Parts of the body

MÚSICA

Explanation: One of the distinguishing marks of the capoeirista is the ability to move in surprising ways, including being upside down in movements such as au and bananeira. This song tells how a capoeirista can “exchange his hands for his feet” and vice versa. A skilled capoeirista can support and balance his or her body on the hands, feet, or head.

This watercolor painting, by British artist Augustus Earle, is from 1821-1824. It shows a policeman about to interfere in a capoeira game!

VOCABULÁRIO

MY / YOUR / HIS / HER

Okay, now we know the parts of the body... but how do we say “my leg” or “your arm”?

You use meu or minha based on if the word for the body part is masculine or feminine (NOT depending on whether you are male or female!) For example:

Meu braço = my arm (braço is a masculine word)

Minha barriga = my belly (barriga is a feminine word)

Can you label each body part in the vocabulary list as masculine or feminine?

If you want to talk about a body part in the plural, just add “s” to both the word and the possessive:

Seus dedos = your fingers

Suas pernas = your legs

Finally, if you want to talk about someone else’s arms/legs/whatever, use dele (if the peson is male) and dela (if the person is female):

O rosto dele = His face

O pé dela = Her foot

Note that in this case dele and dela come after the noun!

Talking about injuries

If a visiting mestre wants you to do queda de rins but you’re recovering from a shoulder dislocation, what do you say?

Here are a couple useful phrases:

...está machucado/machucada = ...is injured

...está doendo = ...hurts

So in this case, you could say Meu ombro está machucado.

PRATICAR

Want another challenge?

Test your knowledge of the parts of the body together with capoeira movements in Parts of the Body Quiz #2.

• Next members-only lesson: Possessives in Portuguese