JAPANESE BODY PARTS

VOCABULARY AND IDIOMSUSE YOUR HEAD WHEN TALKING

ABOUT YOUR BODY PARTS IN JAPANESE
APRIL 7, 2015 3530 WORDS WRITTEN BY CHELSEA BERNARD ART BY AYA FRANCISCO
You know whats more embarrassing than falling on your butt in front of everyone in Japan? Not
knowing how to say butt in the first place.
You know whats more anxiety-inducing than giving a speech in Japanese? Telling the person next to
you that you have butterflies in your stomach and then realizing that their horrified reaction means
that they took you literally.
One of the first things you learn as a kid is what to call all the parts of your own bodyyet for some
reason this often gets neglected when youre learning another language.
Nows the time to fix that! Especially since Japanese sometimes conceives of the human body a bit
differently than English. As a bonus feature, not only can knowledge of anatomy help you complain
about the various parts of your body, it can also unlock the door to all sorts of cool idioms to spice up
your Japanese as well as help you avoid awkwardly translating English idioms into Japanese
nonsense.
Starting from the head and finishing at the toes, heres your guide to Japanese anatomy and some of
the key idioms associated with its various parts.

Source: Bud
Its the big container for your brain, otherwise known as your head. can also refer to a more
metaphorical head the top of something, like a department head or the top of a peak and it can
double as a synonym for the mind, brain, and intellect. You probably already know how to call
someone (or yourself) smart by saying literally, head is good. But theres

more where that came from.

Other adjectives you can attach to include:

: to be haughty (lit. to have a tall head)

: to be stubborn; obstinate (lit. to have a hard head)

three variations on dumb (lit. to have a weak head, bad head, and dull head)

: to be slow on the uptake (lit. to have a head

that rotates slowly)

: to be quick on the uptake (lit. to have a head
that rotates quickly)

And here are things that can be done to heads with verbs:

: to use ones head (lit. to use ones head)

: to be puzzled over or think deeply about (lit. to twist ones head)

: to cut ones hair (lit. to mow ones head)

And lets not forget:

without giving someone a chance to explain (lit. without ones head)

to get angry/pissed (lit. to come to ones head)

to take into consideration (lit. to put/place in ones head)

Source: Aimee Ray

Its hairthose variously colored strands that burst out of your scalp. Be careful though,
because only refers to the hair on your head, and has two super common homonyms gods and
paper .

Unlike English where you can idiomatically let your hair down when youre ready to pahhtayyyy, this
word is really straightforward and only means what it means. When you cut your hair, you literally cut
your hair () and when you fix your hair you literally fix it (). When
your hair is long you say its long () and when its short you say its short (
).

Source: Sarahnaut
You probably dont often chat with people about your forehead. So why is this worth knowing? Because
the Japanese do, when they want to remark on how teensy tiny something or somewhere isits as
narrow as a cats forehead or narrow like a cats forehead. ( or
)

Source: Leo U
Its the side of the head with all the holes in it, otherwise known as the face. Sure enough, its the go-to
noun when you want to discuss your physical face, but its also strongly associated with conceptual
face or reputation and thats where the fun begins. For example:

to maintain ones status or keep face (lit. to have ones face stand)

to lose status or lose face (lit. to have ones face destroyed)

to put to shame (lit. to plaster mud on someones face)

to be influential (lit. to have an effectual face)

to be widely known; to know many people (lit. to have a wide face)

to put in an appearance (lit. to show ones face)

to be extremely embarrassed (lit. a fire appears from

ones face)

Source: Valerie
Here we have the ears, tunnels to your eardrums. Not surprisingly, is frequently conflated with
hearing, just as you can lend an ear in English when youre listening to someone. Coincidentally,
Japanese also has the same phrase; lit. to lend an ear. And when you want to
exclaim Thats news to me! you can say hatsu mimi (; lit. first time ear). A few other handy
phrases include:

: to listen closely (lit. to tilt ones ear)

: to hear something bad about oneself (lit. ones ears hurt)

: to be hard to take (lit. to go against ones ear)

: to catch wind of; to hear by chance (lit. to come to ones ear)

: to talk someones ear off (lit. to create calluses on

ones ears)

