Body parts in Hindi

Body-part words are some of the most practical vocabulary you can carry into India. A pharmacy or a clinic visit hinges on being able to point and name — and unlike English, Hindi lets you describe pain with a tidy formula once you know the parts. The word for body is शरीर (shareer), and almost every part has a short, everyday name that children learn first.

We've ordered the list roughly head to toe so it's easy to memorise as a journey down the body. Along the way, watch for a few words that behave differently in the plural — आँख (eye) becomes आँखें (eyes) — since you'll often talk about pairs.

Saying what hurts — at the doctor

The pain formula. To say a part hurts, use part + में दर्द है (“there is pain in …”). “My head hurts” is मेरे सिर में दर्द है (mere sir mein dard hai). Swap the part freely: पेट में दर्द है (stomach ache), दाँत में दर्द है (toothache), गले में दर्द है (sore throat).

Useful clinic words. Pain is दर्द (dard), fever is बुख़ार (bukhaar), a doctor is डॉक्टर and medicine is दवा (dawa). “I am sick” is मैं बीमार हूँ (main bimaar hoon).

Two words for body. The standard term is शरीर (shareer); in casual speech you'll also hear बदन (badan), as in बदन दर्द for “body ache”.

A common slip is using पैर only for “foot”. In everyday Hindi it covers the whole leg-and-foot region; if you must be specific, the foot sole is तलवा (talwa).