Body Parts

36 phrases · Arabic with romanization, English and audio

  1. الرأس

    Ar-raʾs

    Head

    Usage

    Show this at a clinic and point to your own head. A headache is "ṣudāʿ" (صداع), which is the word to use at a pharmacy

  2. الشعر

    Ash-shaʿr

    Hair

    Usage

    Used at a salon or barber. Without vowel marks it is spelled the same as "ash-shiʿr", poetry, so point at your hair while showing it

  3. الوجه

    Al-wajh

    Face

    Usage

    For marking a treatment area at a salon or showing where a skin problem is. Egyptian colloquial also uses "wishsh" (وش)

  4. العين

    Al-ʿayn

    Eye

    Usage

    For eye pain, redness or asking for eye drops. The same spelling also means "spring of water", but pointing settles it. Both eyes are "al-ʿaynān"

  5. الأذن

    Al-udhun

    Ear

    Usage

    For ear trouble after a flight or a dive in the Red Sea. Earache is "alam fī al-udhun"

  6. الأنف

    Al-anf

    Nose

    Usage

    Show it at the pharmacy for a blocked nose or a nosebleed. Egyptian colloquial usually says "manākhīr" (مناخير)

  7. الفم

    Al-fam

    Mouth

    Usage

    For mouth ulcers or pain inside the mouth. Levantine and Egyptian colloquial also say "bugg" (بق), but it is coarser — stick to this word

  8. الأسنان

    Al-asnān

    Teeth

    Usage

    Point at the aching tooth while showing this. The singular "sinn" also means age, so the plural is safer. Toothache is "alam fī al-asnān" and the dentist is "ṭabīb al-asnān"

  9. اللسان

    Al-lisān

    Tongue

    Usage

    For a burning tongue or a sore on it. The same word means "language" — "al-lisān al-ʿarabī" is a way of saying the Arabic tongue

  10. الرقبة

    Ar-raqaba

    Neck

    Usage

    The outside of the neck — for a crick or stiffness. The inside of the throat is "al-ḥalq", a separate word; choose by where it hurts

  11. الحلق

    Al-ḥalq

    Throat

    Usage

    For a sore throat; Egyptians also say "zōr" (زور). "Alam fī al-ḥalq" means a sore throat

  12. الكتف

    Al-kitf

    Shoulder

    Usage

    Point here to ask for extra attention during a massage. Both shoulders are "al-kitfān"

  13. الذراع

    Adh-dhirāʿ

    Arm

    Usage

    For where you were hurt. Arabic keeps the arm ("adh-dhirāʿ") and the hand ("al-yad") strictly apart

  14. المرفق

    Al-mirfaq

    Elbow

    Usage

    A common spot for grazes — point here when examined after a fall. Egyptian colloquial says "kūʿ" (كوع)

  15. المعصم

    Al-miʿṣam

    Wrist

    Usage

    For a sprain — the word for sprain is "iltiwāʾ" (التواء). Also useful when talking about a wristwatch

  16. اليد

    Al-yad

    Hand

    Usage

    For an injury site or where you want henna applied. Across the Arab world the right hand is used for eating and handing things over, so avoid offering things with the left

  17. الإصبع

    Al-iṣbaʿ

    Finger

    Usage

    For a finger injury or a ring size. The plural is "al-aṣābiʿ". Toes use the same word, spelled out as "aṣābiʿ al-qadam"

  18. الظفر

    Aẓ-ẓufr

    Nail

    Usage

    For a nail salon or an ingrown-nail problem. The plural "al-aẓāfir" (الأظافر) is the form you will hear more often

  19. الصدر

    Aṣ-ṣadr

    Chest

    Usage

    For chest pain, including cardiac symptoms. Show it early — this is the urgent one

  20. البطن

    Al-baṭn

    Belly

    Usage

    The key word for food poisoning or a stomach ache: "ashʿur bi-alam fī baṭnī". The digestive organ itself is "al-maʿida"

  21. المعدة

    Al-maʿida

    Stomach (organ)

    Usage

    Arabic separates the belly you can touch ("al-baṭn") from the digestive organ ("al-maʿida"). Ask the pharmacist for "dawāʾ lil-maʿida"

  22. الظَّهْر

    Aẓ-ẓahr

    Back

    Usage

    For back pain. Without the vowel marks it would be spelled the same as "ẓuhr", noon, so the marks are kept here

  23. أسفل الظهر

    Asfal aẓ-ẓahr

    Lower back

    Usage

    Arabic has no single word matching the Japanese "koshi"; you say "the lower part of the back". The waistline for clothing is "al-khaṣr" (الخصر)

  24. الورك

    Al-wark

    Hip

    Usage

    The joint at the side of the pelvis — point here for hip pain or a bruise from a fall

  25. الساق

    As-sāq

    Leg

    Usage

    Strictly the part from knee to ankle (shin and calf); the whole leg is "ar-rijl" and the foot below the ankle is "al-qadam". In colloquial speech "rijl" (رجل) often covers both

  26. الركبة

    Ar-rukba

    Knee

    Usage

    The joint most often strained climbing around ruins and wadis. "Alam fī ar-rukba" means knee pain

  27. القدم

    Al-qadam

    Foot

    Usage

    The foot below the ankle; the whole leg is "ar-rijl" (which colloquially also covers the foot). Use it for blisters or a burn from hot desert sand

  28. الكاحل

    Al-kāḥil

    Ankle

    Usage

    Point here for a sprain: "iltawā kāḥilī", I twisted my ankle

  29. الجلد

    Al-jild

    Skin

    Usage

    For bites, sunburn or a rash at the pharmacy. Sunburn is "ḥurūq ash-shams" and a dermatologist is "ṭabīb al-jildiyya"

  30. العظم

    Al-ʿaẓm

    Bone

    Usage

    For a suspected fracture — the word for a break is "kasr". "Hal hunāka kasr?" asks whether the bone is broken

  31. الدم

    Ad-dam

    Blood

    Usage

    For bleeding or a blood test. Your blood type is "faṣīlat ad-dam" and blood pressure is "ḍaghṭ ad-dam"

  32. القلب

    Al-qalb

    Heart

    Usage

    For a heart condition or palpitations: "ladayya maraḍ fī al-qalb". The same word is also the heart in the emotional sense

  33. الرئة

    Ar-riʾa

    Lung

    Usage

    For a cough, breathlessness or asthma — asthma is "ar-rabw" (الربو). Respiratory trouble is common in dust-storm season

  34. الأمعاء

    Al-amʿāʾ

    Intestines

    Usage

    For persistent diarrhoea or abdominal trouble. Diarrhoea is "ishāl" (إسهال) and constipation is "imsāk" (إمساك)

  35. الكبد

    Al-kabid

    Liver

    Usage

    For telling a doctor about a liver condition or your medication. The related "kibda" (كبدة) is liver as food — Alexandria-style "kibda iskandarānī" is the famous Egyptian dish

  36. الكلية

    Al-kulya

    Kidney

    Usage

    For a kidney condition or flank pain. A stone is "ḥaṣwa fī al-kulya". The dry climate makes stones more likely if you skimp on water, so keep drinking

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