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Body parts and clothing: definite articles over possessives

When you talk about washing your hands or putting on your coat, your instinct is probably to use possessive adjectives like "my", "your", or "his". If you do this in Spanish, however, it sounds unnatural. When an action affects a person's body or clothing, Spanish takes a different approach.

Instead of attaching a possessive directly to the noun, Spanish uses a definite article (el, la, los, las) before the body part or clothing item. To show who owns it, Spanish identifies the person with a reflexive or indirect object pronoun paired with the verb. You will see this pattern everywhere, from daily routines like peinarse and afeitarse to describing injuries and aches.

Word list
abrirA1 to open abre la boca = open your mouth cerrarA1 to close cierro los ojos = I close my eyes lavarA1 to wash le lavó la cara al niño = she washed the boy's face afeitarseA2 to shave se afeita la barba = he shaves his beard cepillarse los dientesA2 to brush one's teeth me cepillo los dientes = I brush my teeth cortarA2 to cut le cortó el pelo = he cut her hair dolerA2 to hurt me duele la cabeza = my head hurts lastimarA2 to hurt se lastimó la espalda = he hurt his back lavarse las manosA2 to wash one's hands me lavo las manos = I wash my hands lavarse los dientesA2 to brush one's teeth me cepillo los dientes = I brush my teeth pintarA2 to paint se pinta las uñas = she paints her nails ponerseA2 to put on me pongo el abrigo = I put on my coat probarseA2 to try on me pruebo la chaqueta = I try on the jacket secarA2 to dry le secó las manos = she dried his hands agitar la manoB1 to wave agitó la mano = he waved his hand desabotonarB1 to unbutton se desabotonó la camisa = he unbuttoned his shirt desabrocharB1 to unbutton me desabroché el abrigo = I unbuttoned my coat desanudarB1 to untie se desanudó la corbata = he undid his tie desatarB1 to untie se desató los cordones = he untied his shoelaces frotarB1 to rub me froto las manos = I rub my hands fruncir el ceñoB1 to frown frunció el ceño = he furrowed his brow morderB1 to bite me mordí la lengua = I bit my tongue negar con la cabezaB1 to shake one's head negó con la cabeza = she shook her head peinarB1 to comb le peino el pelo a mi hija = I comb my daughter's hair peinarseB1 to comb one's hair se peina el pelo = she combs her hair quebrarseB1 to break me quebré el brazo = I broke my arm quitarseB1 to take off me quito los zapatos = I take off my shoes romperseB1 to break me rompí el brazo = I broke my arm abotonarB2 to button up se abotonó la camisa = he buttoned up his shirt abrocharB2 to button up abróchate el abrigo = button up your coat aclararse la gargantaB2 to clear one's throat se aclaró la garganta = she cleared her throat aflojarB2 to loosen se aflojó la corbata = he loosened his tie apretarB2 to tighten se apretó el cinturón = he tightened his belt fracturarseB2 to break se rompió el brazo = he broke his arm lamerB2 to lick el perro me lamió la mano = the dog licked my hand maquillarseB2 to make oneself up se maquilla los ojos = she puts on her eye make-up picarB2 to itch me pica la espalda = my back itches poner los ojos en blancoB2 to roll one's eyes puso los ojos en blanco = she rolled her eyes rascarseB2 to scratch me rasco la nariz = I scratch my nose rasparseB2 to scrape me raspé la rodilla = I scraped my knee sonarse la narizB2 to blow one's nose se suena la nariz = he blows his nose teñirB2 to dye se tiñó el pelo de rubio = she dyed her hair blonde cruzarC1 to cross crucé las piernas = I crossed my legs hincharseC1 to swell up se me hinchó el tobillo = my ankle swelled up masajearC1 to massage le masajeó la espalda = she massaged his back vendarC1 to bandage le vendó la mano = she bandaged his hand subirse las mangasC2 to roll up one's sleeves se subió las mangas = he rolled up his sleeves
Daily routines and clothing

For personal care and getting dressed, Spanish uses reflexive verbs. The reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos) shows that the action happens to the subject. Because the owner is already established by the pronoun, you simply use the definite article for the body part or piece of clothing.

For example, with phrases like lavarse las manos or cepillarse los dientes, you literally say "I wash myself the hands" or "I brush myself the teeth". The same applies to clothing verbs like ponerse, probarse, and quitarse.

Me lavo las manos antes de cenar.
(I wash my hands before dinner.)
Siempre se pone el abrigo cuando hace frío.
(He always puts on his coat when it is cold.)
Voy a quitarme los zapatos.
(I am going to take off my shoes.)
Aches, itches, and injuries

This rule is especially important when talking about health. If a body part hurts or itches, you use an indirect object pronoun to indicate who is experiencing the sensation, paired with verbs like doler or picar.

Me duele la cabeza hoy.
(My head hurts today.)
A mi perro le pica la espalda.
(My dog's back itches.)

If you injure yourself, you use a reflexive pronoun with verbs like romperse, fracturarse, or lastimar. You still use the definite article for the injured part.

Marta se rompió el brazo ayer.
(Marta broke her arm yesterday.)
El jardinero se lastimó la espalda.
(The gardener hurt his back.)
Actions affecting other people

The construction remains the same when the action affects someone else's body or clothing. Instead of a reflexive pronoun, you use an indirect object pronoun (le or les) to show who is receiving the action. Verbs like cortar, secar, and lavar frequently appear in this pattern.

El peluquero le cortó el pelo.
(The hairdresser cut his hair.)
El padre le secó las manos al niño.
(The father dried the boy's hands.)

Other common actions that follow the core reflexive pattern include sonarse la nariz, rascarse, and aclararse la garganta.

Tienes que sonarte la nariz.
(You have to blow your nose.)
El profesor se aclaró la garganta antes de hablar.
(The teacher cleared his throat before speaking.)
Watch out

While the pronoun-plus-definite-article rule covers most situations involving actions done to a body part, there are times when you will not use a pronoun. When the body part is the direct object of a generic verb and the owner is just the subject doing the action, Spanish still prefers the definite article, but the pronoun is dropped. Verbs like abrir (to open) and cerrar (to close) work this way.

Cierro los ojos y me relajo.
(I close my eyes and relax.)

Additionally, if you want to emphasize or contrast the owner, you might occasionally see a possessive adjective used, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Stick to the definite article and you will sound much more natural in everyday conversations.

Summary

When talking about body parts or articles of clothing in Spanish, remember to drop the possessive adjectives. Use a definite article to name the body part or item, and use a reflexive or indirect object pronoun to show who it belongs to.