Body Parts hangman words
74 body parts words, each with a clue and a difficulty score computed from its spelling. 33 easy, 24 medium, 17 hard.
Average score
4.2
Across all 74 words
Hardest
jaw
Scores 11.0
Easiest
toe
Scores -2.3
This is the most reliable ESL and primary-school category on the site, because every word is something the guesser can point at. A player who is stuck can look down, which is not true of any other list here.
The everyday half is very easy. The anatomical half, with cartilage, capillary and pancreas, is where it gets interesting, and those words are long enough that a guesser who lands a vowel gets a lot back.
Watch for the short ones again. Jaw, rib, hip and toe all score badly for the guesser, because three-letter words made of uncommon letters resist a standard opening completely.
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Easy body parts words33
The usual opening guesses cover most of it, so it tends to fall quickly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| artery | Carries blood away from the heart | 6 / 5 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| balance | Managed largely by the inner ear | 7 / 6 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| brain | About three pounds, and doing all of this | 5 / 5 distinct | 1.8 | Easy |
| cartilage | The smooth stuff at the ends of bones | 9 / 8 distinct | 2.4 | Easy |
| collarbone | The most commonly broken bone | 10 / 8 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| cornea | The clear front of the eye | 6 / 6 distinct | 0.7 | Easy |
| eardrum | Vibrates, and should not be poked | 7 / 6 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| eyelash | Short hairs on the lid | 7 / 6 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| eyelid | Blinks about fifteen times a minute | 6 / 5 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| fingernail | Grows faster than the toenail | 10 / 8 distinct | 2.2 | Easy |
| forearm | Between the elbow and the wrist | 7 / 6 distinct | 2.0 | Easy |
| forehead | Above the eyebrows, below the hairline | 8 / 7 distinct | 2.4 | Easy |
| heart | Beats about a hundred thousand times a day | 5 / 5 distinct | 1.8 | Easy |
| heel | The back of the foot, and Achilles' problem | 4 / 3 distinct | 3.3 | Easy |
| intestine | Small then large, and very long | 9 / 5 distinct | -1.9 | Easy |
| iris | The coloured ring around it | 4 / 3 distinct | -1.8 | Easy |
| knee | The largest joint in the body | 4 / 3 distinct | 2.8 | Easy |
| nerve | Carries the signal | 5 / 4 distinct | 2.7 | Easy |
| nostril | One of two, and they take turns | 7 / 7 distinct | 2.1 | Easy |
| pancreas | Makes insulin and digestive enzymes | 8 / 7 distinct | 2.1 | Easy |
| pore | A very small opening in the skin | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| posture | How you are sitting right now | 7 / 7 distinct | 2.4 | Easy |
| retina | Where the image actually lands | 6 / 6 distinct | -1.0 | Easy |
| shin | The front of it, and the one you bang | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| sneeze | Faster than you would expect | 6 / 4 distinct | 1.2 | Easy |
| sole | The bottom of the foot | 4 / 4 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| spine | Thirty three vertebrae, stacked | 5 / 5 distinct | 1.8 | Easy |
| tendon | Attaches muscle to bone | 6 / 5 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| throat | Where the food and the air both go | 6 / 5 distinct | 1.5 | Easy |
| toe | Five per foot, and the big one matters most | 3 / 3 distinct | -2.3 | Easy |
| tongue | Muscle, and covered in taste buds | 6 / 6 distinct | 2.3 | Easy |
| tonsil | Two of them, and often removed | 6 / 6 distinct | 2.0 | Easy |
| vein | Carries it back | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
Medium body parts words24
You will get a foothold, then have to work out the rest properly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| abdomen | Between the chest and the hips | 7 / 7 distinct | 3.9 | Medium |
| ankle | Rolls, sprains, and takes weeks | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| bicep | The one people flex | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.8 | Medium |
| bladder | Stores it until it is convenient | 7 / 6 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| breath | In through the nose, ideally | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| capillary | So narrow the cells pass in single file | 9 / 7 distinct | 5.2 | Medium |
| chin | Below the mouth, above the neck | 4 / 4 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| eyebrow | Keeps sweat out of the eye | 7 / 6 distinct | 4.4 | Medium |
| follicle | Where a hair grows from | 8 / 6 distinct | 5.5 | Medium |
| kidney | Two of them, filtering constantly | 6 / 6 distinct | 6.3 | Medium |
| kneecap | Small, flat, and floats | 7 / 6 distinct | 4.4 | Medium |
| ligament | Attaches bone to bone | 8 / 8 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| liver | The largest internal organ, and it regenerates | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| marrow | Inside the bone, making blood cells | 6 / 5 distinct | 4.4 | Medium |
| navel | Where you were once attached | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| pulse | You can feel it at the wrist | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.8 | Medium |
| rib | Twelve pairs, protecting the important parts | 3 / 3 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| shiver | Muscles generating heat | 6 / 6 distinct | 4.7 | Medium |
| shoulder | Where the arm meets the rest of you | 8 / 8 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| skin | The largest organ of all | 4 / 4 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| stomach | Where the acid does its work | 7 / 7 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| tricep | The larger one behind it | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| windpipe | The tube to the lungs | 8 / 6 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| wrist | Between the hand and the forearm | 5 / 5 distinct | 4.6 | Medium |
Hard body parts words17
Rare letters, few vowels, or almost no repetition for a guesser to lean on.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| blink | Involuntary, mostly | 5 / 5 distinct | 8.6 | Hard |
| calf | The back of the lower leg | 4 / 4 distinct | 8.5 | Hard |
| cheek | Either side of the nose | 5 / 4 distinct | 6.7 | Hard |
| elbow | The joint you are not supposed to lean on | 5 / 5 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| hiccup | The diaphragm, misbehaving | 6 / 5 distinct | 8.2 | Hard |
| hip | Where the leg meets the trunk | 3 / 3 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| jaw | Hinged, and the strongest muscle acts on it | 3 / 3 distinct | 11.0 | Hard |
| knuckle | Cracks, and your mother told you not to | 7 / 6 distinct | 8.4 | Hard |
| lung | Two of them, and one is smaller | 4 / 4 distinct | 8.5 | Hard |
| muscle | Contracts to pull, never to push | 6 / 6 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| palm | The inside of the hand | 4 / 4 distinct | 8.5 | Hard |
| pupil | The black circle that changes size | 5 / 4 distinct | 7.2 | Hard |
| skull | The helmet you were issued with | 5 / 4 distinct | 10.3 | Hard |
| swallow | Happens hundreds of times a day | 7 / 5 distinct | 6.8 | Hard |
| thigh | Between hip and knee | 5 / 4 distinct | 6.8 | Hard |
| thumb | The one that makes the hand useful | 5 / 5 distinct | 9.4 | Hard |
| yawn | Contagious, and nobody knows quite why | 4 / 4 distinct | 7.5 | Hard |
Questions
What are good body parts words for hangman?
The ones that survive a normal opening. A guesser starts with E, A, R and the other common letters, so a good word is one those letters barely touch. On this page that is the score: 74 body parts words are listed and 17 of them rate hard.
How many body parts words are on this list?
74, deduplicated, each with a clue and a computed difficulty score. They split into 33 easy, 24 medium and 17 hard.
What is the hardest word in this category?
JAW, at 11.0. The easiest is TOE at -2.3. Both numbers come from the same formula, which is published in full at hangmanwords.net/how-difficulty-is-scored/.
Can I play these words rather than read them?
Yes. The play link on this page loads a game that draws only from this body parts list, so every word you get is one of the 74 below.