Body parts and doctor phrases in Esperanto

Esperanto body parts are nouns ending in -o: kapo "head", mano "hand", koro "heart", piedo "foot". To say that something hurts, use the verb dolori: Mia kapo doloras – "My head hurts". "Ill" is malsana, which is sana "healthy" with mal-, and a doctor is a kuracisto. Pronunciation guides split words into syllables, with the stressed syllable in capitals (see the alphabet for ĉ, ĝ, ŝ and c = "ts").

#Head and face

Lango is the tongue in your mouth; the tongue you speak is lingvo. Haro is one hair, so head hair is plural: longaj haroj – "long hair".

#Neck and trunk

ReVo defines ventro as the part between chest and pelvis; the organ inside is the stomako.

#Arms and legs

Kruro is a leg in general and also the part from knee to foot. Gambo is the whole human leg, thigh included (ReVo).

#Inside the body

#Health, illness and doctors

Doktoro is also an informal courtesy title for a physician; its main meaning is the academic degree (ReVo).

#How the words are built

The hospital word malsanulejo breaks into five pieces:

PMEG defines malsanulejo as a place where ill people are cared for and treated. The same parts give a word family:

-ist- names a person who works with something: kuracisto "one who treats", dentisto "one who works with teeth". -in- makes it female. More on word building, prefixes and suffixes.

#Pain words with -doloro

Doloro "pain" joins a body part to name an ache; the last root is the main word, so kapdoloro is "head-pain":

ReVo lists dentodoloro and also quotes dentdoloron. It advises plain compounds like kapdoloro over Greek-style terms such as cefalalgio or odontalgio.

#Saying where it hurts

With dolori the sore body part is the subject, and you show whose it is with mia "my" or al mi "to me":

PMEG treats Mi lavas al mi la manojn as equal to Mi lavas miajn manojn – "I wash my hands": al shows whose body part it is. ReVo notes that older texts also make the person an object (mia internaĵo min doloras), but that modern usage seems to prefer the forms above. The subject is the sore part, so Mi doloras does not mean "I hurt". See also the accusative.

#At the doctor

Questions and instructions you may hear:

Farti "to be in a good or bad state" is the verb of Kiel vi fartas? – "How are you?". What you have, feel or take is an object, so it ends in -n: febron, naŭzon, pilolon.

#At the pharmacy

#Emergencies

For Helpu!, Voku ambulancon! and Kie estas la hospitalo?, see the emergency list in travel phrases. Mi malsanas – "I'm ill" – is in the basic phrases.

#Common questions

#What are the main body parts in Esperanto?

Kapo (head), okulo (eye), nazo (nose), buŝo (mouth), orelo (ear), brako (arm), mano (hand), kruro (leg), piedo (foot) and koro (heart). The plural adds -j: okuloj.

#How do you say "I have a headache" in Esperanto?

Mi havas kapdoloron or Mia kapo doloras. For other aches, swap kap- for another body part: gorĝdoloro, dorsdoloro.

#How do you say "doctor" in Esperanto?

Kuracisto, from kuraci "to treat" and -ist-; a woman doctor can be kuracistino. Doktoro also serves as a courtesy title.

#What is the Esperanto word for "hospital"?

Malsanulejo, literally "place for ill people", or the international hospitalo.

#How do you say "I am sick" in Esperanto?

Mi estas malsana or the shorter Mi malsanas. To say you only feel unwell, use Mi ne fartas bone.

#How do you ask "Where does it hurt?" in Esperanto?

Kie doloras? Answer with al mi and a body part – Doloras al mi la genuo, "My knee hurts" – or just Doloras ĉi tie, "It hurts here".

#Sources

• ReVo: dolori, doloro, kapdoloro, dentodoloro, gorĝdoloro, dorsdoloro, lumbodoloro, stomakdoloro
• ReVo: sana, malsana, malsaniĝi, malsanulejo, sanigi, resaniĝi
• ReVo: kuraci, kuracisto, kuracilo, paciento
• ReVo: flegi, flegisto
• ReVo: apoteko, pilolo, recepto
• ReVo: malvarmumi, malvarmumo, febro, naŭzi, kapturno, farti, doktoro
• ReVo: kapo, kruro, gambo, ventro, fingro, haro
• PMEG: EJ suffix (malsanulejo), UL suffix, IST suffix (kuracisto, dentisto), IN suffix
• PMEG: Verboj kun al-komplemento (Mi lavas al mi la manojn), Posedaj pronomoj
• PMEG: Bazaj elparolaj reguloj (stress)