Body Parts in Polish

The key Polish body words are głowa (head), oko (eye), ręka (hand, arm), noga (leg, foot) and brzuch (stomach). To say what hurts, use "Boli mnie…" for one thing (Boli mnie głowa) and "Bolą mnie…" for plurals (Bolą mnie plecy).

Head and face

The word for body is ciało and the word for head is głowa. Note that usta (mouth) and włosy (hair) are plural in Polish, so they take plural verbs.

Język also means "language", exactly like the old English "tongue": język polski is the Polish language. Broda covers both the chin and a beard; context makes it clear.

The body

Brzuch is the everyday word for your belly and is what you say when you have a stomach ache. The organ itself is żołądek. Plecy (back) exists only in the plural.

Arms, hands, legs and feet

Polish divides the limbs differently from English. Ręka means both hand and arm, noga means both leg and foot, and palec is both a finger and a toe. When you need to be exact, use dłoń (hand, palm), stopa (foot) and palec u nogi (toe).

Inside the body: organs

Polish keeps the stress on the second-to-last syllable in all of these, so wątroba is von-TROH-bah and żołądek is zhoh-WON-dek. When a word gets longer, the stress moves with it: ramię is RAH-myeh, but its plural ramiona is rah-MYOH-nah.

Irregular plurals: oko → oczy, ucho → uszy, ręka → ręce

Most body parts form their plural in the usual way: noga → nogi, kolano → kolana. A few of the most common ones do not, and you will need them all the time because we have two of each.

Some words have no singular in normal use: usta (mouth), plecy (back) and, in practice, płuca (lungs). Remember them as plural words and use plural verbs with them.

Saying what hurts: boli mnie głowa, bolą mnie plecy

Polish turns the sentence around. You do not say "I have a headache" but "the head hurts me": Boli mnie głowa. The body part is the subject, in its basic form, and the verb boleć agrees with it. One body part takes boli; a plural takes bolą.

To talk about someone else, change mnie (me): cię (you), go (him), ją (her), nas (us), was (you all), ich (them). To a stranger use pana or panią. In the past tense the verb ending follows the gender of the body part: bolał mnie ząb, bolała mnie głowa, bolało mnie gardło, bolały mnie plecy.

• Co cię boli?
  What hurts? (to a friend)
• Co pana boli?
  What hurts? (to a man, formal)
• Gdzie boli? Tutaj?
  Where does it hurt? Here?
• Boli go kolano.
  His knee hurts.
• Wczoraj bolała mnie głowa.
  I had a headache yesterday.
• Bardzo mnie boli ręka.
  My arm hurts a lot.
• Nic mnie nie boli.
  Nothing hurts.

At the doctor

A doctor is lekarz (a woman doctor is lekarka). You usually see one at a przychodnia (clinic), and you buy medicine at the apteka (pharmacy). In an emergency, call 112.

• Lekarz: Dzień dobry. Co panu dolega?
  Doctor: Hello. What seems to be the problem?
• Pacjent: Od trzech dni boli mnie gardło i mam gorączkę.
  Patient: I've had a sore throat and a fever for three days.
• Lekarz: Proszę otworzyć usta.
  Doctor: Please open your mouth.
• Lekarz: Proszę głęboko oddychać.
  Doctor: Please breathe deeply.
• Lekarz: Czy bierze pan jakieś leki?
  Doctor: Are you taking any medication?
• Pacjent: Nie, ale jestem uczulony na penicylinę.
  Patient: No, but I'm allergic to penicillin.
• Lekarz: Dobrze. Wypiszę panu receptę.
  Doctor: All right. I'll write you a prescription.
• Pacjent: Czy mogę dostać zwolnienie lekarskie?
  Patient: Can I get a sick note?

Body words in everyday expressions

Body parts appear in many common Polish phrases. These four are worth knowing:

• Trzymam kciuki!
  Good luck! I'm keeping my fingers crossed. (literally: I'm holding my thumbs)
• On ma głowę na karku.
  He's sensible, he has his head screwed on. (literally: he has his head on his neck)
• Mój teść to złota rączka.
  My father-in-law is very handy. (literally: a golden little hand)
• Na oko to dwa kilometry.
  It's roughly two kilometres. (literally: by eye)