What it means
کیلومتر (kilometr) means “kilometre,” a unit of length equal to one thousand metres. The word entered Persian from French (kilomètre), and Iran uses it as the standard unit for measuring road distances, travel, and geographic scale. On Iranian road signs, distances are always marked in کیلومتر, and speed limits are posted in kilometres per hour (کیلومتر در ساعت, kilometr dar sâ’at). A related unit is متر (metr) for shorter distances and مایل (mâyel), the mile, which Iranians sometimes encounter in foreign contexts but do not use domestically.
How to use it
- تهران تا اصفهان چند کیلومتره؟ (Tehrân tâ Esfahân chand kilometr-e?) “How many kilometres is it from Tehran to Isfahan?”
- روزی ده کیلومتر پیادهروی میکنم. (ruzi dah kilometr piyâderavi mikonam.) “I walk ten kilometres a day.”
- سرعتش هشتاد کیلومتر بود. (sor’atash hashtâd kilometr bud.) “Its speed was eighty kilometres.”
- تا شهر بیست کیلومتر مونده. (tâ shahr bist kilometr munde.) “There are twenty kilometres left to the city.”
Cultural note
Road signs throughout Iran display distances in کیلومتر, and navigation apps used in Iran, including the popular Balad (بلد), all report distances in kilometres. Iranians routinely estimate travel times by calculating kilometres against expected highway speed, and the phrase “چند کیلومتره؟” (how many kilometres is it?) is one of the most common questions asked when planning any road trip. The Tehran to Isfahan route is about 340 kilometres by the main highway, a distance Iranians cite as a convenient point of reference.