Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| دماغ | ary | /di.maːɣ/ | Moroccan Arabic, masculine |
| دِمَاغ | dimāḡ | masculine | |
| مخ | muḵḵ | /muxx/ | masculine |
| نفوخ | arz | Egyptian Arabic, masculine | |
| دِماغ | acw | Hijazi Arabic, masculine | |
| مُخ | acw | Hijazi Arabic, masculine |
In many Arabic dialects, دماغ is used metaphorically to refer to a person's intellect, mood or mental state (e.g., 'his brain is not in the right place'). الدِمَاغ is the most common and standard word for brain in Arabic used in medical or scientific contexts. العقل primarily translates to mind but is also widely used to refer to the brain in a formal manner.
Which one should you use?
دماغ is the default form. مخ is also used to refer to the organ. In Hijazi-Arabic, both دِماغ and مُخ are used.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian-Arabic, the word نفوخ is used to refer to the brain or the head, often in a more colloquial or sometimes slightly derogatory way. In Moroccan-Arabic, دماغ is used. In Hijazi-Arabic, you may hear both دِماغ and مُخ.
How does it change in a sentence?
All provided forms are masculine.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of دماغ is /di.maːɣ/ (ary). It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- In Arabic, the concept of 'intellect' is often denoted by العقل, which shares a root with the verb 'to tie' or 'to bind'.
- The word مخ is used in Arabic to refer to both the 'brain' and 'bone marrow'.
- In Egyptian Arabic, the word نفوخ can refer to the 'brain' but is specifically associated with the top of the skull or the fontanelle.
Examples in context
- لست بحاجة كي تكون مختصّا في جراحة القلب كي تضع ضمّادة على جرح.You don't need to be a brain surgeon to apply a band-aid on a cut.This sentence uses مخ.Tatoeba #10878559 by Amastan, translation #8576383 by Amastan
Sources
- Wiktionary, “brain” translations and entries دماغ, مخ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries مخ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
