What it means
کلید (kelid) means “key,” the metal object you use to lock or unlock a door, and it is one of the first household words a learner picks up. In daily speech it also carries a second very common meaning: the “switch” on the wall, especially the light switch (کلید برق). So depending on context, کلید is either the thing in your pocket that opens the front door or the button you flick to turn on a lamp. Figuratively it also means a “clue” or “solution,” as in کلید معما, the key to a riddle.
How to use it
- کلید رو گم کردم (kelid ro gom kardam) “I lost the key”
- کلید رو بذار رو میز (kelid ro bezâr ru miz) “put the key on the table”
- کلید برق کجاست؟ (kelid-e barq kojâst?) “where is the light switch?”
- کلید رو بزن، اتاق تاریکه (kelid ro bezan, otâq târike) “flick the switch, the room is dark”
Cultural note
In many Iranian homes a single key ring holds several کلید at once: one for the apartment door, one for the building’s main entrance, and often one for a storage room (انباری) in the basement. Because most apartment buildings have a shared entrance, neighbors usually keep a copy of the building key, and getting a spare cut at a کلیدسازی (key-maker’s shop) is a quick, cheap errand found on almost every street.