When I first arrived here in Abu Dhabi, the first difficulty that I’ve encountered is language barrier. I was assigned in E.R. and part of it is to become a triage nurse. Although there’s a lot of patient who knows how to speak English, there are still some minorities who only speak Arabic language.
There is a lot of book that teaches how to speak Arabic but they didn’t focus on medical terms. Fortunately, one friend of mine gave me copy of Arabic translation of the commonly used words in the hospital setting and I want to share it to you.
Each Arab country has a different Arabic version and pronunciation. For this reason, some words might vary. I hope that the following list will guide you in the assessment process and in building rapport with the patients.
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Diarrhea—is-hal |
Constipation—emsak |
Fever—harara/homma |
Cold—bared |
|
Swelling—waram/intifakh |
Allergy—hasasiya |
X-ray—asha’a |
Infection—iltihab |
|
Antibiotics—modad hayawe |
Injection—ebra |
Medicine—dawa |
Tablets—habub/habab
|
|
Prescription—rusheeta/wasfa |
Pain—waja/alam |
Ointment—marham |
Suppository—tahamila |
|
Emergency unit-tawari |
Pharmacy—saydaliya |
Reception—istiqbal |
Check-up—kashif/fahas |
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Relax—irtah |
Sleep—nom |
Now—alhin |
Dress—malabis |
|
Remove clothes—shill malabis |
Laboratory—mukhtabar |
Technician—fanny |
Radiologist—tabib ashaa |
|
Cardiologist—akhisaee galib |
Neurologist—tabib asab |
Gynecologist—tabib nesa’a |
Orthopedic doctor—tabib aduam |
|
Urologist—musalik boliya |
Ophthalmologist—-tabib ayun |
Dermatologist—doctor jeldia |
ENT doctor—hanjara |
|
Internal medicine doctor—bateniya |
Pediatrician— tabib atfal |
General practitioner— tabib-am |
Surgeon—jarrah |
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Surgery—jeraha |
Operation—amaliya |
Ulcer—gurha |
Injury—esaba |
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Fracture—kasir |
Vomit—raja |
Dizzy—dokha |
Nausea—loa |
|
Gauze—shash |
Plaster/bandage—lasga |
Water—mai |
Clinic—eyada |
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Hospital—mushtashfa |
Nurse—momarida |
Patient—marid |
Doctor—tabib |
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BP—dhaghitt dam |
Hemoglobin—hadid dam |
Inside—dakhel |
Outside—barra
|
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Ambulance—isaaf |
Big—kabeer |
Small—sageer |
Write—uktoob |
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Report—taqrir |
Paper—warga |
File—malaf |
Receipt—fatura |
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Age—umar |
Nationality—jinsiya |
Number—rakam |
Yes—aywa/naam |
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No—la |
Thank you—shukran |
Welcome—afwan |
Later on-–baden |
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Follow-up—muraja’a |
Available—mowjood |
Not allowed—mamno’o |
Front—jiddam |
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Back—wara |
Tests—tahleel |
Blood—dam |
Urine—bol |
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Stool—boraz |
Blood test—fahas dam |
Prolactin—halib |
Period—dawrah |
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Bleeding—nazeef |
L.M.P.—akhir dawrah |
D.O.B.—tarikh milad |
IV fluids—Moghathi |
To be perfectly honest, I made this post as a series because I am from 3rd night duty and this night is my fourth duty. I have no enough time to encode all the words but I promise to post the next batch soon…
P.S.
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