What it means
دایره (dâyereh) means “circle,” the perfectly round closed shape where every point on the edge is equally distant from the center. The word comes from Arabic دائرة (dâ’irah), built on the root د-و-ر meaning “to turn” or “to go around,” which captures the idea of a curve that returns to where it started. In Persian, دایره is used both in formal geometry and in casual conversation to describe anything round or circular. A related everyday phrase is دایرهوار (dâyereh-vâr), meaning “in a circular manner.”
How to use it
- بچهها دور هم نشستن و یه دایره درست کردن. (bachche-hâ dor-e ham nashestan va ye dâyereh dorost kardan.) “The kids sat around each other and formed a circle.”
- مرکز دایره کجاست؟ (markaz-e dâyereh kojâst?) “Where is the center of the circle?”
- خط دایره رو با پرگار رسم کردم. (khatt-e dâyereh ro bâ pargâr rasm kardam.) “I drew the circle with a compass.”
- میز گرده، شکلش دایرهست. (miz gerd-e, shaklash dâyere-ast.) “The table is round, its shape is a circle.”
Cultural note
The circle holds deep symbolic weight in Persian and Islamic thought, representing eternity, unity, and the divine, because it has no beginning and no end. The دایره is also the name of a traditional frame drum played in Iranian folk and classical music, shaped as a circular frame with a skin stretched across it. This dual meaning, geometric shape and musical instrument, shows how the same Arabic root found its way into very different areas of Persian cultural life.