130 French Body Terms & Video

In this free French vocabulary lesson, I’ll list over 130 French body terms with English translation, and then illustrate everything with a video featuring the Sims!

Before we learn the various body parts in French, let’s see how we translate ‘the body’ in French.

How do you say body in French?

The French word for ‘body’ is “le corps”. Note that the final p and s are silent, so body in French is pronounced [le cor].

And now, let’s see a video featuring the French vocabulary about the body, and using The Sims 4. For more French videos using The Sims and Minecraft, please subscribe to French Today’s YouTube Channel.

French Body Video With The Sims

If you are a teacher, please feel free to use this video in class, and share it with other teachers :-)

If you enjoy learning French in context, check out French Today’s downloadable French audiobooks: French Today’s bilingual novels are recorded at different speeds and enunciation, and focus on today’s modern glided pronunciation. 

French Words For The Upper Body

Let’s start with the terms to describe the upper body in French, with a front view: “une vue de face”.

1. La tête – head
2. Le cou – neck
3. L’épaule (f), les épaules – shoulder
4. La poitrine – chest (un sein, des seins = breasts)
5. Le ventre – belly
6. Le nombril – belly button
7. Le bras, les bras – arms

The Lower Body – French Vocabulary

Then, let’s see how to describe the lower body in French.

1. Le bassin – pelvis
2. le sexe – sex
3. la jambe, les jambes – legs

The Back of the Body in French

Now let’s turn around and describe the back of the body.

1. La nuque – nape
2. Le dos – back
3. Le haut du dos – upper back
4. Le bas du dos (les reins) – lower back (kidney area)
5. Le derrière – butt
6. Une fesse, des fesses – buttlocks

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OK, now that you have the general body terms, let’s see the French names for different body parts.

French Arm & Hand Vocabulary 🤚

How do you say the arm in French?

The arm in French is called “le bras”. Note the silent s… I know this sounds funny in English but a French person wouldn’t think twice about saying [le bra]…

Describing the different parts of the Arm in French

Let’s take a closer look at “le bras”, the arm in French. Note the silent s.

1. L’épaule – shoulder
2. Le haut du bras – upper arm
3. Le coude -elbow
4. Le petit juif – crazy/ funny bone
5. L’avant bras – arm
6. Le poignet – wrist
7. La main – hand
8. Un doigt – finger (g and t silent)

The Bones of the Arm in French

This may be more than the French vocabulary you need to know… however many of the French arm bone names are the same as in English. How come ‘the ulna’ is so different?

1. La clavicule – collar bone
2. L’omoplate – shoulder blade
3. L’humérus (m) – humerus
4. Le cubitus – ulna
5. Le radius – radius

How do you say hand in French?

Hand in French is “la main”.

• Le dessus de la main – top of the hand
• La paume – palm

What are the names of the fingers in French?

The name of the fingers in French are:

1. Le pouce – thumb
2. L’index –  index
3. Le majeur – middle finger
4. L’annulaire – annular
5. L’auriculaire, le petit-doigt – pinky

The French Vocabulary of the Leg 🦵

How do you say leg in French?

The French word for leg is “une jambe”. Don’t mistake it with “le jambon” which is ham!!

French body parts : the leg

Now let’s see how to describe the different parts of the leg in French.

1. La cuisse – thigh
2. Le genou, les genoux –  knee (note the silent x for the plural)
3. Le bas de la jambe, or le tibia- lower leg
4. Le mollet – calf
5. La cheville -ankle
6. Le pied -foot
7. Un orteil –  toe
8. Un doigt de pied – toe
9. Le gros orteil – big toe

The French Bones of the Leg Names

1. La hanche – hip
2. Le fémur – femur
3. La rotule – rotula
4. Le tibia – tibia
5. Le péroné – fibula

The Skeleton in French ☠️

How do you say bone in French?

Bone in French is “un os, des os”.

How do you pronounce bone in French?

Watch out the the French pronunciation of “os”:

1. un os – S is pronounced, open o, and there is a strong liaison in N [un Nosss]
2. des os – S is silent, and there is a strong liaison in Z [dé zo]

More bone names in French!

1. Le crâne – skull
2. La colonne vertébrale –  spine
3. Une vertèbre –  vertebra
4. Le sternum – sternum
5. La cage thoracique – rib cage
6. Une côte – rib
7. Le pelvis, le bassin – pelvis

The Various Muscles Names in French 💪

Many French muscles names come from Latin and are very close to the English muscle names.

1. le pectoral –  pectoral
2. les intercostaux – intercostals
3. le biceps – biceps
4. les abdominaux (les abdo) – abdominals
5. les quadriceps – quadriceps
6. le deltoïde – deltoid
7. le dorsal – latissimus dorsi
8. le triceps (p and s pronounced) – triceps
9. le fessier – buttocks
10. les jumeaux – calf

What Are The Names of the Organs in French? 🧠

Now let’s study the French names of our organs.

