Eye, Hand, Head: Body Words in 50+ Languages

Eye is ojos (eyes) in Spanish, چشم in Persian, 눈 in Korean and mata in Tagalog. Hand is main in French, دست in Persian, হাত in Bengali and tay in Vietnamese, and head is Kopf in German, ראש in Hebrew and 머리 in Korean. Below are 12 body words, from eye and hand to arm, leg and skin, across all 52 languages on the site besides English and more than a dozen scripts.

Every word comes from real usage data, not a phrasebook, and each section links to the full list on our free Say it in any language tool.

#Where these words come from

Each /tools/say page lists an English word in up to 53 languages. The words are ranked by how often they appear in film and TV subtitles (the OpenSubtitles 2018 frequency lists) and matched to English through Wiktionary, so every page shows where the word ranks in its language.

Two things to know:

• Frequency lists count spellings, not meanings. If a word for “leg” is spelled like the everyday word for “morning”, it ranks very high for the wrong reason. We only print rows whose meaning matches, and we say where a page’s “most common” claim is one of these.
• The lists keep the form people used. Body parts often come in pairs, so many rows are plurals (ojos, yeux, глаза), and some are case forms. We mark the plurals and capitalize German nouns (Augen, Kopf).

A high count doesn’t mean every row is the body part. The hand page, for example, is long partly because “to hand over” and “on the other hand” are common in film dialogue.

#Eye in different languages

Chinese 眼睛 (#151) is the most common. The next row on the full page, Polish ok (#164), is spelled like the loanword “OK”, which is almost certainly why it ranks so high. Malay and Tagalog share mata, and Indonesian matahari (sun) is literally “eye of the day”.

Three rows are not “eye” but are worth a look: Danish øjeblik, Norwegian øyeblikk and Icelandic augnablik mean “moment”, built like English “the blink of an eye”. Skip the Swedish, Indonesian and English rows: they mean “such”, “to keep an eye on” and “ugly”.

See “eye” in all 53 languages →

#Hand in different languages

Persian دست ranks #50, the highest real match in this post; Malayalam കൈ (#124) is next. Hindi हाथ, Urdu ہاتھ and Bengali হাত are one word in three scripts.

Many languages don’t split hand from arm. The data glosses Armenian ձեռք, Latvian rokas, Lithuanian rankas, Slovak ruky and Slovenian rok as “hand, arm”. Film dialogue fills the rest of the page with phrases: Greek δε (#54) and Korean 그런데 (#138) mean “on the other hand”, Spanish pasa is “pass”, and the Russian, German, Indonesian, Polish, Bosnian and Croatian rows mean “to hand over”. The Arabic row is the word for “five”.

See “hand” in all 51 languages →

#Head in different languages

Georgian თავს tops the page at #83, and Vietnamese đầu (#100) and Estonian pead (#126) follow. Each probably ranks that high for a second job: Georgian uses its word for head to mean “oneself”, đầu also means “the start” of something, and pead is also “you must”. Telugu and Malayalam share తల / തല, one word in two scripts.

Skip the Swedish row (tänker, “think”), the English one (“president”) and the Hungarian, Armenian and Icelandic ones, which mean “to head somewhere” or “head start”.

See “head” in all 52 languages →

#Face in different languages

The full page says face is most common in Urdu, but its Urdu row, وجہ (#107), is the everyday word for “reason”. Its Italian row, volta (#153), means “time”, as in una volta, “once”. The most common real match is Vietnamese mặt (#187), then Malayalam മുഖം (#190). Malayalam മുഖം, Tamil முகம், Malay muka and Tagalog mukha look alike for a reason: they go back to the same Sanskrit word.

The Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Polish and Turkish rows mean “mask”, “in front of”, “direction”, “side” and “top”.

See “face” in all 52 languages →

#Body in different languages

Malayalam ശരീരം (#244) is the most common. Afrikaans lyk ranks higher (#120), but it is glossed “dead body”, and lyk is also the everyday verb “to look, to seem”. Films talk about dead bodies a lot: the Armenian, Latvian and Slovenian rows are glossed “corpse” too.

