What it means
نقشه (naghshe) means “map” in modern Persian, and also “plan” or “scheme” in a figurative sense. The word comes from Arabic “naqsha,” derived from the root ن-ق-ش (n-q-sh) meaning to engrave, carve, or draw, referring originally to any drawn or inscribed design. In practical use, نقشهی شهر (naghshe-ye shahr) is a city map, نقشهی راه (naghshe-ye râh) is a road map or itinerary, and نقشه کشیدن (naghshe keshidan) literally means “to draw a plan” but colloquially means “to hatch a scheme.”
How to use it
- یه نقشه از شهر داری؟ (Ye naghshe az shahr dâri?) “Do you have a map of the city?”
- نقشه رو گم کردم. (Naghshe ro gom kardam.) “I lost the map.”
- گوگلمپ دیگه نقشهی کاغذی رو بیربط کرده. (Gugel mep dige naghshe-ye kâghazi ro bi-rabat karde.) “Google Maps has made paper maps irrelevant.”
- داری نقشه میکشی؟ (Dâri naghshe mikeshi?) “Are you hatching a plan?”
Cultural note
Historically, Persian cartographers made significant contributions to Islamic-era geography, and the tradition of map-making was linked to the broader scholarly work of scholars such as al-Biruni and al-Idrisi, whose work circulated in Persian-speaking courts. Today, نقشه is the standard word for map in both its literal and figurative senses. The figurative use, نقشه کشیدن (to draw up a scheme), is vivid and common in spoken Persian, appearing in everything from casual conversation to film dialogue.