Saying what hurts
Me duele la cabeza, me duelen los pies
Doler (to hurt) works back to front, like gustar: the part of the body is the subject, and the person who feels the pain is an indirect object (me, te, le…). One part takes duele; two or more take duelen.
Meto-meduelehurtsla espalda.the back
Meto-meduelenhurtlos ojos.the eyes
¿Teto-youduelehurtsalgo?something
A mi hijoto my sonleto-himduelehurtsla garganta.the throat
¿Dóndewhereleto-you(formal)duele?hurts
Ya nono longermeto-meduele.hurts
The article instead of “my”
Me lavo las manos, not “mis manos”
When it is clear whose body it is, Spanish uses el, la, los, las where English uses “my, your, his”. The owner is shown by the reflexive or object pronoun instead.
| English says | Spanish says | Word by word |
|---|---|---|
| I wash my hands. | Me lavo las manos.meh LAH-boh lahs MAH-nohs | me = myself · lavo = I-wash · las = the · manos = hands |
| She brushes her hair. | Se peina el pelo.seh PAY-nah el PEH-loh | se = herself · peina = combs · el = the · pelo = hair |
| He broke his leg. | Se rompió la pierna.seh rrom-PYOH lah PYEHR-nah | se = himself · rompió = broke · la = the · pierna = leg |
| Put your hand up. | Levanta la mano.leh-BAN-tah lah MAH-noh | levanta = raise · la = the · mano = hand |
| My feet hurt. | Me duelen los pies.meh DWEH-len lohs PYEHS | me = to-me · duelen = hurt · los = the · pies = feet |
The face, up close
La frente, las cejas, las mejillas
Two traps: la oreja is the outer ear you can see, el oído the inner ear and the sense of hearing. And la cara is the face, while el rostro is a literary word for it.
Body idioms Spaniards use every day
Tomar el pelo, echar una mano, meter la pata
tomar el pelotoh-MAR el PEH-lohliterally “to take the hair”= to pull someone’s legmeh es-TAS toh-MAN-doh el PEH-loh“Are you pulling my leg?”
¿Memeestásare-youtomandotakingel pelo?the hair
costar un ojo de la carakos-TAR oon OH-hoh deh lah KAH-rahliterally “to cost an eye of the face”= to cost an arm and a legES-teh PEE-soh KWES-tah oon OH-hoh deh lah KAH-rah“This flat costs a fortune.”
Este pisothis flatcuestacostsun ojo de la cara.an eye of the face
echar una manoeh-CHAR OO-nah MAH-nohliterally “to throw a hand”= to give a handmeh EH-chas OO-nah MAH-noh“Can you give me a hand?”
¿Memeechasthrow-youuna mano?a hand
meter la patameh-TEHR lah PAH-tahliterally “to put in the paw”= to put your foot in itkeh meh-teh-DOO-rah deh PAH-tah“What a blunder!”
¡Quéwhatmetedura de pata!putting-in of paw
no tener pelos en la lenguanoh teh-NEHR PEH-lohs en lah LEN-gwahliterally “not to have hairs on the tongue”= to speak your mindmee ah-BWEH-lah noh TYEH-neh PEH-lohs en lah LEN-gwah“My grandmother doesn’t mince her words.”
Mi abuelamy grandmotherno tienedoesn’t-havepelos en la lengua.hairs on the tongue
estar hasta las nariceses-TAR AS-tah lahs nah-REE-thesliterally “to be up to the noses”= to be fed upes-TOY AS-tah lahs nah-REE-thes del RRWEE-doh“I’m sick and tired of the noise.”
EstoyI-amhasta las naricesup-to the nosesdel ruido.of-the noise
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