How do you say "sink" in Bohairic, as in the sink you wash your hands in?
By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-09
To describe a "sink" in Bohairic Coptic, we focus on the action of washing or the vessel used for water. Because a modern plumbed sink is a specific fixture, we use a descriptive term rooted in our liturgical and domestic history.
1. ⲡⲓⲙⲁⲛⲓⲁⲓ (pi-ma-n-iai)
This is the most common and accurate way to coin "sink."
- ⲙⲁ (ma): Place / object.
- ⲛ (n): Of.
- ⲓⲁⲓ (iai): To wash (specifically used for washing body parts like hands or feet).
- Literal meaning: "The place of washing."
- Usage: In the Liturgy, the basin used by the priest to wash his hands is often referred to in this context. It is a native Coptic construction.
2. ⲡⲓⲗⲉⲕⲁⲛⲏ (pi-lekani)
If you are referring to the physical basin or the bowl of the sink:
- ⲗⲉⲕⲁⲛⲏ (lekani): This is a Greek loanword (λεκάνη) that has been used in Coptic for centuries to mean a basin, bowl, or pan.
- Context: In the Coptic Church, the basin used during the Liturgy of the Lakane (the foot-washing service on Covenant Thursday) is called the ⲗⲉⲕⲁⲛⲏ.
- To specify a hand sink, you could say: ϯⲗⲉⲕⲁⲛⲏ ⲛ̀ⲓⲁⲓϫⲓϫ (the basin of washing hands).
3. ⲡⲓⲙⲁⲛⲣⲉϧϯ (pi-ma-n-rekhti)
If you are referring specifically to a kitchen sink where dishes are washed:
- ⲣⲉϧϯ (rekhti): To wash clothes or dishes (distinct from washing the body).
- Literal meaning: "The place of scrubbing/washing items."
Recommendation:
For a sink in the bathroom or for general hand-washing, use ⲡⲓⲙⲁⲛⲓⲁⲓ. It is concise and purely Coptic.
Example:
ⲓⲁⲓ ⲛⲉⲕϫⲓϫ ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲓⲙⲁⲛⲓⲁⲓ.
(Iai nek-jij khen pi-ma-n-iai.)
"Wash your hands in the sink."