What it means
لغزیدن (laghzidan) means to slip, to slide, or to skid. It describes the sudden, often involuntary movement of losing grip on a surface, whether a person’s foot slips on ice, a car skids on a wet road, or an object slides off a table. The related noun is لغزش (laghzesh), meaning a slip or a slide, and it is also used figuratively for a moral slip or mistake. A close synonym for a more intentional sliding is سُر خوردن (sor khordan), which is commonly used in colloquial speech for slipping on a smooth surface.
How to use it
- رو یخ لغزید و افتاد. (Roo yakh laghzid o oftad.) “She slipped on the ice and fell.”
- مراقب باش، کف خیسه، لغزندهست. (Moraaqeb baash, kaf khise, laghzandast.) “Be careful, the floor is wet and slippery.”
- ماشین رو جادهی خیس لغزید. (Maashin roo jaade-ye khis laghzid.) “The car skidded on the wet road.”
- پام لغزید ولی نیفتادم. (Paam laghzid vali noftaadam.) “My foot slipped but I did not fall.”
Cultural note
In Persian, لغزش (laghzesh) has a well-established figurative meaning beyond the physical. It refers to a slip of the tongue, a moral lapse, or an error in judgment, much as English uses the word slip. Religious and ethical Persian writing uses لغزش frequently to describe human fallibility and the ease with which a person can stray from the right path. This figurative layer makes لغزیدن richer than a simple motion verb in everyday literary usage.