Basic Body Parts: Face to Toes

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TL;DR: Today's words zoom back out to cover the whole body: 얼굴 (face), 손 (hand), 발 (foot), 팔 (arm), and 다리 (leg). Together, these five let you describe a person from head to toe!

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Iru Helper Note: We've zoomed in on the face — now let's step back and cover the rest of the body! 얼굴, 손, 발, 팔, and 다리 round out your ability to describe anyone from head to toe. Next up, <mention-page url="

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Age-related Terms: Baby to Elderly"> moves from body parts to people themselves — talking about babies, kids, and elders. Quick example using all five: 팔과 다리가 길고 손과 발이 커요. 얼굴은 작은 편이에요. (Their arms and legs are long, their hands and feet are big, and their face is on the smaller side.)

🎯 Big Picture

얼굴, 손, 발, 팔, and 다리 are the five major body parts you'll reach for when describing someone's build or talking about aches, injuries, and gestures.

📖 Core Vocabulary Family

1. 얼굴 (Face)

얼굴 means face.

얼굴이 작아요. (My face is small.)

얼굴을 씻어요. (I wash my face.)

Grammar note: 얼굴 refers to the face as a whole area — distinct from individual features like 눈, 코, and 입, which describe specific parts of it.

2. 손 (Hand)

손 means hand.

손이 차가워요. (My hands are cold.)

손을 씻어요. (I wash my hands.)

Grammar note: 손 refers to the whole hand. 손가락 (fingers) refers specifically to the digits. 손을 잡다 = to hold hands.

3. 발 (Foot)

발 means foot.

발이 아파요. (My feet hurt.)

발을 씻어요. (I wash my feet.)

Grammar note: 발가락 (toes) refers specifically to the digits, parallel to 손가락. Watch out — 발 (foot) and 팔 (arm) sound very similar!

4. 팔 (Arm)

팔 means arm.

팔이 길어요. (My arms are long.)

팔을 들어요. (I raise my arm.)

Grammar note: 팔 (arm) vs. 발 (foot) — easy to mix up since they differ by just one consonant (ㅍ vs. ㅂ). Listen and read carefully!

5. 다리 (Leg)

다리 means leg.

다리가 길어요. (My legs are long.)

다리를 다쳤어요. (I hurt my leg.)

Grammar note: 다리 also means "bridge"! Context tells you which: 다리가 길어요 (legs are long) vs. 다리를 건너요 (cross the bridge).

🗣️ How They Work in a Sentence

팔과 다리가 길어요. (My arms and legs are long.)

손과 발이 커요. (My hands and feet are big.)

얼굴을 씻고 손도 씻었어요. (I washed my face and also washed my hands.)

🧱 General Formation Rule

얼굴/손/발/팔/다리 + 이/가 + adjective = describing body parts: 손이 크다/작다, 다리가 길다/짧다.

얼굴/손/발 + 을/를 + 씻다 = to wash (a body part): 손을 씻다, 발을 씻다, 얼굴을 씻다.

다치다 = to get hurt/injured: 다리를 다쳤어요, 손을 다쳤어요.

Common gestures: 손을 잡다 (hold hands), 손을 흔들다 (wave), 팔을 들다 (raise arm), 발을 구르다 (stomp feet).

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Cross-check: Search 얼굴, 손, 발, 팔, and 다리 on the 국립국어원 표준국어대사전 (National Institute of Korean Language's Standard Korean Dictionary) for full definitions and example sentences.

🔁 Synonym Alert

손 vs. 손가락 — 손 is the whole hand; 손가락 refers specifically to the fingers.

발 vs. 다리 — 발 is the foot (what you stand on); 다리 is the leg (from hip to ankle). The same relationship holds for 팔 (arm) and 손 (hand).

⚠️ Pitfalls to Dodge

팔 (arm) vs. 발 (foot) — very easy to confuse. Double-check the consonant: 팔 starts with ㅍ, 발 starts with ㅂ.

다리 has two meanings — "leg" and "bridge." Context tells you which (다리가 길어요 vs. 다리를 건너요).

손 ≠ 손가락, 발 ≠ 발가락 — the whole limb-end vs. just the digits.

Use 이/가 with body parts + adjectives (다리가 길어요), not 을/를.

얼굴을 씻다 vs. 세수하다 — both mean "to wash one's face," but 세수하다 is the more common single-verb form for the daily routine.

