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Basic Japanese Vocabulary #9-1 : body -体(からだ)-

Written by Kaori sensei

Today, We will study Basic Japanese vocabulary related to “body ” in your town that will appear on the JLPT N5. Use infographics, flashcards, and practice tests to study effectively. Get ready!

Note:

Memorize the adjectives used with the body names together

Body vocabulary is often used to talk about how you look and the physical condition of your body. Therefore, it is effective to learn a set of adjectives that are used together with them.

Infographic:

Body name in Japanese
English translationJapanese
body体(からだ)
head頭(あたま)
face顔(かお)
eye目(め)
ear耳(みみ)
nose鼻(はな)
mouth口(くち)
tooth歯(は)
stomachおなか
hand手(て)
leg,food足(あし)
height背 (せ)
voice声(こえ)
body in Japanese

Useful adjectives with body parts

Next, the adjectives used together are as follows.The point is to make the body part the subject and use “が(ga)” as a particle.

髪(かみ) が 長(なが) い 人(ひと) が すずきさん です。

The person who has long hair is Suzuki san.
<Adjective>
長い(ながい) : long 
短い(みじかい) : short

<Body parts name>
髪(かみ) : hair ,
足(あし) : leg 
腕(うで) : arm 

妹(いもうと)さん は 目が 大(おお)きい ですね。

Your sister has big eye.
<Adjective>
大きい(おおきい) : big 
小さい(ちいさい) : small

<Body parts name>
目(め) : eye 
口(くち) : mouth 
顔(かお) : face
etc...

私の先生(せんせい) は 背(せ) が 高(たか)い です。

My teacher is tall.
<Adjective>
高い(たかい) : high 
低い(ひくい) low

<Body parts name>
背(せ) : height 
鼻(はな) : nose

Sometimes students are mistaken for 背(せ) が 長(なが)い or 短(みじか)い.In English, it is sometimes called short, but it is not used in Japanese. This is incorrect. Remember that 背(せ) が 高(たか)い or 低(ひく)い are used to describe height.

私の息子(むすこ) は 頭(あたま) が いい。

My son is smart.
<Adjective>
いい : good
わるい : bad

<Body parts name>
頭(あたま) : head
目(め) : eye

In adittion,「頭(あたま) が いい」means intelligent idiomatically. This is often used.You can say “顔(かお) が いい ( good looking)” but it isn’t common. かっこいい( cool ) or かわいい(cute) is more common.

朝(あさ)から、歯(は) が 痛(いた)い です。

My tooth aches in the morning.
<Adjective>
痛(いた) い : painful

<Body parts name>
頭(あたま) : head
目(め) : eye
歯(は) : tooth
etc...

「痛(いた) い」 is often used when one is injured or sick.

Flash card video

Practice test video

coming soon…..!

Recommendation books for JLPT

Here, you can add your training with using these book for JLPT N5.

The Preparatory Course for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test: N5 Reading

Please check this article too.

Keep learning…!

Lastly, the JLPT vocabulary is about 800 words. So, continuous daily study is key. Check out the others, and keep building your vocabulary!

About the author

Kaori sensei

Japanese online teacher, live in Kamakura, Japan. She is currently working as a language teacher and online Japanese experience host to introduce Japanese culture to the world. She originally worked as an engineer at a Japanese company, so she is familiar with Japanese business culture too.

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