سمت
سمت (samt) means side or direction toward in Persian. An Arabic borrowing used in formal speech and written directions. The related Arabic compound is the source of the English word zenith.
Glossary
وسط
وسط (vasat) means middle or center in Persian. Borrowed from Arabic, where the root و-س-ط denotes the midpoint, it is used for physical location and time alike. A near synonym is مرکز (markaz).
کنار
کنار (kenâr) means beside, next to, or edge in Persian. One of the oldest Persian positional words, it works both as a noun for a physical edge and as a preposition meaning next to.
عقب
عقب (aqab) means back, rear, or behind in Persian. Borrowed from Arabic, it is used daily for physical position and figurative delay. Contrast with جلو (jolo), meaning front.
جلو
جلو (jelo) means “in front” or “ahead” in Persian. The word is traced to Mongolian žoloo (rein), with close parallels in Turkic languages. Today it is one of the most common directional words in spoken Persian.
پشت
پشت (posht) means “back” or “behind” in Persian. It is a native Persian word used for the back of the body, the rear of objects, and spatial position. Its directional counterpart is jelo (جلو).
روبهرو
روبهرو (rubaru) means “opposite,” “facing,” or “across from” in Persian. It is a native Persian compound built from ru (face) plus be plus ru, literally “face to face.” A common formal synonym is moqabel.
دور
دور (dur/dowr) covers two meanings: “far” from ancient Persian roots, and “round, cycle, lap” borrowed from Arabic. Both spellings are identical in script, making context essential.
نزدیک
نزدیک (nazdik) means “near” or “close” in Persian. It is a native Persian word with Indo-Iranian roots and forms a natural pair with its antonym dur (دور), meaning far.
غرب
غرب (gharb) means “west” in Persian, borrowed from Arabic. It covers both compass direction and the cultural sense of “the West.” The native Persian word for west is bakhtar, but gharb dominates everyday use.