regularly reduced to m’n in informal writing: m’n rug doet pijn.

Verbs that go with the body

These everyday verbs pair naturally with the vocabulary above. Several are reflexive in Dutch where English is not.

At the doctor

To say something hurts, Dutch uses pijn (pain) either as a compound (hoofdpijn, headache) or with the verb doet pijn (hurts). These are the phrases you will actually use at the huisarts (GP).

If something is urgent, jump to the emergency phrases, which cover calling 112 and describing what is wrong.

Body-part idioms

Dutch is dense with body idioms, and they rarely translate word for word. Learn the meaning, not the literal image.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “body parts” in Dutch?

Body parts are lichaamsdelen; one body part is het lichaamsdeel. The body itself is het lichaam (plural lichamen).

How do you say “the hand is a body part” in Dutch?

De hand is een lichaamsdeel. The plural version is Handen zijn lichaamsdelen.

Are body parts de or het words in Dutch?

Most are de-words (de hand, de arm, de voet, de neus). The common het-words are het lichaam, het hoofd, het gezicht, het haar, het oog, het oor, het hart, het been, het bot and het bloed.

How do you say “my back hurts” in Dutch?

Mijn rug doet pijn. With a plural body part the verb is plural: Mijn voeten doen pijn. For head, throat and stomach, Dutch prefers compounds: Ik heb hoofdpijn, keelpijn, buikpijn.

What is the difference between hals and nek in Dutch?

De nek is the back of the neck (the nape), de hals is the front and the neck as a whole, and de keel is the throat on the inside. In everyday speech nek is often used loosely for the whole neck.

What is the plural of oog and been in Dutch?

Het oog becomes ogen and het been (leg) becomes benen. When been means bone, the plural is beenderen, though botten is more common for bones today.

Related lists worth pairing with this one: clothing (what goes on the body) and family. If the irregular plurals here tripped you up, the rules behind them are in Dutch plurals.