What it means
نزدیک (nazdik) means “near,” “close,” or “nearby.” It works equally well for physical distance and figurative closeness, such as a relationship or an approaching deadline. The word comes from Middle Persian nazdik, making it a fully native Persian word with deep Indo-Iranian roots. It takes standard comparative and superlative forms: nazdiktar (نزدیکتر) for “closer” and nazdiktarin (نزدیکترین) for “nearest.” Its direct antonym is dur (دور).
How to use it
- ایستگاه مترو نزدیکه. (Istgah-e metro nazdike.) “The metro station is nearby.”
- خونهی ما به مدرسه خیلی نزدیکه. (Khune-ye ma be madrase kheyli nazdike.) “Our house is very close to the school.”
- نزدیکترین داروخونه کجاست؟ (Nazdiktarin darukhune kojast?) “Where is the nearest pharmacy?”
- عید نزدیکه، همه دارن خرید میکنن. (Eid nazdike, hame daran kharid mikonan.) “The holiday is near, everyone is shopping.”
Cultural note
In Persian conversation, نزدیک often softens what in other languages would sound like a blunt statement. Saying “کمی نزدیکتر بیا” (come a little closer) is a gentle invitation, not a command. In Persian city life, “نزدیکه” (it is nearby) is a famously optimistic answer: distances estimated as nazdik by locals can sometimes be far longer than a visitor expects. The word also appears in the phrase نزدیک بود (nazdik bud), which means “it almost happened” and is used to describe near-misses.