French Parts of the Body
Parts
of the Body in French
Lesson duration is: 70 minItems in this lesson
Parts
of the Body in French
Open the lesson by making clear that students will learn the French words, say them aloud, and use them in simple sentences with avoir and être.
Learning goal
I can name parts of the body in French, pronounce them correctly, and use them in simple sentences with avoir and être.
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Which French body words do you already know?
Use this to surface prior knowledge and confidence. Expect a mix of French and English at first; briefly validate and correct pronunciation as words appear.
Body words in French
French body words often use short articles:
la for many feminine nouns
le for many masculine nouns
les for plural nouns
Examples: la tête, le bras, les yeux.
Keep the focus on useful classroom vocabulary rather than grammatical detail. Students mainly need to notice that body words are learned with their article.
The face
la tête - head
les cheveux - hair
le visage - face
les yeux - eyes
le nez - nose
la bouche - mouth
les oreilles - ears
Model pronunciation slowly: tête, cheveux, yeux, oreilles. Draw attention to plural forms such as les yeux and les oreilles.
Pronouncing the face words
la tête - lah tet
les cheveux - lay shuh-vuh
le visage - luh vee-zazh
les yeux - lay zuh
le nez - luh nay
la bouche - lah boosh
les oreilles - lay zo-ray
These are approximate pronunciation guides for English-speaking learners. Emphasise that final consonants are often silent and that les yeux links smoothly in speech.
Which body word is plural?
la bouche
les yeux
le nez
la tête
This checks whether students noticed the article les and the plural form from the face vocabulary slides.
The upper body
le cou - neck
l'épaule - shoulder
le bras - arm
la main - hand
les doigts - fingers
la poitrine - chest
le dos - back
Point out the apostrophe in l'épaule and remind students that some nouns use l' before a vowel sound.
Face words
Dans le visage, j'ai deux yeux et un nez. J'ai aussi une bouche et deux oreilles.
Students complete the sentence with face vocabulary already taught. The blanks are fixed by meaning: eyes, nose, mouth, ears.
Pronouncing the upper body words
le cou - luh koo
l'épaule - lay-pol
le bras - luh brah
la main - lah man
les doigts - lay dwah
la poitrine - lah pwah-treen
le dos - luh doh
Le bras ends with a silent s. Les doigts is a useful example of a difficult sound cluster for beginners.
Which word uses l' before a vowel sound?
le dos
la main
le cou
l'épaule
Targets the special article form highlighted on the upper body slide.
Name one upper-body part in French.
Expected elements: a correct upper-body noun from the slides, ideally with its article, such as le bras, la main, le dos, le cou, l'épaule, les doigts or la poitrine. Accept any one correctly identified upper-body part.
The lower body
le ventre - stomach
la jambe - leg
le genou - knee
la cheville - ankle
le pied - foot
les pieds - feet
les orteils - toes
You can mention that French often uses singular and plural very clearly here: le pied, les pieds.
What is the French for feet?
le pied
les pieds
le genou
les orteils
Checks the singular/plural contrast le pied / les pieds from the lower body slides.
Lower body words
Pour le bas du corps, nous avons la jambe, le genou et la cheville. Au bout, il y a les orteils.
This reinforces the lower body set using only vocabulary from the immediately preceding slides.
Pronouncing the lower body words
le ventre - luh vontr
la jambe - lah zhomb
le genou - luh zhuh-noo
la cheville - lah shuh-vee
le pied - luh pee-ay
les pieds - lay pee-ay
les orteils - lay zor-tay
Students may confuse le pied and les pieds in sound, so model both clearly in short phrases.
Using être with body parts
Use être with an adjective to describe a state or condition.
Mon bras est long. - My arm is long.
Ses mains sont propres. - His hands are clean.
Je suis fatigué. - I am tired.
Clarify the contrast: avoir shows possession, while être describes what something is like. Je suis fatigué is not a body-part sentence, but it helps students see how être works in personal description.
Using avoir with body parts
Use avoir to say that someone has a body part.
J'ai deux yeux. - I have two eyes.
Il a les cheveux bruns. - He has brown hair.
Nous avons deux mains. - We have two hands.
This is the most natural pattern for describing possession or features. Keep examples simple and high-frequency.
Être forms to use
je suis - I am
tu es - you are
il / elle est - he / she is
nous sommes - we are
vous êtes - you are
ils / elles sont - they are
Pronounce êtes carefully. You may also point out that sont is used with plural body parts, for example les yeux sont bleus.
Avoir forms to use
j'ai - I have
tu as - you have
il / elle a - he / she has
nous avons - we have
vous avez - you have
ils / elles ont - they have
Students do not need a full verb lesson here; this slide supports sentence building with body vocabulary.
Sentence patterns
Two useful patterns:
Subject + avoir + body part
- J'ai un nez.
Subject + être + adjective
- Mes yeux sont bleus.
These patterns help you talk about appearance clearly.
This slide ties the lesson together. Keep students focused on the structure rather than memorising long sentences.
Which sentence uses avoir correctly?
Je suis deux yeux.
Mon bras a long.
J'ai deux yeux.
Mes mains est propres.
The correct option follows the taught pattern subject + avoir + body part. The distractors mirror likely confusion with être or adjective order.
Avoir and être
En français, j'ai deux mains. Mes yeux sont bleus. Mon bras est long, mais je suis fatigué.
This consolidates the final grammar block: avoir for possession, être for description or state.
When do you use avoir and when do you use être?
Expected elements: students should mention that avoir is used to say someone has a body part or feature, while être is used with an adjective to describe a state or quality, for example J'ai deux yeux / Mes yeux sont bleus.
What is one French phrase you will remember?
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What part of this lesson felt hardest?
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Glossary
la tête - head
les cheveux - hair
le visage - face
les yeux - eyes
le nez - nose
la bouche - mouth
les oreilles - ears
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Glossary
le cou - neck
l'épaule - shoulder
le bras - arm
la main - hand
les doigts - fingers
la poitrine - chest
le dos - back
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Glossary
le ventre - stomach
la jambe - leg
le genou - knee
la cheville - ankle
le pied - foot
les pieds - feet
les orteils - toes
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Glossary
avoir - to have
être - to be
j'ai - I have
nous avons - we have
je suis - I am
vous êtes - you are
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