One of the most seemingly daunting things about learning Polish is getting a grip on the pronunciation. But then you spend some time with it, and it actually turns out that Polish is pronounced exactly as it’s written! So it’s already less complicated than you thought it was. Learning to correctly name the Polish body parts also probably won’t be quite as hard as you think it is. Truly, the trickiest thing about it is understanding that there’s no word for “arm” in Polish — there’s actually a different word for forearm and upper arm!
Knowing your Polish body parts vocab can help you articulate pains, injuries, tattoo placements, and a host of metaphors involving the human anatomy.
Here’s a list of basic terms to start with. To listen to how these words are voiced by a native speaker, just hit the play button.
Polish Body Parts Vocabulary
part of the body — część ciała
body — ciało
foot — stopa
hand/arm — ręka
upper arm/shoulder* — ramię
head — głowa
eyes — oczy
face — twarz
leg — noga
mouth — buzia
nose — nos
knee — kolano
ear — ucho
tooth — ząb
neck — szyja
back — plecy
stomach — brzuch
*In Polish, there is no word for “arm.” The part from the elbow up to the shoulder is called ramię, while the forearm is called przedramię.
Sentences Involving Anatomy
I have a headache. — Boli mnie głowa.
He broke his leg. — Złamał sobie nogę.
I feel sick and my stomach hurts. — Mam mdłości i żołądek mnie boli.