Body and Health in Hindi

In Brief

Hindi often describes a symptom with मुझे … है (“I have …”) or names the affected body part with … में दर्द है (“there is pain in …”). Possessive words agree with the body-part noun: मेरा सिर (my head), but मेरी आँख (my eye). For immediate needs, learn whole phrases such as मुझे बुखार है (I have a fever) and डॉक्टर को दिखाइए (see a doctor).

Overview

Body and health language is useful from the first days of learning Hindi. It lets you identify basic body parts, explain where something hurts, say that you are ill, and understand simple advice about medicine or a doctor. At A1, the goal is not to give a detailed medical history. It is to communicate a few essential facts clearly.

Hindi does not always package these facts in the same way as English. English makes the person the subject in “I have a fever,” but Hindi normally marks the person with मुझे, literally “to me”: मुझे बुखार है. Similarly, “My leg hurts” can be expressed as मेरे पैर में दर्द है, literally “There is pain in my leg.” Learning these as patterns is more reliable than translating one English word at a time.

The everyday vocabulary is small but flexible. पैर can mean either “foot” or “leg,” with context supplying the distinction. दर्द means pain or ache, बीमार means ill or sick, दवाई means medicine, and डॉक्टर means doctor. In real medical situations, simple language, pointing, and polite requests are often more useful than a complicated sentence.

How It Works

Core body-part words

A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea. Hindi nouns have grammatical gender, which affects nearby possessive words even when natural sex is irrelevant.

Hindi	Meaning	Gender and useful plural
शरीर	body	masculine
सिर	head	masculine
आँख	eye	feminine; आँखें = eyes
कान	ear	masculine; कान can also mean ears
हाथ	hand/arm	masculine; हाथ can also mean hands
पैर	foot/leg	masculine; पैर can also mean feet/legs
पेट	stomach/belly	masculine
गला	throat	masculine
पीठ	back	feminine
दाँत	tooth/teeth	masculine; context often shows the number

Several common masculine body-part words keep the same visible form in the direct plural: एक हाथ (one hand), दो हाथ (two hands). Do not assume that an unchanged spelling always means singular.

Saying “my” with body parts

Hindi मेरा / मेरी / मेरे means “my,” but its form agrees with the thing possessed, not with the speaker. This is agreement: one word changes form to match another word’s gender or number.

Pattern	Use	Example
मेरा + masculine singular	one masculine noun	मेरा सिर — my head
मेरी + feminine singular or plural	feminine noun	मेरी आँख, मेरी आँखें — my eye, my eyes
मेरे + masculine plural	plural masculine noun	मेरे हाथ — my hands

The same principle applies to आपका / आपकी / आपके (“your,” polite or plural): आपका सिर, आपकी आँख, आपके हाथ. English “my” and “your” never change, so this agreement needs deliberate practice.

Locating pain with में

The easiest general pattern is:

[possessor + body part] + में + दर्द + है

• मेरे सिर में दर्द है। — I have a headache / There is pain in my head.
• मेरी पीठ में दर्द है। — My back hurts.
• उसके पेट में दर्द है। — His or her stomach hurts.

में means “in.” Before a postposition such as में, some words take an oblique form (a form used before words like “in,” “to,” or “from”). That is why मेरा सिर becomes मेरे सिर में. A feminine singular form usually remains unchanged: मेरी आँख में.

For plural eyes, Hindi uses आँखों में, not आँखें में:

• मेरी आँखों में दर्द है। — My eyes hurt.

At beginner level, memorize common chunks such as सिर में, पेट में, and आँखों में. The broader oblique system can be studied separately later.

Another pain pattern: दर्द करना

A body part may also be the subject (the person or thing the sentence is about) of दर्द करना, “to hurt”:

• मेरा सिर दर्द कर रहा है। — My head is hurting.
• मेरे पैर दर्द कर रहे हैं। — My legs are hurting.

Here कर रहा है agrees with masculine singular सिर, while कर रहे हैं agrees with plural पैर. With a feminine singular noun, use कर रही है: मेरी आँख दर्द कर रही है. In everyday speech, the में दर्द है pattern is often simpler for learners because it avoids this changing verb phrase.