Source: Richard Paterson

Next we have the eyes. Similarly to the ears, often acts as a physical shorthand for sight and vision.
But because so much of our life experience is mediated through what we see,

has also come to

refer to experiences more generally, to particular viewpoints, and to the looks or glances we trade with

other humans. Eye level can indicate hierarchical status, toothats why lit.
a person above the eye) refers to someones superior or senior, and ; lit. a
person below the eyerefers to someones inferior or subordinate. Other eyeball-filled idioms
include:

to be as busy as a bee (lit. so busy that ones

eyes spin)
to have a weakness for something (lit. to have no eyes)

to have ones eye caught on something (lit. to stop ones eyes)

to have an expert eye, a discerning eye (lit. to have tall eyes)

to be engraved in ones memory (lit. to remain in ones eyes)

to come to ones mind (lit. to rise to ones eyes)

a feast for the eyes (lit. a New Years for the eyes)

an eye sore OR a temptation (lit. eye poison)

to be dazzled (lit. to seize ones eyes)

to look over something (lit. to pass ones eyes over something)

to catch ones eye (lit. to pull ones eyes)

Source: RRGreen123456
The nose knows. As youve probably guessed by now, (like the other sensory organs) doubles as a
synonym for the sense itselfin this case, smell. So when someone takes of their shoes and the scent
punches you in face, you can say that the scent lit. sticks to your nose). Its
also used more whimsically as a marker of pride, in phrases like:

to be proud (lit. to have a tall/high nose)

to make a fool of someone (lit. to read someones nose hairs)

to snub someone; to turn up ones nose (lit. to handle with the

nose)
to laugh scornfully (lit. to laugh with the nose)

But lets not forget that the time were most likely to be concerned about our nose is when its not
behaving well. That is, when youve got a runny nose ; lit. nose water
comes out so you grab a tissue ; lit. nose paper and end up giving yourself
a nose bleed; lit. nose blood).

OR

Source: Robert Scott

Your cheeks are there for you, man. Theyre there when you smile wide (lit. cheek
smile) and when you blush (lit. to dye the cheeks). They even come to
your rescue when youre dying of boredom in class and resort to ) resting
your face in your hands (lit. to use ones cheeks as a cane).

Source: Tamboko the Jaguar

The hole in your face that food goes into and words come out of, otherwise known as the mouth. As
such, is strongly associated with speaking, but also appears in conjunction with eating, and can be
used as a metaphor for holes and openings of all kinds. When it comes to talking we have:

to be taciturn (lit. to have a heavy mouth)

to be talkative; to talk without thinking (lit. to have a light mouth)

to make sure your stories agree (lit. to match the backs

of your mouths)
to be a natural born talker (lit. to be born

from a mouth)
to cajole someone (lit. to take someone for a ride on a

mouth vehicle)
to have a sharp tongue (lit. to have a bad mouth)

In terms of dining, weve got:

to suit ones taste (lit. to match ones mouth)

And as an example of openings in general:

to look for an opening, in terms of work (lit. to look for a mouth)

Source: Derek Gates

Its the most powerful muscle in your bodyyour tongue. Like the mouth, the tongue takes on some
aspects of speaking and eating. Someone who trips over their words or gets tongue-tied easily is said to
be lit. lacking a tongue). Conversely, someone who speaks fluidly and without
hesitation is someone who ; lit. ones tongue turns). When it comes to food,
the tongue can tell you that something has a nice texture with (; good
tongue feeling). And it makes an appearance when someones smacking their lips or drooling over
somethinglit. striking the tongue-drum). A few other
miscellaneous expressions include:

to cluck ones tongue (lit. tongue-strike)

to stick out your tongue (lit. to take out ones tongue)

to be astonished (lit. to wind ones tongue)

Source: Denise Cortez

And then theres the teeththose two rows of food-smashers embedded in your gums. Outside of being
brushed and pulled out by dentists, get to play a rather interesting role in the Japanese language as
metaphors for ability and (often unpleasant) social situations. Heres a taste of whats out there:

for a task to be impossibly difficult (lit. the teeth dont withstand)

to set ones teeth on edge (lit. the teeth loosen)

Source: David Lewis

Basically, its the bony ledge that defines the bottom of your face, including the chin and jawline. Thats
right, its two English words for the price of one. also appears in a few handy phrases like
, to order somebody around (lit. to use somebody with your chin.).

