What it means
ماهیچه (mâhiche) is the common, everyday Persian word for a muscle in the body. It is a native Persian word built from ماهی (mâhi), meaning fish, plus the diminutive ـچه (-che), so it literally means little fish, much the way the Latin musculus means little mouse. In casual talk people say ماهیچه, while the formal or medical term is عضله (azole), which doctors and textbooks prefer. The same word ماهیچه is also the name of a popular cut of meat, the shank.
How to use it
- ماهیچهی پام گرفته (mâhiche-ye pâm gerefte) “I have a cramp in my leg muscle.”
- ماهیچه هاش خیلی قویه (mâhiche-hâsh xeyli qaviye) “His muscles are really strong.”
- تو باشگاه بدنسازی میکنم (tu bâshgâh badansâzi mikonam) “I build muscle at the gym.”
- برای آبگوشت ماهیچه بخر (barâye âbgusht mâhiche bexar) “Buy some shank meat for the stew.”
Cultural note
In everyday conversation Iranians reach for ماهیچه far more than the bookish عضله, especially when talking about aches, sports, or working out. The word doubles as a butcher’s term: ماهیچه is the lamb or veal shank, the muscle around the lower leg, prized for slow-cooked dishes because it turns tender. So in a kitchen or at a butcher shop, ماهیچه points to dinner, not anatomy, and the meaning is clear from context.