Fever, illness, and general condition

Use मुझे + symptom + है for several common conditions:

• मुझे बुखार है। — I have a fever.
• मुझे खाँसी है। — I have a cough.
• मुझे सर्दी है। — I have a cold.

मुझे is the first-person form meaning “to me.” It cannot normally be replaced by मैं in this pattern. For another person, use उसे (“to him/her”) or a name followed by को: रीना को बुखार है (Reena has a fever).

To say that someone is ill, use बीमार with “to be”:

• मैं बीमार हूँ। — I am ill.
• वह बीमार है। — He/She is ill.
• हम बीमार हैं। — We are ill.

बीमार does not visibly change for gender here. Another very common expression is मेरी तबीयत खराब है, literally “my condition is bad,” meaning “I feel unwell.”

Medicine and seeing a doctor

The noun दवाई means medicine or medication. Hindi often uses it with लेना, literally “to take”:

• दवाई लो। — Take the medicine. (informal)
• दवाई लीजिए। — Please take the medicine. (polite)
• मैं दवाई ले रहा हूँ। — I am taking medicine. (male speaker)
• मैं दवाई ले रही हूँ। — I am taking medicine. (female speaker)

A common Hindi expression for consulting a doctor is डॉक्टर को दिखाना, literally “to show [oneself/the problem] to a doctor.” The person or affected part can remain unstated when it is obvious:

• डॉक्टर को दिखाओ। — See a doctor. (informal)
• डॉक्टर को दिखाइए। — Please see a doctor. (polite)
• अपना हाथ डॉक्टर को दिखाइए। — Show your hand to the doctor.

Do not read को as English “to” in every situation. It is a postposition that marks various roles; in this expression it marks the doctor as the person being consulted or shown the problem.

Examples in Context

Hindi	English	Note
मेरा सिर दर्द कर रहा है।	My head is hurting.	सिर controls masculine singular रहा है.
मेरे सिर में दर्द है।	I have a headache.	Literally, “There is pain in my head.”
मुझे बुखार है।	I have a fever.	Use मुझे, not मैं, with this pattern.
मेरी आँख में दर्द है।	My eye hurts.	आँख is feminine, so use मेरी.
मेरी आँखों में दर्द है।	My eyes hurt.	Plural आँखें becomes आँखों before में.
उसके कान में दर्द है।	His/Her ear hurts.	उसके means “his/her” before masculine कान here.
मेरे पैर में चोट लगी है।	I have injured my leg/foot.	चोट लगना is a common pattern for sustaining an injury.
मेरी तबीयत खराब है।	I feel unwell.	A natural general statement when symptoms are not specified.
वह आज बीमार है।	He/She is ill today.	वह can mean “he,” “she,” or “that.”
मुझे खाँसी और सर्दी है।	I have a cough and a cold.	Two common symptoms with मुझे … है.
यह दवाई कब लेनी है?	When should this medicine be taken?	A useful question about timing.
दवाई पानी के साथ लीजिए।	Please take the medicine with water.	Polite लीजिए.
डॉक्टर को दिखाओ।	See a doctor.	Informal command, suitable for someone close.
कृपया डॉक्टर को दिखाइए।	Please see a doctor.	Polite request or advice.
अपना हाथ डॉक्टर को दिखाइए।	Please show your hand to the doctor.	अपना refers back to the person being addressed.

Common Mistakes

Using मैं instead of मुझे for a symptom

• Wrong: मैं बुखार है।
• Right: मुझे बुखार है।
• Why: Hindi presents fever as a condition experienced “to me.” मैं is the subject form “I”; मुझे is required in this symptom pattern.

Keeping “my” unchanged

• Wrong: मेरा आँख में दर्द है।
• Right: मेरी आँख में दर्द है।
• Why: आँख is feminine, so “my” must be मेरी. Match the possessive to the body part, not to the speaker.

Using the direct plural before में

• Wrong: मेरी आँखें में दर्द है।
• Right: मेरी आँखों में दर्द है।
• Why: Before में, plural आँखें takes the oblique form आँखों.

