What it means
کمر (kamar) is the Persian word for the lower back and the waist, the part of the body between the ribs and the hips. It is a native Persian word, going back to Middle Persian kamar, which meant both “waist” and “belt.” In daily life you hear it most in talk about pain: کمر درد (kamar dard) is the everyday phrase for “back pain.” A close relative is پشت (posht), “the back” in general, but کمر points specifically at the lower back and the waistline.
How to use it
- کمرم درد میکنه (kamaram dard mikone) “My lower back hurts.”
- از صبح کمرم گرفته (az sobh kamaram gerefte) “My back has been stiff since morning.”
- دکتر گفت کمرت رو زیاد خم نکن (doktor goft kamaret ro ziyad kham nakon) “The doctor said don’t bend your back too much.”
- این صندلی برای کمر خیلی بده (in sandali baraye kamar kheyli bade) “This chair is really bad for the back.”
Cultural note
کمردرد (kamardard) is one of the most common complaints Iranians bring up, from manual workers to people who sit all day. The word also lives in vivid expressions. کمر بستن (kamar bastan), literally “to tie one’s waist,” means to gird yourself and get ready to do something with full resolve. And کمر کسی را شکستن (kamar-e kasi ra shekastan), “to break someone’s back,” describes a blow or a loss heavy enough to crush a person.