이제 얼굴, 손, 발, 팔, 다리로 몸 전체를 설명할 수 있어요! 머리부터 발끝까지 다 배웠어요! 🙆‍♀️✨

Try this exercise

___이 작아요. (face)

___이 차가워요. (hand)

___이 아파요. (foot)

___이 길어요. (arm)

___가 길어요. (leg)

___을 씻어요. (face)

___을 잡아요. (hand)

___을 씻어요. (foot)

___을 들어요. (arm)

___를 다쳤어요. (leg)

Answer Key

얼굴

다리

얼굴

다리

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Vocabulary Box: 얼굴 (face) · 손 (hand) · 발 (foot) · 팔 (arm) · 다리 (leg)

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Pitfalls Recap: 팔 vs 발 (arm vs foot) · 다리 = leg or bridge (context) · 손 vs 손가락, 발 vs 발가락 · use 이/가 with body parts · 세수하다 = wash face.

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Want more reps? Head down to the Practice Hub below for 10 more body part words and 5 extra exercises!

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Practice Hub: Ready for more? Here are 10 bonus body part words: 머리 (head), 목 (neck), 어깨 (shoulder), 무릎 (knee), 손가락 (finger), 발가락 (toe), 배 (stomach), 허리 (waist), 가슴 (chest), and 손톱 (fingernail). Try the exercises below!

Exercise 1 — Translate It 📝

___이 아파요. (head)

___이 길어요. (neck)

___가 넓어요. (shoulder)

___을 꿇어요. (knee)

___이 길어요. (finger)

___을 다쳤어요. (toe)

___가 고파요. (stomach)

___가 가늘어요. (waist)

___이 넓어요. (chest)

___을 깎아요. (fingernail)

Answer Key

머리

어깨

무릎

손가락

발가락

허리

가슴

손톱

Exercise 2 — Match English to Korean 🔗

머리

어깨

무릎

손가락

발가락

허리

가슴

손톱

Answer Key

머리 = head

목 = neck

어깨 = shoulder

무릎 = knee

손가락 = finger

발가락 = toe

배 = stomach

허리 = waist

가슴 = chest

손톱 = fingernail

Exercise 3 — Verb Conjugation Practice 🔧

Conjugate each verb into 해요체 (present tense, polite informal):

씻다 → ___

다치다 → ___

들다 → ___

잡다 → ___

흔들다 → ___

구르다 → ___

굽히다 → ___

펴다 → ___

만지다 → ___

누르다 → ___

Answer Key

씻어요

다쳐요

들어요

잡아요

흔들어요

굴러요 (르-irregular: 구르 + 어요 → 굴러요)

굽혀요

펴요

만져요

눌러요 (르-irregular: 누르 + 어요 → 눌러요)

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Quick Reference — 르-Irregular Verbs: Verbs ending in 르 (like 구르다 and 누르다) double the ㄹ and add 러 instead of 어: 구르다 → 굴러요, 누르다 → 눌러요. Regular verbs like 씻다, 잡다, and 들다 just add 아요/어요 with no stem change.

Exercise 4 — 머리, 몸통 (Torso), or 팔다리 (Limbs)? 🤔

머리

허리

가슴

어깨

무릎

손가락

발가락

손톱

Answer Key

머리 → 머리 (head)

목 → 몸통 (torso)

배 → 몸통 (torso)

허리 → 몸통 (torso)

가슴 → 몸통 (torso)

어깨 → 팔다리 (limbs)

무릎 → 팔다리 (limbs)

손가락 → 팔다리 (limbs)

발가락 → 팔다리 (limbs)

손톱 → 팔다리 (limbs)

Exercise 5 — Body in Action 🏃

___이 아파요. (head hurts)

___을 으쓱거려요. (shrug shoulders)

___을 꿇어요. (kneel down)

___으로 가리켜요. (point with finger)

___을 다쳤어요. (hurt a toe)

___가 고파요. (stomach is hungry — 배가 고프다)

___가 가늘어요. (waist is slim)

___을 펴요. (puff out chest — 가슴을 펴다)

___을 깎아요. (trim fingernails)

___을 만져요. (touch head)

Answer Key

머리

어깨

무릎

손가락

발가락

허리

가슴

손톱

머리

오늘 배운 단어들로 머리부터 발끝까지 몸 전체를 설명해 보세요! 이제 신체 부위는 다 정복했어요. 🙆‍♂️✨