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What is the penis?

foto van een jongen

Your penis and scrotum are between your thighs. Other words for penis are prick, cock or dick.

Your penis

  • At the tip of your penis is the glans. This is the most sensitive sexual part of your body.
  • Normally it's covered by the foreskin, unless you are circumcised.
  • In the middle of the glans is the pee hole. Urine comes out of here, but also semen when you ejaculate.
  • The other part of your penis is called the shaft.
penis english

Surrounding your penis

  • Behind your penis is your scrotum. Inside it, there are two testicles.
  • Pubic hair grows around your penis.
  • All the way back between your thighs is your anus (poo hole).

Shapes and sizes

Penises come in all different shapes and sizes. Each penis looks different: straight, curved, long, thick, thin, circumcised or uncircumcised. One type isn’t better than the others are.

penissen in verschillende soorten en maten

How big?

A limp penis is between 6 and 13 centimetres long. An erect penis is between 12 and 21 centimetres long. When erect, a smaller penis increases more in size than a large one does. A penis that is small when limp is often just as big as a larger penis when it’s erect.

Left or right?

When you have your trousers on, your penis hangs to the left or to the right. This is called ‘dressing left’ or ‘dressing right’.

Nonsense

Men often joke about their penis, how big it is and how much semen it produces. This can be boasting that is to do with insecurity simply a lack of knowledge. A bigger penis doesn't necessarily mean you have better sex, or that you are a better lover.