how to say “neck,” and other body parts, in Hebrew
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צַוָּאר
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In the Torah portion to be read this week by Jews around the world, the Hebrew word for neck – צַוָּאר– appears prominently, especially in Midrashic interpretations of the Biblical text.
– appears prominently, especially in Midrashic interpretations of the Biblical text.Now, צוואר is a masculine noun, as are several other parts of the body. For example:
לְגִ’ירָפָה יֵשׁ צַוָּאר אֲרֹךְ.
The giraffe has a long neck.
and
יֵשׁ לוֹ פֶּה גָּדוֹל.
He’s got a big mouth.
But many other body parts are feminine.
A rule of thumb, which works with most parts of the body, is that the parts that come in pairs are feminine, while the parts that come solo are masculine. (There are a couple of exceptions, which I won’t go into.)
Here are a few of each.
Grammatically-feminine body parts
יָד, יָדַיִם – hand, hands
For example:
יֵשׁ לָהּ יָדַיִם קְטַנּוֹת.
She has small hands.
רֶגֶל, רַגְלַיִם – leg, legs
For example:
יֵשׁ לוֹ רַגְלַיִם חֲזָקוֹת.
He has strong legs.
אֹזֶן, אָזְנַיִם – ear, ears
For example:
יֵשׁ לָהּ אָזְנַיִם רְגִישׁוֹת בִּמְיֻחָד.
She has especially sensitive ears.
The body part that comes in tens (אֶצְבַּע, אֶצְבָּעוֹת) is feminine as well:
) is feminine as well:יֵשׁ לָנוּ יוֹתֵר מֵאֶצְבַּע אַחַת.
We have more than one finger.
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| for a complete glossary of parts of the body and many other topics |
Grammatically-masculine body parts
אַף – nose
For example:
לַכֶּלֶב יֵשׁ אַף מְצֻיָּן – הוּא מֵרִיחַ הַכֹּל.
The dog has an excellent nose – he smells everything.
רֹאשׁ – head
כֻּלָּנוּ כָּאן בְּרֹאשׁ טוֹב.
Everyone here has a good attitude (literally, is in a good head).
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