Source: your local connection

While neck is a fine way to conceive of in general, you should be aware that it sometimes more
closely corresponds (in English, at least) to everything up from the neck. For example, what we might
say is cocking your head to the side would be expressed with ; to tilt the
neck). also stands in as a synonym for being unemployed. On that last point, this largely comes into
play with the two complimentary phrases for to fire someone or ; lit. to turn
into a neck) and to be fired or ; to become a neck. Other idioms include:

expectantly; eagerly (lit. to lengthen ones neck)

to rack ones brain (lit. to twist ones neck)

to nod ones head (lit. to wave ones neck vertically)

to shake ones head (lit. to wave tones neck horizontally)

to meddle in (lit. to thrust ones neck)

Source: Antony
Here we have the shoulders, or the sloping line from your neck to your upper arms. Given the
tendency have of getting stiff from stress, its probably not surprising that they appear as metaphors
for responsibility (much like shouldering a burden in English). Their role in defining physical
posture also plays into how theyre used in Japanese to express position and stance. In that vein,

similar to the English standing shoulder to shoulder, Japanese uses ).

Among these types of idioms are:

to bear a burden (lit. to carry on ones shoulders)

to be relieved of ones burden (lit. ones shoulders are

lightened)
to support someone; to stand by someone (lit. to hold someones shoulders)

taking over a responsibility (lit. changing shoulders)

to swagger about (lit. to cut the wind with ones shoulders)

to feel ashamed (lit. to have narrow shoulders)

to feel proud (lit. to have wide shoulders)

Source: KAZ Vorpal

At the ends of the shoulders we find the arms. can do a lot of crap. Take a simple tree, for example.
With arms, you can climb that tree, chop down that tree, turn that tree into fire, and then plant
another one. All of these tasks that arms can accomplish manifest in Japanese with the usage of as a
synonym for skill and ability. See for yourself:

to put ones abilities to the test (lit. to try ones arm)

to hone ones skills (lit. to polish ones arm)

to become less capable (lit. for ones arm to become dull)

to display ones ability (lit. to brandish ones arm)

And then when the days work is done, you can:

to use ones arms as a pillow (lit. to turn ones arm into a

pillow!)

Source: Daniela Hartmann

The hands, that remarkably dexterous collection of hundreds of bones at the end of your arms. Even
more so than arms, hands are directly involved with the majority of things we humans do, and as such
they can idiomatically represent the many things that hands dowork, help, care for, hold, write. In a
similar vein,

can stand in for a means or a way more generally, hands being a means to accomplish

lots of things. Heres a sample to get your hands dirty:

to have free time (lit. ones hands are empty)

to be short of hands (lit. to not have enough hands)

to come into ones possession (lit. to enter ones hands)

to back out of something (lit. to pull out ones hands)

to join forces (lit. to link hands)

Source: Massimo Lupo

The hand would be pretty useless without fingers. Its also worth learning the names for your
individual fingers, if you havent yet:

thumb (lit. parent finger)

index finger (person-pointing finger)

middle finger (lit. middle finger)

ring finger (lit. medicine finger; medicine paste used to be applied with this

finger)
pinky finger (lit. smaller finger)

Other than that, theres only a few idiomatic phrases worth learning. When youre giving something a
try, in English we might say youre dipping a toe in, but in Japanese its dipping a finger in
; lit. to dye a finger). Then theres a pretty visual phrase for looking on enviously
without doing anythingto put a finger in ones
mouth).

Source: Gareth Simpson

The chest, the pecs, the breast. is also the go-to word for a bunch of emotions and sensations that
seem to emanate from that area. So youll use it when youre keeled over from heartburn (
: chest burn) and when youre tense with anxiety (lit. troubled
chest). It also often seems to correspond with heart in phrases like to be open-hearted or
lit. to have a broad chest). Others include:

to be overwhelmed with emotion (lit. for ones chest to be full)

to be excited and/or elated (lit. for ones chest to dance)

to feel uneasy (lit. for there to be noise in ones chest)

to yearn for something or someone (lit. to burn ones chest)

to worry oneself (lit. to make ones chest hurt)

to be touching (lit. to strike ones chest)

to keep something to oneself (lit. to fold in ones chest)

Source: kani-jessy
Moving on further south, we land at the stomachnot the organ itself, though! Thats for another day.
This is the exterior stomach area, linguistically linked in Japanese with instinctual feelings and with
peoples REAL intentions or thoughts. Some examples are:

to be black-hearted (lit. ones stomach is black)

to be angry (lit. ones stomach stands)

to be resolute (lit. ones stomach is prepared)

to laugh/smile to oneself (lit. to laugh/smile in ones

stomach)
ones real intentions (lit. stomach intentions)

ones internal clock (lit. stomach clock)

