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The-human-body-in-Italian

The parts of the body in Italian

The-human-body-in-Italian

An exploration of Italian words for the body’s parts

Learning the vocabulary related to the parts of the human body in Italian is essential for daily communication and can be useful in many situations, particularly when talking about one’s state of health.

If you want to delve deeper into discussing your health, you can refer to our article:

Chiedere e rispondere sullo stato di salute in italiano

How to ask and respond about health status in Italian

Let’s explore the names of the various parts of the human body in Italian.

The parts of the body in Italian

Human body?s parts in Italian

The parts of the human body in Italian: the face

The parts of the face in Italian

The parts of the human body in Italian: the arm and the fingers of the hand

The parts of the arms and the fingers of the hand in Italian

The parts of the human body in Italian: the leg and the toes

The parts of th leg and the toes of the foot in Italian

The names of the toes are particularly interesting. Let’s take a closer look at them and refer to what the Accademia della Crusca* says in its fascinating article:

https://accademiadellacrusca.it/it/consulenza/i-nomi-delle-dita-dei-piedi/1119

“In the Italian context, the toes are ‘officially’ called:
I dito, II dito, III dito, IV dito e V dito.
The only recognized nomenclature is this, with the possible addition of alluce and mignolo del piede for the first and fifth toes.
For some years, there have been so-called ‘apocryphal’ lists of names for the toes circulating, especially on the internet.
Apart from the already known alluce, the others, starting from the equivalent of the index finger of the hand, would be called:
– illice o melluce o dilluce o dillice o polluce;
– trillice o trilluce;
– pondulo o pondo o pondolo o pìnolo o anulo;
– minolo o minulo o mellino;
for the latter, the name ‘mignolino’ (of the foot) has also become established in use.
The fact that the names are not completely uniform is already a sign of their lack of real use, if not even of real circulation.
This nomenclature does not appear either recorded in lexicography or reported in medical or scientific texts.
We find attestations in novels and other non-specialist books in recent years.”

I would say that we can safely call the toes:

alluce
2° dito
3° dito
4° dito
mignolo del piede

*The irregular plurals of the parts of the human body in Italian

In the images, we have marked some names with an asterisk.

These words form irregular plurals, even changing the GENDER of the word.

Let’s see them specifically:

MASCULINE (singular)
IL GINOCCHIO
IL BRACCIO
IL LABBRO
IL DITO
L’ORECCHIO
FEMININE (plural)
LE GINOCCHIA
LE BRACCIA
LE LABBRA
LE DITA
LE ORECCHIE
IL SOPRACCIGLIO (the eyebrow)
has two forms in the plural, masculine and feminine:
I SOPRACCIGLI
LE SOPRACCIGLIA
LA MANO
LE MANI
it is one of the rare feminine nouns ending in O
it forms the plural regularly in I

Conclusion

I hope this brief journey through the parts of the human body in Italian has inspired you to explore further the wonderful world of the Italian language.

Always remember that learning a new language is an exciting adventure, and every word learned is a step towards richer and more meaningful communication.

Happy learning!

*
Let’s get to know this very important institution.

The Accademia della Crusca (often simply referred to as La Crusca) is an Italian institution that gathers scholars and experts in the linguistics and philology of the Italian language.

La Crusca is the oldest linguistic academy in the world, founded in 1583.

Throughout its over four centuries of activity, it has consistently distinguished itself through its strenuous commitment to maintaining the purity of the Italian language. In 1612, it published the first edition of the Vocabolario degli Accademici della Crusca, serving as a lexical example for the French, German, and English languages.

It is a part, along with the Opera del Vocabolario Italiano of the CNR, of the Federation of European National Language Institutions, whose task is to develop a common approach to protect all European national languages.o di elaborare una linea comune di protezione di tutte le lingue nazionali europee.

I recommend, especially to more experienced learners of the Italian language, to take into consideration in their online research regarding forms and uses of the Italian language, the website of the Accademia della Crusca:

https://accademiadellacrusca.it/

We often take it into account in our Lingua Italiana Online courses, and it is always fascinating for the student to see how the language is structured and changes over time.