Vocabulary
Knowing the Persian body parts is useful long before you ever need a doctor: they turn up in everyday expressions, in the gym and at the hairdresser. This page gives you the words for the body from head to toe, then the vocabulary for describing symptoms and dealing with doctors and pharmacies in Tehran.
For urgent situations, keep our emergencies and health phrasebook to hand. The spoken form is given first throughout.
The head and face
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| سر | sar | head |
| مو | mu | hair |
| صورت | surat | face |
| پیشونی | pishuni (written: pishâni) | forehead |
| چشم | cheshm | eye |
| ابرو | abru | eyebrow |
| گوش | gush | ear |
| دماغ | damâgh | nose (everyday word; formal: bini) |
| دهن | dahan (written: dahân) | mouth |
| لب | lab | lip |
| دندون | dandun (written: dandân) | tooth |
| زبون | zabun (written: zabân) | tongue; language |
| گلو | galu | throat |
| گردن | gardan | neck |
| ریش | rish | beard |
| سبیل | sibil | moustache |
The body
Persian uses one word for hand and arm, دست dast, and one for foot and leg, پا pâ. If you need to be precise, bâzu is the upper arm and kaf-e pâ the sole of the foot.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| بدن | badan | body |
| شونه | shune (written: shâne) | shoulder |
| دست | dast | hand; arm |
| بازو | bâzu | upper arm |
| آرنج | ârenj | elbow |
| مچ | moch | wrist |
| انگشت | angosht | finger; toe |
| ناخن | nâkhon | nail |
| سینه | sine | chest |
| شکم | shekam | stomach, belly |
| کمر | kamar | lower back; waist |
| پشت | posht | back |
| پا | pâ | leg; foot |
| زانو | zânu | knee |
| مچ پا | moch-e pâ | ankle |
| پوست | pust | skin |
| استخون | ostokhun (written: ostokhân) | bone |
| خون | khun | blood |
Inside the body
The word دل del means heart in an emotional sense, but in everyday speech it also refers to the stomach: deldard is a stomach ache, not heartache. The physical heart is ghalb.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| قلب | ghalb | heart (the organ) |
| دل | del | heart (feelings); stomach, insides |
| معده | me’de | stomach (the organ) |
| ریه | rie | lung |
| کلیه | kolie | kidney |
| کبد | kabed | liver |
Symptoms and illnesses
To say something hurts, name the body part with a possessive ending and add dard mikone (written: dard mikonad): saram dard mikone (my head hurts), pâm dard mikone (my leg hurts).
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| درد | dard | pain |
| سردرد | sardard | headache |
| دل‌درد | deldard | stomach ache |
| دندون‌درد | dandundard | toothache |
| کمردرد | kamardard | backache |
| گلودرد | galudard | sore throat |
| تب | tab | fever, temperature |
| سرماخوردگی | sarmâkhordegi | a cold |
| سرفه | sorfe | cough |
| عطسه | atse | sneeze |
| سرگیجه | sargije | dizziness |
| حالت تهوع | hâlat-e tahavvo’ | nausea |
| اسهال | es-hâl | diarrhoea |
| حساسیت | hassâsiyat | allergy |
| زخم | zakhm | wound, cut |
| شکستگی | shekastegi | fracture |
| مریض | mariz | ill; a patient |
At the doctor’s and the pharmacy
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| پزشک | pezeshk | doctor (formal; in speech doktor) |
| دندون‌پزشک | dandunpezeshk (written: dandânpezeshk) | dentist |
| مطب | matab | doctor’s surgery |
| درمانگاه | darmângâh | clinic |
| بیمارستان | bimârestân | hospital |
| اورژانس | urzhâns | A&E; emergency service |
| آمبولانس | âmbulâns | ambulance |
| دارو | dâru | medicine |
| قرص | ghors | tablet, pill |
| شربت | sharbat | syrup (medicine) |
| آمپول | âmpul | injection |
| نسخه | noskhe | prescription |
| آزمایش | âzmâyesh | test (for example a blood test) |
| نوبت | nowbat | appointment; turn (in a queue) |
Useful phrases
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| حالم خوب نیست | hâlam khub nist | I don’t feel well |
| سرم درد می‌کنه | saram dard mikone | my head hurts |
| تب دارم | tab dâram | I have a temperature |
| سرما خوردم | sarmâ khordam | I’ve caught a cold |
| به پنی‌سیلین حساسیت دارم | be penisilin hassâsiyat dâram | I’m allergic to penicillin |
| روزی سه بار | ruzi se bâr | three times a day |
| بعد از غذا | ba’d az ghazâ | after meals |
| خدا بد نده | khodâ bad nade | I hope it’s nothing serious (said on hearing someone is unwell) |
| ایشالا زود خوب شی | ishâllâ zud khub shi | get well soon (informal) |
Tehran tip: Pharmacies in Tehran are well stocked and pharmacists are used to giving advice, so a dârukhune is often the first stop for minor complaints. At night, look for a dârukhune-ye shabâneruzi, a 24-hour pharmacy. The emergency ambulance number is 115.
Example sentences
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| دکتر لازم دارم | doktor lâzem dâram | I need a doctor |
| از دیروز گلوم درد می‌کنه | az diruz galum dard mikone | my throat has been sore since yesterday |
| یه آمبولانس خبر کنید | ye âmbulâns khabar konid | call an ambulance |
| یه چیزی برای سرفه دارید؟ | ye chizi barâye sorfe dârid? | do you have something for a cough? |
| این قرص رو روزی دو بار بخورید | in ghors ro ruzi do bâr bokhorid | take this tablet twice a day |
| می‌خوام برای فردا نوبت بگیرم | mikhâm barâye fardâ nowbat begiram | I’d like to make an appointment for tomorrow |
| پام پیچ خورده | pâm pich khorde | I’ve twisted my ankle (literally “my foot is twisted”) |
| نسخه دارید؟ | noskhe dârid? | do you have a prescription? |