Iran - Andrew Burke [356]
LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES
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NUMBERS
Unlike Arabic written text, numbers are written from left to right (as in English). The numbers four and six can be written two different ways depending on the calligraphic style
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QUESTION WORDS
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SHOPPING & SERVICES
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TIME & DATES
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TRANSPORT
Public Transport
Private Transport
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TRAVEL WITH CHILDREN
Also available from Lonely Planet: Farsi Phrasebook
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Glossary
Here, with definitions, are some unfamiliar words and abbreviations. Generally the Farsi words in this book are transliterations of colloquial usage. See Language Click here for other useful words and phrases. See also the food glossary Click here for culinary terms.
agha – sir; gentleman
Allah – Muslim name for God
aramgah – resting place; burial place; tomb
arg, ark – citadel
astan-e – sanctuary; threshold
ateshkadeh – a Zoroastrian fire temple where a flame was always kept burning
ayatollah – Shiite cleric of the highest rank, used as a title before the name; literally means a ‘sign or miracle of God’
azad – free; liberated
azadi – freedom
badgir – windtower or ventilation shaft used to catch breezes and funnel them down into a building to cool it
bagh – garden
bandar – port; harbour
Bandari – indigenous inhabitant of the Persian Gulf coast and islands
bastan – ancient; ancient history; antiquity
bazar – bazaar; market place
bazari – shopkeeper in the bazaar
behesht – paradise
boq’eh – mausoleum
borj – tower
bozorg – big, large, great
burqa – a mask with tiny slits for the eyes worn by some Bandari women
caliphate – the dynasty of the successors of the Prophet Mohammed as rulers of the Islamic world
caravanserai – an inn or way-station for camel trains; usually consisting of rooms arranged around a courtyard
chador – literally ‘tent’; a cloak, usually black, covering all parts of a woman’s body except the hands, feet and face
coffeenet – internet café
cuneiform – ancient wedge-shaped script used in Persia
dar baste – literally closed door, used in taxis to indicate you want a private hire
darvazeh – gate or gateway, especially a city gate
darya – sea
dasht – plain; plateau; desert, specifically one of sand or gravel
enqelab – revolution
Farsi – Persian language or people
Ferdosi – one of the great Persian poets, born about AD 940 in Tus, near Mashhad; wrote the first epic poem, the Shahnamah (Click here)
fire temple – see ateshkadeh
gabbeh – traditional rug
golestan – rose garden; name of poem by Sa’di
gonbad – dome, domed monument or tower tomb; also written ‘gombad’
Hafez – one of the great Persian poets, born in Shiraz in about AD 1324; see the boxed text
haj – pilgrimage to Mecca
halal – permitted by Islamic law; lawful to eat or drink
hammam – bath, public bathhouse; bathroom
Hazrat-e – title used before the name of Mohammed, any other apostle of Islam or a Christian saint
hejab – veil; the ‘modest dress’ required of Muslim women and girls
Hossein – the third of the 12 imams recognised by Shiites as successors of the Prophet Mohammed (see the boxed text)
Hosseinieh – see takieh
imam – ‘emam’ in Farsi; religious leader, also title of one of the 12 descendants of Mohammed who, according to Shiite belief, succeeded him as religious and temporal leader of the Muslims; see the boxed text
Imam Reza – the eighth Shiite imam (see the boxed text)
imamzadeh – descendant of an imam; shrine or mausoleum of an imamzadeh
insh’Allah – if God wills it
istgah – station (especially train station)
iwan – ‘eivan’ in Farsi; barrel-vaulted hall opening onto a courtyard
Jameh Mosque – Masjed-e Jameh in Farsi; meaning Congregational Mosque, sometimes mis-translated as Friday Mosque
kabir – great
kalisa – church (sometimes cathedral)
kavir – salt desert
khalij – gulf; bay
khan – feudal lord, title of respect