What it means
چهارشنبه (chahâr-shanbeh) is Wednesday. The name means “the fourth day after Saturday”: چهار (chahâr) is the Persian word for four, and شنبه comes from the Aramaic word for the Sabbath. It is the last fully standard workday of the Iranian week before Thursday begins to wind down. The word is best known internationally through the compound چهارشنبهسوری (Chahârshanbe Suri), the fire-jumping festival, which takes place on the last Wednesday eve of the Persian year.
How to use it
- چهارشنبه باید گزارش بدم. (Chahâr-shanbeh bâyad gozâresh bedam.) “I have to submit a report on Wednesday.”
- چهارشنبهها زودتر از کار میام. (Chahâr-shanbehâ zudtar az kâr miyâm.) “On Wednesdays I leave work earlier.”
- این چهارشنبه چه خبره؟ (In chahâr-shanbeh che khabare?) “What’s happening this Wednesday?”
- چهارشنبه سوری امسال خیلی شلوغ بود. (Chahârshanbe-suri emsal kheyli sholugh bud.) “This year’s Chaharshanbe Suri was very crowded.”
Cultural note
چهارشنبهسوری (Chahârshanbe Suri) takes place on the Tuesday night before the last Wednesday of the Persian year, making it technically the eve of the last چهارشنبه before Nowruz. Iranians jump over fires in the street, light fireworks, and visit neighbors in a practice that traces to pre-Islamic Zoroastrian purification rituals. The fire is believed to absorb the bad fortune of the outgoing year and return warmth and health to the jumper. Despite periodic government restrictions in Iran, چهارشنبهسوری remains one of the most widely observed popular traditions in the country.