If you’re studying the language and you’re still sleeping on learning the vocabulary to name the body parts in Russian, well, what are you waiting for? Don’t you want to be able to tell someone you’ve got a headache after listening to them talk, or that you used to have a nose ring in your youth?
Obviously, there are other ways to insult someone in Russian or describe who you were in a past life, but anatomy has a funny way of creeping into conversations in ways you wouldn’t even expect. Thus, committing these words to memory is a worthwhile endeavor.
On top of that, learning to name the body parts in Russian will also subvert some of your expectations about the way language is supposed to work. For example, the word рука can describe both “the hand” and “the arm.” There’s also a separate word for the shoulder and upper arm — плечо. Perhaps it’s we English speakers who have arbitrarily decided the shoulder was a separate thing.
In any case, here are some basic vocabulary terms you’ll want to learn. You can click the play button to hear how each word is pronounced by a native speaker.
Body Parts In Russian
part of the body — часть тела
body — тело
foot — стопа
hand/arm — рука
upper arm/shoulder — плечо
head — голова
eyes — глаза
face — лицо
leg — нога
mouth — рот
nose — нос
knee — колено
ear — ухо
tooth — зуб
neck — шея
back — спина
stomach — живот
Sentences Involving Anatomy
to shrug one’s shoulders — пожимать плечами (imperf.), пожать плечами (perf.)
I have a headache. — У меня болит голова.
He broke his leg. — Он сломал себе ногу.
I feel sick and my stomach hurts. — Меня тошнит и у меня болит живот.
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