The Torso
Let's expand your anatomical vocabulary by learning the main parts of the limbs and torso. As you learn these new words, pay close attention to their gender, as it determines which possessives and adjectives you must use.
- En ryg (a back) is a common noun.
- Et bryst (a chest) is a neuter noun.
Notice how the reflexive possessive changes to match the gender: sin for the common noun, and sit for the neuter noun.
| The boy washes his back and his chest. | Drengen vasker sin ryg og sit bryst. |
Arms and Shoulders
Moving to the rest of the upper body, the primary words for the arms and stomach are all common (en) nouns. This includes:
- En hånd (a hand)
- En mave (a stomach)
- En arm (an arm)
- En skulder (a shoulder)
Because these are common nouns, adjectives will use their base forms, and possessives will use their common forms (like sin and din). You will often see these body parts paired with location and action verbs you already know:
| She has her hand on the big stomach. | Hun har sin hånd på den store mave. |
| Can you lift your arm and your shoulder? | Kan du løfte din arm og din skulder? |
Legs, Feet, and Digits
Finally, let's look at the lower limbs and our digits. Just like the rest of the body, these are a mix of common and neuter nouns.
- En tå (a toe), en fod (a foot), and en finger (a finger) are common nouns.
- Et ben (a leg) is a neuter noun.
When describing these body parts, remember that adjectives modifying neuter nouns must take the neuter suffix -t (such as langt for "long"). Adjectives modifying common nouns do not need this suffix.
| I cannot see the small toe. | Jeg kan ikke se den lille tå. |
| Her leg is long, but her foot is small. | Hendes ben er langt, men hendes fod er lille. |
| Is your finger red? | Er din finger rød? |