Body Parts in Marathi: 50 Essential Words
Learn 50 body parts in Marathi with Devanagari script, romanization, and IPA. Covers plurals, idioms, and medical vocabulary for real-world use.
A doctor in Nashik asks where it hurts. A friend in Pune tells you your back looks tense from the commute. A grandmother in Aurangabad describes a child's injury. Body-part vocabulary is the kind of Marathi you need without warning, in contexts where guessing wrong or going silent has real consequences. These 50 words cover the full range: head to foot, singular to plural, clinical register to everyday idiom.
Head to Foot: The Core 50 Words
The table below moves from the top of the body downward. Each entry shows the Devanagari script, romanization in standard transliteration, IPA, and English. For pronunciation details on sounds like the retroflex ळ in डोळा, the Marathi pronunciation guide goes through each tricky consonant with audio drill suggestions.
| Devanagari | Romanization | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| डोके | ḍoke | /ɖoke/ | head |
| केस | kes | /keːs/ | hair |
| कपाळ | kapāḷ | /kəpaːɭ/ | forehead |
| भुवई | bhuvī | /bʱuʋiː/ | eyebrow |
| डोळा | ḍoḷā | /ɖoːɭaː/ | eye |
| पापणी | pāpaṇī | /paːpəɳiː/ | eyelid |
| नाक | nāk | /naːk/ | nose |
| गाल | gāl | /gaːl/ | cheek |
| कान | kān | /kaːn/ | ear |
| तोंड | toṇḍ | /toːɳɖ/ | mouth |
| ओठ | oṭh | /oːʈʰ/ | lip |
| दात | dāt | /d̪aːt̪/ | tooth |
| जीभ | jībh | /dʒiːbʱ/ | tongue |
| हनुवटी | hanuvaṭī | /ɦənuʋəʈiː/ | chin |
| मान | mān | /maːn/ | neck |
| गळा | gaḷā | /gəɭaː/ | throat |
| खांदा | khāndā | /kʰaːnd̪aː/ | shoulder |
| छाती | chātī | /tʃʰaːtiː/ | chest |
| पोट | poṭ | /poːʈ/ | stomach / belly |
| पाठ | pāṭh | /paːʈʰ/ | back |
| कंबर | kambar | /kəmbər/ | waist |
| हात | hāt | /ɦaːt̪/ | hand / arm |
| कोपर | kopar | /kopər/ | elbow |
| मनगट | managaṭ | /məɳgəʈ/ | wrist |
| बोट | boṭ | /boːʈ/ | finger |
| नख | nakha | /nəkʰ/ | fingernail |
| अंगठा | aṅgaṭhā | /əŋgəʈʰaː/ | thumb |
| ओटीपोट | oṭīpoṭ | /oːʈiːpoːʈ/ | abdomen / pelvis |
| कूल्हे | kūlhe | /kuːlɦe/ | hips |
| गुडघा | guḍghā | /guɖgʰaː/ | knee |
| पाय | pāy | /paːj/ | foot / leg |
| घोटा | ghoṭā | /gʱoːʈaː/ | ankle |
| टाच | ṭāc | /ʈaːtʃ/ | heel |
| बोट (पायाचे) | boṭ (pāyāce) | /boːʈ paːjaːtʃe/ | toe |
| हाडे | hāḍe | /ɦaːɖe/ | bones |
| स्नायू | snāyū | /snɑːjuː/ | muscles |
| त्वचा | tvacā | /t̪ʋətʃaː/ | skin |
| रक्त | rakta | /rəkt̪ə/ | blood |
| मेंदू | mendū | /meːnd̪uː/ | brain |
| हृदय | hṛday | /ɦɾud̪əj/ | heart |
| फुफ्फुस | phupphus | /pʱupʰpʰus/ | lung |
| यकृत | yakṛt | /jəkɾut̪/ | liver |
| मूत्रपिंड | mūtrapiṇḍ | /muːt̪rəpiɳɖ/ | kidney |
| पोटाशय | poṭāśay | /poːʈaːʃəj/ | stomach (organ) |
| नस | nas | /nəs/ | vein / nerve |
| हाड | hāḍ | /ɦaːɖ/ | bone (singular) |
| आतडे | ātaḍe | /aːt̪əɖe/ | intestines |
| डोळ्याचे बुब्बुळ | ḍoḷyāce bubbul | /ɖoɭjaːtʃe bubbuɭ/ | pupil (of eye) |
| नाकपुडी | nākapuḍī | /naːkəpuɖiː/ | nostril |
| कपाळाची शीर | kapāḷācī śīr | /kəpaːɭaːtʃiː ʃiːr/ | temple (side of head) |
Body-part vocabulary sits at an intersection of registers. Some of these words, like हृदय (hṛday, heart) and त्वचा (tvacā, skin), are formal or clinical. The colloquial equivalents are काळीज (kāḷīj, heart in the emotional sense) and कातडी (kātaḍī, skin in casual speech). Learn both: the clinical form for a hospital or pharmacy visit, the everyday form for conversation.