Translating “My head hurts” word for word

• Wrong: मेरा सिर दुखता है as the only pattern you rely on.
• Right: मेरे सिर में दर्द है or मेरा सिर दर्द कर रहा है।
• Why: Forms built with दर्द are clear, widely useful ways to report current pain. दुखना also occurs, but a literal one-to-one translation strategy will not reliably produce the most natural phrase in every context.

Mixing number in the verb phrase

• Wrong: मेरे पैर दर्द कर रहा है। (intended: both legs hurt)
• Right: मेरे पैर दर्द कर रहे हैं।
• Why: When पैर means plural “legs,” the progressive phrase is plural too: रहे हैं.

Using an overly direct command with a stranger

• Wrong: दवाई लो। (to a patient you do not know)
• Right: दवाई लीजिए।
• Why: लो is informal. लीजिए is the safer polite form for strangers, older people, and professional settings.

Usage Notes

आप is the normal respectful “you” in a clinic, pharmacy, or conversation with a stranger. Advice addressed with आप commonly uses polite forms such as लीजिए (please take) and दिखाइए (please show/consult). Informal तुम forms such as लो and दिखाओ fit friends, relatives, and many familiar relationships. The exact social choice varies, but polite forms are a safe default for a learner.

पैर is broader than either English “foot” or “leg.” If the exact location matters, point to it or add more specific vocabulary. Likewise, दवाई is a general everyday word; it does not say whether something is a tablet, syrup, or another form.

Hindi often omits information that is already clear. डॉक्टर को दिखाइए does not explicitly say “yourself,” but is naturally understood as advice to consult a doctor. In a real appointment, a brief sentence such as यहाँ दर्द है (“It hurts here”) while indicating the location can be perfectly effective.

These phrases help communication but are not medical guidance. For severe, sudden, or persistent symptoms, use qualified medical help rather than depending on memorized language alone.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following details at A1, but you will encounter them later.

Hindi has several ways to frame bodily sensations. मुझे दर्द हो रहा है focuses on pain being experienced, while मेरे सिर में दर्द है identifies its location. चोट लगना describes sustaining an injury: उसे चोट लगी है means “He/She has been injured.” These patterns use an experiencer marked by को or one of its pronoun forms, rather than treating that person as an English-style subject.

Possessives before postpositions reveal more of the oblique system. Compare मेरा पैर (“my leg/foot”) with मेरे पैर में (“in my leg/foot”). In अपने डॉक्टर से बात कीजिए (“Speak with your doctor”), से means “with,” and अपने is a reflexive possessive: it points back to the understood subject. This is why अपना हाथ दिखाइए means “show your own hand,” not somebody else’s.

You may also hear different spellings or closely related everyday forms, including दवा alongside दवाई for “medicine.” Both are common. More advanced health communication adds duration, intensity, and onset—for example, दो दिन से (“for/since two days”), बहुत तेज़ दर्द (“very severe pain”), and अचानक (“suddenly”). Those details combine the basic body-and-symptom vocabulary with later work on time expressions and modifiers.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-word sets. For each body part, learn the noun, its possessive phrase, and a pain sentence: सिर → मेरा सिर → मेरे सिर में दर्द है; आँख → मेरी आँख → मेरी आँख में दर्द है.
2. Rehearse a ten-second clinic message. Say your general condition, then the symptom and location: मेरी तबीयत खराब है। मुझे बुखार है। मेरे सिर में दर्द है। Change one detail each time.
3. Practice both levels of politeness. Pair दवाई लो / दवाई लीजिए and डॉक्टर को दिखाओ / डॉक्टर को दिखाइए. Say who you would use each form with, rather than memorizing them as interchangeable commands.

Related Concepts

• Foundation status: This concept has no prerequisite concept in the current Hindi grammar path; its core phrases can be learned independently.
• Useful next study: Possessive agreement, postpositions such as में and को, and polite imperative forms all deepen patterns introduced here, although no related concepts are currently linked in the source curriculum.