Body Parts
Body Parts
How do you use names of French body parts?
I seem to remember something from an early French class about not having ownership of body parts (for example, if my leg hurts, I say “LA jambe a un mal” instead of “MA jambe a un mal”. Is this correct, and how do you know when to use this and when not to? For example, does it work with other people’s body parts? Thanks!
La jambe me fait mal.
J’ai mal à la jambe.
Je me suis cassé la jambe.
Je me lave les cheveux.
If it were someone else, it might be:
La jambe lui fait mal.
Il a mal à la jambe.
Il s’est cassé la jambe.
Il se lave les cheveux.
That is the rule for things which you do to Your Own body parts. However, if you were washing someone else’s hair, for example, you would say “je lui lave les cheveux” and if you were washing his feet, it would be “je lui lave les pieds/je lave ses pieds”.
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