Singular and Plural: Where Marathi Gets Interesting
Marathi has three grammatical genders, and body-part vocabulary cuts across all three. The way a word pluralizes depends entirely on its gender. For the full logic of how each gender class forms plurals, the Marathi plural formation guide is the clearest reference. Here, the focus is on the body-part words that behave in ways worth noting.
Masculine body parts follow the standard -आ to -ए pattern:
| Singular | IPA | English | Plural | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| डोळा (ḍoḷā) | /ɖoːɭaː/ | eye | डोळे (ḍoḷe) | /ɖoːɭe/ |
| खांदा (khāndā) | /kʰaːnd̪aː/ | shoulder | खांदे (khānde) | /kʰaːnd̪e/ |
| गुडघा (guḍghā) | /guɖgʰaː/ | knee | गुडघे (guḍghe) | /guɖgʰe/ |
| घोटा (ghoṭā) | /gʱoːʈaː/ | ankle | घोटे (ghoṭe) | /gʱoːʈe/ |
| अंगठा (aṅgaṭhā) | /əŋgəʈʰaː/ | thumb | अंगठे (aṅgaṭhe) | /əŋgəʈʰe/ |
Neuter body parts do not add an ending in the same way. तोंड (toṇḍ, mouth) is neuter, as is डोके (ḍoke, head). These nouns use different agreement patterns with adjectives, but the noun form itself tends to stay stable in casual speech. You will hear तोंड for both one mouth and the concept of mouths in general context.
The irregular case: हात. हात (hāt, hand) is masculine. But its plural is also हात, not हाते. Context tells you singular versus plural. मी हात धुतो (mī hāt dhuto, I wash my hand/hands) works either way. When disambiguation matters, speakers add numbers or specify: दोन हात (don hāt, two hands). This zero-marking plural also appears in दात (dāt, tooth / teeth) and कान (kān, ear / ears).
Paired body parts in practice. For body parts that come in pairs, Marathi speakers rarely need to specify "right" and "left" in isolation. They say उजवा डोळा (ujvā ḍoḷā, right eye) and डावा डोळा (ḍāvā ḍoḷā, left eye). Singular for specific reference, plural when referring to the pair generally: डोळे (ḍoḷe) for eyes as a pair, डोळ्यात (ḍoḷyāt, in the eye) for a specific one. The distinction matters when you're trying to say "something's in my left eye" at a pharmacy.
Body-Part Idioms: How Marathi Puts These Words to Work
Single words are the foundation. Idioms are how you sound like someone who actually uses the language.
डोळ्यांत पाणी येणे (ḍoḷyāṃt pāṇī yeṇe) [ɖoɭjaːmt̪ paːɳiː jeɳe]: literally "water comes into the eyes," meaning to be moved to tears. Not necessarily crying openly, but the welling of emotion. Used in contexts of grief, unexpected kindness, or deep sentiment. डोळ्यांत पाणी आलं (ḍoḷyāṃt pāṇī ālaṃ) "tears came to the eyes" is the common past-tense form.
