What it means
کبودی (kabudi) is a bruise, the bluish, purple, or yellow mark that shows up on the skin after a bump, a fall, or pressure. The word is built from the native Persian کبود (kabud), meaning dark blue or livid, plus the suffix ـی, so it literally points to the “blueness” the skin takes on. People also describe the same thing with the verb phrase کبود شدن (kabud shodan), “to turn black and blue.” A close neighbor is کوفتگی (kuftegi), which leans more toward a sore, battered ache than a visible mark.
How to use it
- روی پام یه کبودی بزرگ افتاده. (ru-ye pâm ye kabudi-ye bozorg oftâde.) “A big bruise has come up on my leg.”
- این کبودی از کجا اومده؟ (in kabudi az kojâ umade?) “Where did this bruise come from?”
- دستم خورد به میز و کبود شد. (dastam khord be miz-o kabud shod.) “My hand hit the table and bruised.”
- کبودیش هنوز خوب نشده. (kabudi-sh hanuz khub nashode.) “His bruise still hasn’t healed.”
Cultural note
کبود is part of an old color family in Persian: the same root colors کبوتر (kabutar), the pigeon, named for its blue-grey feathers. In everyday speech کبودی covers everything from a small knock to a darker mark, and a doctor or nurse will use the same word, since it sits comfortably in both casual and clinical Persian. When the mark is fresh and angry looking, people often pair it with verbs like افتادن (oftâdan), “to appear,” or زدن in the sense of coming out on the skin.