Glossary

قندشکن

قندشکن (qand-shekan) means sugar tongs or a sugar-cube cracker. It is a Persian compound: قند (sugar, from Sanskrit khaṇḍa via an older Persian form, with the Arabic form later re-borrowed into Persian) plus شکن (breaker, from the native Persian verb شکستن), combining roots of different origins.

دیگچه

دیگچه (digche) is a small pot or saucepan used daily in Iranian kitchens. It is a diminutive formed from دیگ (dig), a native Persian word tracing back to Middle Persian dēg, with the Persian suffix -che.

نفت‌کش

نفت‌کش (naft-kesh) means an oil tanker (vehicle or ship). نفت (oil) entered Old Persian probably from Akkadian, while کش (puller/carrier) is pure Persian, making this a mixed-origin compound.

بارکش

بارکش (bâr-kesh) means freight truck or goods carrier vehicle. It joins بار (load) and کش (puller, from کشیدن to pull), both pure Persian, naming any vehicle built to haul cargo.

پیک‌بار

پیک‌بار (peyk-bâr) means a courier or delivery rider, typically on a motorcycle. Both پیک (messenger, inherited from Middle Persian) and بار (load) are native Persian words forming a compound that names this everyday urban role.

دوربرگردان

دوربرگردان (dowr-bargardân) is the designated U-turn point on Iranian roads. دور in the sense of “turn” or “rotation” is borrowed from Arabic دَوْر, while برگردان (return) is native Persian, making this a mixed-origin compound noun.

ترمز کردن

ترمز کردن (tormoz kardan) means to brake or apply the brakes. ترمز is a loanword from Russian “тормоз” (tormoz), combined with the Persian light verb کردن (to do/make).

گاز دادن

گاز دادن (gâz dâdan) means to accelerate or press the gas pedal. The word گاز is borrowed from French “gaz,” combined with the Persian verb دادن (to give).

اسکوتر

اسکوتر (eskuter) means a scooter or motor scooter. Borrowed from English, the word refers to both motorized scooters and, increasingly, electric kick scooters. Common on Iranian urban streets.

سپر

سپر (separ) means a car bumper or fender, the protective strip at the front or rear of a vehicle. The word is native Persian, historically meaning shield. Now used almost exclusively in the automotive sense.

Scroll to Top
Phrase of the Week Learn more →