डोक्यावर बसणे (ḍokyāvar basaṇe) [ɖokjaːʋər bəsɳe]: "to sit on someone's head," meaning to dominate, boss around, or take undue advantage of a person's patience. तो माझ्या डोक्यावर बसतो (to mājhyā ḍokyāvar basato) means "he dominates me / walks all over me." You'll hear this in family contexts and workplaces in Pune and Mumbai both.
हात जोडणे (hāt joḍaṇe) [ɦaːt̪ dʒoɖɳe]: literally "to join the hands," meaning to plead, to appeal with humility, or to beg forgiveness. Not the greeting gesture of namaskar specifically, but the act of pressing the palms together as a gesture of supplication. मी हात जोडतो, माफ करा (mī hāt joḍato, māph karā) "I join my hands and ask forgiveness."
हात लावणे (hāt lāvaṇe) [ɦaːt̪ laːʋɳe]: "to lay a hand on something," often used to mean to start a task or to touch something that shouldn't be touched. कामाला हात लावणे (kāmālā hāt lāvaṇe) means "to put your hand to work / to get started." In a warning sense, तिकडे हात लावू नकोस (tikade hāt lāvū nakos) means "don't you touch that."
नाकाने कांदे सोलणे (nākāne kāṇde solaṇe) [naːkaːne kaːɳɖe soɭɳe]: "to peel onions with one's nose," meaning to do things the hard way out of stubbornness, or to act in an unnecessarily difficult manner. This one turns up in conversation when someone refuses a sensible shortcut.
पोटात गोळा येणे (poṭāt goḷā yeṇe) [poːʈaːt̪ goɭaː jeɳe]: "a ball comes into the stomach," the visceral sensation of anxiety or dread. Equivalent to "my stomach dropped" in English. Before an exam, before difficult news, before a confrontation.
The pattern across these idioms: Marathi body-part expressions tend to be concrete and physical, grounding emotional states in the body rather than abstracting them. This matches a broader feature of Marathi verbal imagery.
Medical and Descriptive Vocabulary
At a clinic or pharmacy in Maharashtra, the register shifts. The colloquial दुखतंय (dukhtay, it hurts) becomes the clinical दुखते आहे (dukhte āhe). Knowing both versions matters.
| Devanagari | Romanization | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| वेदना | vedanā | /ʋeːd̪ənaː/ | pain (clinical) |
| दुखणे | dukhaṇe | /dukʰəɳe/ | to hurt / to ache |
| सूज | sūj | /suːdʒ/ | swelling |
| जखम | jakham | /dʒəkʰəm/ | wound / injury |
| ताप | tāp | /t̪aːp/ | fever |
| मळमळ | maḷamaḷ | /məɭəməɭ/ | nausea |
| खाज | khāj | /kʰaːdʒ/ | itch |
| पुरळ | puraḷ | /purəɭ/ | rash |
| रक्तस्राव | raktasrāv | /rəkt̪əsraːʋ/ | bleeding |
| फ्रॅक्चर | phraikcar | /pʰrækʧər/ | fracture (loanword) |
| मोच | moc | /motʃ/ | sprain |
| सुन्नपणा | sunnapaṇā | /sunnəpɳaː/ | numbness |
When pointing out which body part is affected, the instrumental construction is most natural. डोक्यात दुखतंय (ḍokyāt dukhtay) "it hurts in the head," छातीत दुखतंय (chātīt dukhtay) "it hurts in the chest." The postposition -त (-t, in/at) attaches to the locative form of the body-part noun. पाठीत (pāṭhīt, in the back), पोटात (poṭāt, in the stomach), हातात (hātāt, in the hand / arm).
