"Head" in Spanish is la cabeza, a feminine noun. A headache comes out as Me duele la cabeza, word for word "the head hurts me", with la where English says my. Most of Spain says the z like the th in think, and Latin America says it like an s.
Written by Isabella García, Language Content Manager at WordyUpdated October 4, 2026
Hear "cabeza" in a real movie scene
A hard landing and a sore head. The video starts and stops on that line.
Ah, mi cabeza.
Ugh, my head.
After a nasty fall, even a superhero reaches for his head first. In a quick complaint like this Spanish says mi cabeza, but in a full sentence with duele it switches to la.
From Spider-Man: De regreso a casa · Spanish audio
Useful phrases with cabeza
From a headache to losing your head.
Spanish
English
Me duele la cabeza.
I have a headache.
el dolor de cabeza
headache
de la cabeza a los pies
from head to toe
perder la cabeza
to lose your head
No me cabe en la cabeza.
I can't get my head around it.
una cabeza de ajo
a head of garlic
Tip: Like head in English, cabeza can mean the person in charge: la cabeza de familia is the head of the household.
Grammar: la cabeza, me duele la cabeza
Four points, most of them about headaches.
Feminine, plural in -s
la cabeza, una cabeza, las cabezas. The -a ending matches the feminine article.
La instead of mi
With body parts, Spanish uses the article: Me duele la cabeza. The me already tells you whose head it is.
Duele or duelen
Me duele for one body part, me duelen for two or more: Me duelen la cabeza y la nariz.
Two ways to say the z
Most of Spain: kah-BEH-thah, like th in think. Latin America: kah-BEH-sah. Both are correct.
Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Me duele la cabeza.
I have a headache.
Tengo dolor de cabeza.
I've got a headache.
¿Y tu cabeza?
And your head?
Me duelen la cabeza y la nariz.
My head and my nose hurt.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Me duele mi cabeza
✓Me duele la cabeza
Me already says it's your head, so the possessive is left out.
✗Mi cabeza duele
✓Me duele la cabeza
Doler is built like gustar: me comes first, then the verb, then the body part.
✗dolor de la cabeza
✓dolor de cabeza
In the noun for headache, cabeza takes no article.
✗kah-BEH-zah (with a buzzing English z)
✓kah-BEH-thah or kah-BEH-sah
Spanish has no buzzing z. Pick the Spain or the Latin American sound.
Real conversation: the morning after a concert
A short phone call with a friend.
Last night you went to a rock concert with your friend Adrián. This morning he calls you.
A
¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás hoy?
Hi! How are you today?
You
Regular, me duele la cabeza.
So-so. I have a headache.
A
¡Vaya! ¿El concierto de rock?
Oh no! The rock concert?
You
A
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last 2 lines.
La cabeza, a feminine noun. More than one head is las cabezas.
How do you say "I have a headache" in Spanish?
Me duele la cabeza, or Tengo dolor de cabeza. You'll hear both every day.
How do you pronounce cabeza?
kah-BEH-thah in most of Spain and kah-BEH-sah in Latin America. Either one is correct.
How do you say "from head to toe" in Spanish?
De la cabeza a los pies, which literally means from the head to the feet.
Learn "head" in Spanish from real movie scenes
Download Wordy for free and join 500,000+ learners. The app has 15,000+ clips from movies and TV shows, and it brings each word back for review before you forget it.
