What it means
استخوان (ostokhân) is the everyday Persian word for “bone,” the hard tissue that forms the skeleton. It is a native Iranian word, inherited from Middle Persian astuxwân and going back to old Indo-European roots for bone (compare Latin “os” and Sanskrit “asthi”). You hear it both literally, as in a broken bone, and figuratively, as when someone is described as nothing but skin and bone. A related word is جمجمه (jomjome), “skull,” for the specific bone of the head.
How to use it
- استخوانم شکست. (ostokhânam shekast.) “My bone broke.”
- این ماهی استخوان زیاد داره. (in mâhi ostokhân ziâd dâre.) “This fish has a lot of bones.”
- پوست و استخوان شده. (pust o ostokhân shode.) “He has become skin and bone.”
- سگ داره استخوان میجوه. (sag dâre ostokhân mijue.) “The dog is chewing a bone.”
Cultural note
The phrase پوست و استخوان (pust o ostokhân), literally “skin and bone,” is the common Persian way to say someone looks gaunt or has lost a lot of weight, much like the English expression. In cooking, آبگوشت (âbgusht), a traditional lamb and bean stew, is built on bones simmered for flavor, and diners often talk about sucking the marrow, مغز استخوان (maghze ostokhân). The word also appears in everyday talk about fish, where warning a child about استخوان ماهی (ostokhâne mâhi) is a familiar part of family meals.