Describing qualities is often necessary: सूज आली आहे (sūj ālī āhe, swelling has come), जखम खोल आहे (jakham khol āhe, the wound is deep), ताप जास्त आहे (tāp jāst āhe, the fever is high). The verb आहे anchors the descriptive sentence across all of these.
Body Language: What the Gestures Actually Mean
Marathi is spoken alongside a gestural vocabulary that operates in parallel to the words. Understanding the gestures stops you from misreading conversations, and producing them appropriately is part of genuine fluency.
The head wobble. A lateral tilting of the head from side to side, not a nod and not a shake, signals agreement, understanding, or acknowledgment in Maharashtra and across much of India. An English speaker reads this as "maybe" or "I'm unsure." A Marathi speaker producing this gesture means "yes, I understand" or "I'm following what you're saying." Mistake the direction and you'll interpret half your confirmations as hesitations.
हात जोडणे as greeting and apology. The joined-palms gesture serves both as नमस्कार (namaskār, greeting) and as the visual grammar of हात जोडणे (pleading). Context separates them: at the start of an interaction, it's greeting; in the middle of a request or apology, it's supplication. A third use is respect for a religious image or elder, where the hands may be joined at chest height with a slight bow of the head.
Hand on heart. Placing the right hand flat on the chest, briefly, signals sincerity or emotional earnestness. This gesture accompanies phrases like मनापासून (manāpāsūn, from the heart / sincerely) or when someone wants to emphasize that they genuinely mean what they're saying. It appears in conversations about promises, gratitude, and condolences.
Beckoning with the hand turned down. Calling someone over in Maharashtra typically involves holding the hand out with the palm facing down and moving the fingers downward. The Western hand-raised, palm-up beckoning reads as a rude or imperious gesture in this context. This matters practically: if you're trying to signal a waiter or a colleague, palm down is the appropriate direction.
The chin flick. A quick upward flick of the chin, with or without accompanying sound, signals refusal or dismissal. It's the nonverbal equivalent of "no" or "I don't want to." Combined with a word like नको (nako, I don't want it), it reinforces the message. On its own, in casual fast speech, it stands alone.
These gestures are part of the communication system the words fit into. Vocabulary without the gestural context is functional but incomplete.
Getting the Most Out of These Words
Fifty words is a starting point, not a finish line. The most effective way to anchor body-part vocabulary is through physical association: when you learn डोळा (ḍoḷā, eye), touch your eye. When you say पाठ (pāṭh, back), gesture toward your back. This is not an abstract pedagogical suggestion. Embodied encoding is measurably faster for vocabulary that maps directly to the body.
The second layer is sentences. Learning डोळा in isolation is weaker than learning it in डोळे दुखतात (ḍoḷe dukhtāt, my eyes hurt) or डोळे मिटणे (ḍoḷe miṭaṇe, to close the eyes). The word becomes more retrievable when it arrives with a context it belongs in. Pay attention to how the gender of the noun changes the surrounding words: डोळा is masculine singular, डोळे follows the neuter plural agreement pattern for adjectives, and any adjective modifying डोळे will take the neuter plural form. The Marathi three-gender system explains exactly why this shift happens.
The third layer is idioms. Once हात (hāt, hand) is solid, हात जोडणे and हात लावणे extend it into real communicative territory. Body-part idioms are high-frequency, emotionally resonant, and they tend to appear in situations where you most want to understand what's being said.
Marathi is spoken by 83 million people, from Mumbai's dense neighborhoods to the hill towns of the Western Ghats. The body you carry into every situation is the same one these words describe. Start with the ten highest-frequency entries in this list, डोके, डोळा, कान, नाक, तोंड, हात, पाय, पोट, पाठ, छाती, use them in sentences the same day, and the rest will follow. The Brightwood Apps Learn Marathi app covers this vocabulary with native-speaker audio in the body and health units, so you can hear how each word actually sounds in natural Marathi speech before you try it yourself.
Start learning Marathi today
Practice these words and more with interactive exercises, native audio, and spaced repetition.
Download on the App Store