Il mio corpo

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My body

Listen to the audio file and find the corresponding body parts in the picture below.

Then click here for the answers.

You already know some names of body parts. They are very useful when we describe the physical characteristics of a person:
Lei ha i capelli corti  She has short hair
Lui ha gli occhi verdi He has green eyes

and of course, when we have to talk to a doctor. You can use the expression Ho mal di+ body part or Mi fa male+ definite article (il, la, etc.) and the body part to say that something hurts: Ho mal di testa/ Mi fa male la testa  My head hurts /I have a headache

If the noun is plural (e.g. mani hands, occhi eyes, etc.), you must use mi fanno male (instead of mi fa male): Ho mal di piedi/ Mi fanno male i piedi  My feet hurt

As you may have noticed, Italian possessives are generally not used with parts of the body.

Body parts  To practice vocabulary and pronunciation, use Quizlet.


Several singular and masculine names indicating body part in –o have a feminine plural in –a: il dito > le dita (fingers), il labbro > le labbra (lips), il ginocchio > le ginocchia [i ginocchi m. is also acceptable] (knees), il braccio > le braccia (arms), l’orecchio > le orecchie [gli orecchi m. is also acceptable] (ears). The singular feminine la mano have a feminine plural in –i: le mani (hands). There are also nouns treated as plural in Italian but singular in English. This is the case of capelli (the Italian sing. is capello): I miei capelli sono lunghi (My hair is long).
Tasks
  • Listen to the body parts nouns and repeat them several times. Write all the words in a notebook.  At this point read and pronounce the words using  Speech to text to check your pronunciation.
  • My body hurts! Look at the picture and say what part of your body hurts. Use Speech to text to check your pronunciation.
  • Describe your friends (hair, faces, etc.). Use Spell and Grammar Checker to check if there are mistakes in your text.
 
Practice

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