Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes: Japanese Anatomy Vocabulary 101

You know what’s 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 what’s 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 body—yet for some reason this often gets neglected when you’re learning another language.

Now’s 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, here’s your guide to Japanese anatomy and some of the key idioms associated with its various parts.

??????

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 there’s 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 one’s head (lit. to use one’s head)
• ?????????????: to be puzzled over or think deeply about (lit. to twist one’s head)
• ????????????: to cut one’s hair (lit. to mow one’s head)

And let’s not forget:

• ????????????without giving someone a chance to explain (lit. without one’s head)

• ????????????to get angry/pissed (lit. to come to one’s head)

  ????????????to take into consideration (lit. to put/place in one’s head)

?????

It’s hair—those 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 you’re 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 it’s long (???????????) and when it’s short you say it’s short (????????????).

??????

You probably don’t 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 is—it’s “as narrow as a cat’s forehead” or “narrow like a cat’s forehead.” (????????? or ????????)

?????

The side of the head with all the holes in it, otherwise known as the face. Sure enough, it’s the go-to noun when you want to discuss your physical face, but it’s also strongly associated with conceptual “face” or reputation and that’s where the fun begins. For example:

• ???????????to maintain one’s status or keep face (lit. to have one’s face stand)
• ???????????????to lose status or lose face (lit. to have one’s face destroyed)
• ????????????????to put to shame (lit. to plaster mud on someone’s 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 one’s face)
• ?????????????????to be extremely embarrassed (lit. a fire appears from one’s face)

?????

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 you’re listening to someone. Coincidentally, Japanese also has the same phrase—??????????; lit. to lend an ear. And when you want to exclaim “That’s news to me!” you can say hatsu mimi (??; lit. first time ear). A few other handy phrases include:

• ???????????????: to listen closely (lit. to tilt one’s ear)
• ????????????: to hear something bad about oneself (lit. one’s ears hurt)
• ??????????????: to be hard to take (lit. to go against one’s ear)
• ???????????: to catch wind of; to hear by chance (lit. to come to one’s ear)
• ???????????????????: to talk someone’s ear off (lit. to create calluses on one’s ears)

????

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, too—that’s why ????????????lit. “a person above the eye”) refers to someone’s superior or senior, and ???????????; lit. “a person below the eye”?refers to someone’s inferior or subordinate. Other eyeball-filled idioms include:

• ???????????????????????to be as busy as a bee (lit. so busy that one’s eyes spin)
• ??????????to have a weakness for something (lit. to have no eyes)
• ????????????to have one’s eye caught on something (lit. to stop one’s eyes)
• ???????????to have an expert eye, a discerning eye (lit. to have tall eyes)
• ???????????to be engraved in one’s memory (lit. to remain in one’s eyes)
• ????????????to come to one’s mind (lit. to rise to one’s eyes)
• ?????????????a feast for the eyes (lit. a New Year’s for the eyes)
• ?????????an eye sore OR a temptation (lit. eye poison)
• ???????????to be dazzled (lit. to seize one’s eyes)
• ???????????to look over something (lit. to pass one’s eyes over something)
• ??????????to catch one’s eye (lit. to pull one’s eyes)

?????

The nose knows. As you’ve probably guessed by now, ? (like the other sensory organs) doubles as a synonym for the sense itself—in 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”). It’s 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 someone’s nose hairs)
• ???????????????to snub someone; to turn up one’s nose (lit. to handle with the nose)
• ????????????to laugh scornfully (lit. to laugh with the nose)

But let’s not forget that the time we’re most likely to be concerned about our nose is when it’s not behaving well. That is, when you’ve 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 ???

Your cheeks are there for you, man. They’re there when you smile wide (?????????lit. “cheek smile”) and when you blush (?????????????lit. “to dye the cheeks”). They even come to your rescue when you’re dying of boredom in class and resort to ????????????) resting your face in your hands (lit. “to use one’s cheeks as a cane”).

?????

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, we’ve got:

• ???????????to suit one’s taste (lit. to match one’s mouth)

And as an example of “openings” in general:

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

?????

It’s the most powerful muscle in your body—your 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. “one’s 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 someone’s smacking their lips or drooling over something—???????????????lit. “striking the tongue-drum”). A few other miscellaneous expressions include:

• ?????????to cluck one’s tongue (lit. tongue-strike)
• ???????????to stick out your tongue (lit. to take out one’s tongue)
• ???????????to be astonished (lit. to wind one’s tongue)

????

And then there’s the teeth–those 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. Here’s a taste of what’s out there:

• ?????? for a task to be impossibly difficult (lit. the teeth don’t withstand)
• ???? to set one’s teeth on edge (lit. the teeth loosen)

?????

Basically, it’s the bony ledge that defines the bottom of your face, including the chin and jawline. That’s right, it’s 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.”).

?????

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 one’s neck)
• ????????????to rack one’s brain (lit. to twist one’s neck)
• ????????????????to nod one’s head (lit. to wave one’s neck vertically)
• ????????????????to shake one’s head (lit. to wave tone’s neck horizontally)
• ???????????????to meddle in (lit. to thrust one’s neck)

?????