OR

Source: pleshops
Flipping over to the other side of the body we have the back. This probably appeared in two of the first
descriptors you ever learned in Japanese, when you had to describe your ideal romantic partner in
stilted sentences at 8AM (or maybe that was just me). So-and-so is tall or ; lit.
to have a high backand so-and-so is short ; lit. to have a low back). In
addition to height,

appears in a few other worthwhile idioms:

to be at odds (lit. to be back to back)

to pretend not to see (lit. to turn ones back)

to teach by example (lit. to teach with ones back)

Source: B. Baltimore Brown

Connecting the back and the stomach we have the waist/hips/lower back region all wrapped up into
one handy word. As a core of bodily support and the point at which the body bends, gets quite a
workout in the following idioms:

to be slow to act or start working (lit. ones waist is heavy)

to cheerfully work (lit. ones waist is light)

to be persevering (lit. ones waist is strong)

to lack firmness (lit. ones waist is weak)

to take a solid stance (lit. to put ones waist into it)

to settle down (lit. to relax ones waist)

OR

Source: Doug Brown

Youre probably sitting on one right nowyour butt. Just as English has quite a few colorful phrases
related to the hindquartersto get a kick in the butt and to kiss someones ass, to name a fewand
Japanese doesnt disappoint, either. Some are remarkably close to English equivalents and others are
delightfully vivid and original. Lets dive in:

to dominate or boss someone around (lit. to cover the butt)

to be ahem unchaste (lit. to have a light butt)

to be lazy (lit. to have a heavy butt)

to follow others blindly (lit. to ride a butt horse; aka the last

horse in a line)
an abrupt ending (lit. the butt cut off)

to overstay ones welcome (lit. to have a long butt)

support; supporter (lit. butt push)

to fall on ones bus (lit. to pound butt mochi; to pound ones

butt into mochi)

to be small-minded (lit. to have a small butt hole)

to be pressed by business (lit. ones butt catches fire)

to be completely ripped off (lit. to have

everything up to the hair on ones butt pulled out)

Source: Ronaldo Quercia

Itd be hard to stand without themyour legs. Well, and your feet. Theyre a package deal in Japanese.
The closest they get to separate entities is when is trotted out for a few phrases
including the omnipresent (in Japan, at least) loudspeakers saying
watch your step!). Although that really feels like cheating because all means is
origin of the leg. Even footsteps translates to lit. leg sound). Thats just the way it
is, folks. can also double as a synonym for the way in which or the pace at which someone walks as
in the pair and , meaning to be a slow walker
and a fast walker, respectively. Other idioms of interest are:

to turn over a new leaf (lit. to wash ones feet)

to go over budget (lit. ones legs stick out)

wandering without a particular destination (lit. leaving it up to ones legs)

to size someone up (usually to take advantage of them) (lit. to

see someones feet)

to be on top of the world (lit. ones feet dont touch

the ground)
to be tripped up (lit. to have ones legs taken)

Source: Ryuta Ishimoto

Then we have the knees, those knobbly little joints in the middle of your legs. A few idioms that hinge
on knees are:

to get down on ones knees (lit. to attach ones knees)

to discuss unreservedly or intimately (lit. to touch

knees with one another)

to draw closer (lit. ones knees proceed)

OR

Source: Janine
Last and possibly least, we have the toes. Because instead of giving them a dedicated word, Japanese
just smashes together two other anatomy words when they bother to refer to them at all (lit.
fingers of the leg). Alternately, theres ; lit. tip of the (finger or toe) nailswhich is

actually usually translated as tiptoes, not toes. BUT! If you want to scream about how you just stubbed
your toe, its lit. to bump into with tiptoes). Go figure.
There we have it Japanese anatomy from head to toe. Of course, some body parts didnt make the
cut (my apologies to elbow and eyelash) but the goal here was to lay a solid foundation by focusing on
basic words that either differ from English usage and/or pack a cultural punch. Hopefully the idioms
not only give you some insight into Japanese conceptions of the body but also help you remember the
names of the body parts themselves. So now if you do indeed fall on your butt in front of everyone in
Japan, you can impress the stunned onlookers by exclaiming, (
; I fell on my ass!; lit. I made butt mochi!). In fact, I might just start saying that in English.