What it means
گرفتگی بینی (gereftegi-ye bini) is the everyday Persian term for a stuffy or blocked nose, the kind you get with a cold, the flu, or allergies. It is built from two native Persian words: گرفتگی (gereftegi), a noun from the verb گرفتن (gereftan, “to take” or “to block up”), and بینی (bini, “nose”). A close relative is آبریزش بینی (abrizesh-e bini), which is the opposite problem, a runny nose, while گرفتگی بینی is when air cannot pass through.
How to use it
- بینیم گرفته، نمیتونم نفس بکشم. (bini-am gerefte, nemitunam nafas bekesham.) “My nose is blocked, I can’t breathe.”
- به خاطر سرماخوردگی گرفتگی بینی دارم. (be khater-e sarmakhordegi gereftegi-ye bini daram.) “I have a stuffy nose because of a cold.”
- این اسپری برای گرفتگی بینی خوبه؟ (in espray baraye gereftegi-ye bini khube?) “Is this spray good for a stuffy nose?”
- شبها گرفتگی بینیم بدتر میشه. (shabha gereftegi-ye bini-am badtar mishe.) “At night my stuffy nose gets worse.”
Cultural note
In Iranian homes, the first response to a blocked nose is often a glass of hot tea or بخور (bokhor), steam inhalation over a bowl of hot water, sometimes with herbs. Pharmacies (داروخانه, darukhane) are easy to find in Iranian cities and a pharmacist will usually recommend a nasal spray or drops without needing a prescription. People also commonly link گرفتگی بینی to seasonal allergies in spring, when pollen is heavy.