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, it’s 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 they’re 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 one’s shoulders)
• ????????????????to be relieved of one’s burden (lit. one’s shoulders are lightened)
• ???? to support someone; to stand by someone (lit. to hold someone’s shoulders)
• ???? taking over a responsibility (lit. changing shoulders)
• ?????? to swagger about (lit. to cut the wind with one’s shoulders)
• ????? to feel ashamed (lit. to have narrow shoulders)
• ????? to feel proud (lit. to have wide shoulders)

?????

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 one’s abilities to the test (lit. to try one’s arm)
• ????????????to hone one’s skills (lit. to polish one’s arm)
• ????????????to become less capable (lit. for one’s arm to become dull)
• ?????????????to display one’s ability (lit. to brandish one’s arm)

And then when the day’s work is done, you can:

• ?????????????????to use one’s arms as a pillow (lit. to turn one’s arm into a pillow!)

????

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 do—work, 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. Here’s a sample to get your hands dirty:

• ????????????????to have free time (lit. one’s hands are empty)
• ??????????????to be short of hands (lit. to not have enough hands)
• ???????????to come into one’s possession (lit. to enter one’s hands)
• ??????????to back out of something (lit. to pull out one’s hands)
• ??????????to join forces (lit. to link hands)

?????

The hand would be pretty useless without fingers. It’s also worth learning the names for your individual fingers, if you haven’t 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, there’s only a few idiomatic phrases worth learning. When you’re giving something a try, in English we might say you’re dipping a toe in, but in Japanese it’s dipping a finger in—????????????; lit. “to dye a finger”). Then there’s a pretty visual phrase for “looking on enviously without doing anything”—??????????????????????”to put a finger in one’s mouth”).

?????

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 you’ll use it when you’re keeled over from heartburn (????????: “chest burn”) and when you’re 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 one’s chest to be full)
• ????????????to be excited and/or elated (lit. for one’s chest to dance)
• ????????????????to feel uneasy (lit. for there to be noise in one’s chest)
• ?????????????to yearn for something or someone (lit. to burn one’s chest)
• ??????????????to worry oneself (lit. to make one’s chest hurt)
• ???????????to be touching (lit. to strike one’s chest)
• ????????????to keep something to oneself (lit. to fold in one’s chest)

?????

Moving on further south, we land at the stomach—not the organ itself, though! That’s for another day. This is the exterior stomach area, linguistically linked in Japanese with instinctual feelings and with people’s REAL intentions or thoughts. Some examples are:

• ????????????to be black-hearted (lit. one’s stomach is black)
• ???????????to be angry (lit. one’s stomach stands)
• ?????????????????to be resolute (lit. one’s stomach is prepared)
• ?????????????????to laugh/smile to oneself (lit. to laugh/smile in one’s stomach)
• ???????????one’s real intentions (lit. stomach intentions)
• ??????????one’s internal clock (lit. stomach clock)

????or????????

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 back”?and 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 one’s back)
• ????????????????to teach by example (lit. to teach with one’s back)

?????

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. one’s waist is heavy)
• ????????????to cheerfully work (lit. one’s waist is light)
• ????????????to be persevering (lit. one’s waist is strong)
• ????????????to lack firmness (lit. one’s waist is weak)
• ????????????to take a solid stance (lit. to put one’s waist into it)
• ?????????????????to settle down (lit. to relax one’s waist)

?????or????????

You’re probably sitting on one right now—your butt. Just as English has quite a few colorful phrases related to the hindquarters—to get a kick in the butt and to kiss someone’s ass, to name a few—and Japanese doesn’t disappoint, either. Some are remarkably close to English equivalents and others are delightfully vivid and original. Let’s 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 one’s welcome (lit. to have a long butt)
• ?????????support; supporter (lit. butt push)
• ???????????????to fall on one’s bus (lit. to pound butt mochi; to pound one’s butt into mochi)
• ???????????????????to be small-minded (lit. to have a small butt hole)
• ???????????????to be pressed by business (lit. one’s butt catches fire)
• ?????????????????????to be completely ripped off (lit. to have everything up to the hair on one’s butt pulled out)

?????

It’d be hard to stand without them—your legs. Well, and your feet. They’re 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”). That’s 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 one’s feet)
• ???????????to go over budget (lit. one’s legs stick out)
• ??????????wandering without a particular destination (lit. leaving it up to one’s legs)
• ??????????????to size someone up (usually to take advantage of them) (lit. to see someone’s feet)
• ???????????????????to be on top of the world (lit. one’s feet don’t touch the ground)
• ???????????????to be tripped up (lit. to have one’s legs taken)

?????

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 one’s knees (lit. to attach one’s knees)
• ???????????????????to discuss unreservedly or intimately (lit. to touch knees with one another)
• ??????????????to draw closer (lit. one’s knees proceed)

??????????or?????????

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, there’s ???????; lit. “tip of the (finger or toe) nails”?which is actually usually translated as tiptoes, not toes. BUT! If you want to scream about how you just stubbed your toe, it’s ???????????????????lit. “to bump into with tiptoes”). Go figure.

There we have it — Japanese anatomy from head to toe. Of course, some body parts didn’t 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.

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