Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| مَرِيض | marīḍ | masculine |
| مَرِيضَة | marīḍa | feminine |
The term مَرِيض is used to describe a person who is receiving treatment from a doctor. In formal contexts, such as medical settings or official documents, this is the standard word used to denote a patient.
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between the noun for a medical patient and the adjective meaning 'having patience'. While مَرِيض refers to someone who is ill, the related form صَبُور is used to describe someone who is patient in the sense of not losing their temper while waiting.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun changes based on gender and number. The masculine singular is مَرِيض and the feminine singular is مَرِيضَة. To refer to multiple people, the masculine plural is مَرِيضُونَ and the feminine plural is مَرِيضَات.
How do you pronounce it?
marīḍ
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not confuse the medical noun مَرِيض with the adjective صَبُور, which describes a person's temperament rather than their health status.
Did you know?
- In many Arabic dialects, people avoid saying مَرِيض when speaking about someone's health to avoid 'inviting' the illness. They may instead use euphemisms like تَعْبَان, which literally means 'tired'.
- When wishing a مَرِيض a recovery, it is common to say شَفَاكَ الله, which translates to 'May God heal you', shifting the focus from the doctor to divine intervention.
- In many Arabic dialects, if you call someone مَرِيض, you might not be describing their health, but rather calling them 'sick' in a metaphorical sense to mean they are behaving foolishly or 'crazy'.
Examples in context
- الطبيب يزور المريض في المستشفى.The doctor visits the patient in the hospital.
- الصابر يعالج جروحه بالصبر.The patient treats his wounds with patience.
- حاول أن تكون صبورًا وستحقق أهدافك.Try to be patient, and you will achieve your goals.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “patient” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