The rest of the page mixes in other bodies: Dutch water (a body of water), Hindi सेना (army, a body of troops), and rows that mean “hand”, “head” and “to bathe”. Bengali শরীর and Malayalam ശരീരം are the same word in two scripts.

See “body” in all 51 languages →

#Hair in different languages

The full page lists Georgian თმა at #1, which is an error in the source data: no language’s most common word is “hair”. Telugu జుట్టు (#192) is the most common real match. Hindi बाल and Urdu بال are one word.

Some languages have a separate word for the hair on your head. The data glosses Malayalam മുടി as “head hair”, Slovenian las as “hair on top of head” and Tamil தலைமுடி as “hair on head” (தலை is “head”), while Vietnamese lông is “body hair”. Korean 머리, in the head table, is also the usual word for the hair on your head.

See “hair” in all 42 languages →

#Mouth in different languages

Bengali মুখ (#296) is the most common, then Korean 입 (#364). Bengali মুখ is also a common word for “face”, which helps its rank. Danish kæft (#428) and Norwegian kjeft rank high because they are the rude word, used in “shut up” (hold kæft, hold kjeft); Swedish käften is the same.

Skip the English, German and Tamil rows, which mean “eat”, “drink” and “open the mouth to shout”. Hindi मुँह and Urdu منہ are one word.

See “mouth” in all 49 languages →

#Nose in different languages

Nose is the cleanest page of the 12: only the Swedish row (luktar, “smells”) is a false match. It is also rare in film dialogue. Slovenian nos (#521) is the most common, and most rows rank past #1,000. The European words look alike (nez, naso, Nase, нос), and so do Hindi नाक, Urdu ناک and Bengali নাক.

See “nose” in all 44 languages →

#Ear in different languages

Persian گوش (#100) is by far the most common, helped by its use in “to listen” (گوش دادن). Albanian vesh (#329) is next. Ear has the fewest languages here, 36. Spanish and Russian have no row at all, and the German row is gehört (“heard”).

Hearing crowds this page. The English, German, Indonesian and Arabic rows mean “hear” or “listen”. The Bulgarian row, клас, is an ear of grain, and the Korean one, 목이, is a wood ear mushroom.

See “ear” in all 36 languages →

#Arm in different languages

Greek χέρια (#331) leads, followed by Bosnian and Serbian ruke. Both are also the everyday words for “hands”: Greek, Polish, Serbian and Hebrew often use one word for the hand and the arm, and Hebrew יד is more often translated “hand”.

English “arm” is also a weapon, as in “arms”, and the data matched both. The Spanish, Galician and Romanian arma, German Waffe, Russian оружие, Macedonian оружје, Arabic سلاح and Hindi हथियार rows all mean “weapon”.

See “arm” in all 41 languages →

#Leg in different languages

The full page says leg is most common in Tamil, but its Tamil row, காலை (#221), is best known as “morning”, as in the Tamil “good morning”. The most common real match is Basque hanka (#394), then Persian پا (#411).

Foot and leg are one word in several languages: the data glosses Estonian jalga, Finnish jalat, Hebrew רגל, Latvian kājas and Malay kaki as both. The Albanian, Hindi and Norwegian rows are narrower: a trouser leg, a furniture leg and the lower leg.

See “leg” in all 42 languages →

#Skin in different languages

Vietnamese da (#592) is the most common, then Persian پوست (#674). Korean 살 ranks higher (#249), but it is glossed “flesh; skin”, and 살 is also the word you count years of age with. Greek δέρμα is where English gets “dermatology”.

This page has the most false matches of the 12. The English row is “feel”, the Armenian one “to skin” (the verb), the Dutch one “a boil”, and the Tagalog and Urdu rows are words for dark skin. The Tamil row is glossed “to become wrinkled, as skin”, but it is more often the word for a screen.