1. le cerveau – brain
2. la thyroïde –  thyroid gland
3. le poumon –  lung
4. le cœur –  heart
5. l’estomac –  stomach (c is silent)
6. la rate – spleen
7. le foie –  liver
8. le rein –  kidney
9. le pancréas –  pancreas
10. l’intestin grêle –  small intestine
11. le gros intestin –  large intestine

Organ food in French is called “les abats” and here is my article about it, featuring French offals names and French dishes made with organ meat.

Miscellaneous French Body Terms

1. Un muscles – muscle
2. Un tendon – tendon
3. Une veine – vein
4. Une artère – artery
5. Le sang (g silent) – blood
6. Un nerf (s silent) – nerve
7. La peau – skin
8. Le cartilage – cartilage
9. la chair – flesh

17 French Idiomatic Expressions With The Body

1. En avoir plein le dos – to be fed up
2. Avoir la tête sur les épaules – to be realistic and trustworthy
3. Avoir quelqu’un dans la peau – to be attracted to someone
4. Avoir bon coeur – to be generous
5. Etre le nombril du monde – to think you are the most important person in the world
6. Oeil pour oeil, dent pour dent – an eye for an eye
7. Ça se voit comme le nez au milieu de la figure – it’s obvious
8. Tomber nez à nez avec quelqu’un – to run into someone
9. Ne pas fermer l’oeil de la nuit – to have a sleepless night
10. Etre le nombril du monde – to think you are the most important person in the world
11. Oeil pour oeil, dent pour dent – an eye for an eye
12. Avoir mal au coeur – to be nauseous
13. (Danser) comme un pied – (to dance) poorly
14. Etre sur les nerfs – to be on edge
15. Garder son sang froid – to stay calm
16. Donner un coup de main – to give a helping hand – not to be mistake with (see below)
17. Donner un coup de pied – to kick

And now let’s concentrate on an important part of the body: the face!

The Face in French 😊

How do you say the face in French?

The face in French is “le visage”.

Different parts of the face in French

Let’s study the different parts of the face:

1. le front – forehead
2. le nez – nose. Z is silent but makes the e sound é. In the plural, there is no s – un nez, des nez.
3. la joue – cheek
4. le menton – chin
5. une oreille – ear

Le visage is located on “la tête”.
The face is located on the head.

On top of “la tête” is a special kind of hair: this hair in French is called “les cheveux” and I dedicated a special lesson and video to it – follow the link!

Eyes in French

1. Un oeil – one eye – has a strong liaison in N.
2. Les yeux – In the plural, you will almost always have a Z sound starting the word “z-yeux” because of the word which comes before it, and the liaison, so you may as well memorize the sound “zieu” for it.
3. La paupière – the eye lid
4. Un cil – an eye lash – L pronounced
5. le sourcil – eyebrow (L silent)
6. “un cil”, des “cils”, this time with the final L pronounced : the eye-lashes.

Would you like to know more about eyes in French? How to describe eye colors, eye shapes… Again, I did another lesson and video about the eyes in French.

Mouth in French

1. la bouche – mouth
2. La lèvre (supérieure / inférieure ) – upper / lower lip
3. La dent – tooth
4. La langue – the tongue
5. l’épiglotte – epiglottis

Inside the Head

1. le cerveau – brain
2. le pharynx – pharynx
3. l’œsophage – esophagus
4. la gorge – throat
5. le sinus – sinus
6. le palais – palate
7. la langue – tongue
8. le larynx – larynx
9. les cordes vocales – vocal cords
10. la pomme d’Adam – Adam’s apple
11. La machoire – the jaw

9 French Idiomatic Expressions With The Face

1. Oeil pour oeil, dent pour dent – an eye for an eye
2. Ça se voit comme le nez au milieu de la figure – it’s obvious
3. Tomber nez à nez avec quelqu’un – to run into someone
4. Ne pas fermer l’oeil de la nuit – to have a sleepless night
5. Avoir un oeil contre quelqu’un – to have something against someone
6. Regarder quelqu’un d’un oeil noir – to give bad looks to someone
7. Être une langue de vipère – to tell bad gossips
8. Avoir l’eau à la bouche – to have your mouth water for something
9. Le bouche à oreille – word of mouth

French Face Vocabulary Video With the Sims

Time for another fun video! Don’t hesitate to share it with your French teacher!

Subscribe to French Today’s YouTube Channel to learn French vocabulary and grammar with the popular video games The Sims and Minecraft in French.

I hope you enjoyed this free lesson and my videos.

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Support us on Patreon or by purchasing our unique audiobooks to learn French. Instant download. Learn French offline, at home or on the go on any device!

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