چهار

چهار is woven into Iranian daily vocabulary in surprising places. چهارشنبه (chahârshanbe) is Wednesday, literally "the fourth day" counted from Saturday. چهارشنبه‌سوری (chahârshanbe-suri) is the fire-jumping festival on the last Wednesday before Nowruz, an ancient Zoroastrian rite where people leap over small bonfires chanting سرخی تو از من، زردی من از تو (sorkhi-ye to az man, zardi-ye man az to), "your redness for me, my paleness for you," trading sickness to the fire for health. چهارراه (chahâr-râh) is any urban intersection, used so often that taxi drivers shout it as a navigation marker. چهار فصل (chahâr fasl) means "four seasons" and shows up in restaurant names, pizza menus, and classical poetry. The number 4 also has folk weight: چهار قل (chahâr qol) refers to the four short Quranic chapters that begin with the word qol ("say"), recited as protection. The expression چهار چشمی مراقب باش (chahâr-cheshmi morâqeb bâsh), "watch with four eyes," tells someone to be doubly vigilant. And in family gatherings, چهار نفری نشستیم (chahâr nafari neshastim), "the four of us sat down," describes the close-circle conversation reserved for parents and grown children at the end of an evening.