See “skin” in all 41 languages →

#Mix-ups to watch for

Frequency data is honest about what people say, but it can’t tell a body part from another word spelled the same way. The ones worth knowing:

• Another everyday word. Tamil காலை (morning) on the leg page, Urdu وجہ (reason) and Italian volta (time) on the face page, Polish ok on the eye page.
• Phrases from film dialogue. “On the other hand”, “to hand over”, “shut up” and “to keep an eye on” all put rows on these pages.
• Weapons. English “arms” means weapons too, so eight rows on the arm page are words for “weapon”.
• Corpses. Crime shows talk about “the body”, so several rows on the body page mean a dead one.
• A data error. Georgian თმა is listed as the most common word in Georgian on the hair page.
• Plurals. Eyes, hands, legs and ears come in pairs, so many European rows are plurals.

If you’re reading a new script to check a word like this, the Persian, Bengali, Georgian and Korean alphabet pages show every letter.

#More body words on the tool

These don’t get a table here, but each has its own full page: foot, tooth, heart and blood. Heart has a full section in powerful words in different languages, and blood in strong words in different languages.

#Learn body words by talking about your day

Body words come up whenever you talk about how you feel: a headache, tired eyes, a sore leg after a run. Health, sport and daily routines are easy language exchange conversation topics, and the vocabulary sticks because it is about you.

• Say what hurts. “My head hurts” or “my eyes are tired” is one of the most useful sentences in any language, and your partner can tell you how people actually say it.
• Describe someone. Hair, eyes and face are how you describe a friend, a family member or a character in a film.
• Ask about idioms. Body words carry a lot of idioms. Ask your partner what “on the other hand” or “shut up” sounds like in their language, and how rude it is.

On LangX, you’re matched with people who speak the language you’re learning and are learning yours. Tell your partner about your day in a few sentences; if you get a word wrong, they can hold your message to correct it. Corrections are unlimited on every plan, and translation is built into the chat. The free plan gives you five new conversations a day, with replies unlimited. You can get the app here, or read how to find a language exchange partner first.

9:41

Lucía M. Online

Today

Hold any message to correct it — corrections are the most useful thing you can send.

¿Cómo fue tu fin de semana? Cuéntame en inglés si quieres. How was your weekend? Tell me in English if you like. 09:12

Fui a la playa con mi hermana. Hacía mucho calor y yo no llevé agua. 09:14 · Read

Correction from Lucía Hacía mucho calor y yo no llevé agua. Hacía mucho calor y no llevé agua. The «yo» isn't wrong, it just sounds emphatic — like you specifically forgot. 09:15

Message in Spanish…

For house, food and money, see everyday words in different languages. For hello and thank you, see basic words; for mother and friend, family words; for happy and sad, emotion words. There are also nature words, animal words, color words, space words and fantasy words. To see which words come first in a language, try the most common words lists.

#FAQ

#How do you say “skin” in different languages?

Spanish piel, French peau, Italian pelle, Greek δέρμα, Hebrew עור, Persian پوست, Hindi त्वचा, Indonesian kulit, Turkish ten and Vietnamese da. The skin page has 41 languages, but check it for false matches.

#How do you say “hand” in different languages?

French main, Italian mano, Dutch hand, Ukrainian рука, Georgian ხელი, Persian دست, Hindi हाथ, Bengali হাত, Turkish el and Vietnamese tay. The hand page has 51 languages.

#How do you say “eye” in different languages?

Spanish ojos (eyes), French yeux, German Augen, Hebrew עין, Persian چشم, Chinese 眼睛, Korean 눈, Turkish göz and Tagalog mata. The eye page has all 53 languages.

#Why do some languages use one word for hand and arm?

Many languages name the whole limb rather than its parts. In this data, Armenian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Slovak and Slovenian have one word glossed “hand, arm”, and Estonian, Finnish, Hebrew, Latvian and Malay have one for “foot, leg”. Context tells you which part is meant.

#Which body word is the most common?

Among real matches, Persian دست (hand) ranks highest, at #50. Georgian თავს (head) at #83 is next, then Persian گوش (ear) and Vietnamese đầu (head), both at #100.