بینی

What it means

بینی (bini) means “nose.” Native Persian body-part word, derived from the verb root meaning “to see”, the nose was understood as the sensory organ for smell.

How to use it

• بینی‌ام درد می‌کند (bini-am dard mikonad) “My nose hurts”
• بینی بزرگی دارد (bini-ye bozorgi dârad) “He has a big nose”
• عمل بینی (amal-e bini) “nose surgery, rhinoplasty”

Common pairings

• پیش‌بینی (pish-bini) “prediction” (literally “fore-seeing”)
• بینی‌گرفته (bini-gerefte) “stuffy nose”
• عمل بینی (amal-e bini) “rhinoplasty”

Cultural note

Iran has one of the world’s highest rates of cosmetic rhinoplasty. The phrase عمل بینی (amal-e bini, “nose surgery”) is part of everyday vocabulary in urban Iran.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab