What it means
کهن (kohan) describes something very old, ancient, or belonging to a distant past. It comes from Middle Persian kahōn and is closely related to the everyday word کهنه (kohne), meaning worn out or old in the sense of used objects. The difference matters: کهن belongs to literary and formal Persian and signals nobility of age, while کهنه is neutral and everyday. A close synonym is قدیم (qadim, from Arabic), but کهن feels more elevated and poetic. You will find it in phrases like ایران کهن (Irân-e kohan), ancient Iran, used with pride rather than simply meaning old.
How to use it
- این شهر تاریخ کهن دارد. (in shahr târikh-e kohan dârad.) “This city has an ancient history.”
- زبان فارسی یکی از کهنترین زبانهاست. (zabân-e fârsi yeki az kohan-tarin zabân-hâst.) “Persian is one of the oldest languages.”
- این متن کهن را نمیتوان به راحتی خواند. (in matn-e kohan râ nemitavân be râhati khând.) “This ancient text cannot be read easily.”
- آداب و رسوم کهن هنوز در روستاها زندهاند. (âdâb o rosum-e kohan hanooz dar rustâhâ zende and.) “Ancient customs are still alive in the villages.”
Cultural note
Iranians take deep pride in the antiquity of their civilisation, and کهن is one of the words that carries that pride. Phrases like ایران کهن appear in poetry, political speeches, and national discourse to invoke continuity with the Achaemenid and Sassanid eras. The classical poets, especially Ferdowsi in the Shahnameh, use کهن and its compounds frequently. In modern Persian, the word has not been replaced by Arabic alternatives, which reflects how central it is to a distinctly Persian literary identity.