What it means
پنجشنبه (panj-shanbeh) is Thursday. The name means “the fifth day after Saturday”: پنج (panj) is the Persian word for five, and شنبه comes from the Aramaic word for the Sabbath. Thursday occupies a culturally special position in Iran: it is often a half-day or a flexible day in government and schools, marking the transition toward جمعه (jom’eh), Friday, the weekly holiday. The phrase آخر هفته (âkhar-e hafteh), the weekend, typically refers to Thursday evening and Friday together.
How to use it
- پنجشنبهها زودتر تعطیل میشیم. (Panj-shanbehâ zudtar ta’til mishim.) “On Thursdays we finish earlier.”
- پنجشنبه شب کجایی؟ (Panj-shanbeh shab kojâyi?) “Where are you on Thursday night?”
- این پنجشنبه میای خونهمون؟ (In panj-shanbeh miyâi khune-mun?) “Are you coming to our place this Thursday?”
- پنجشنبه رفتیم پیکنیک. (Panj-shanbeh raftim piknik.) “We went on a picnic on Thursday.”
Cultural note
Thursday evening, پنجشنبه شب (panj-shanbeh shab), carries a particular warmth in Iranian culture: it is the first moment of the weekend, when families gather, restaurants fill up, and calls to relatives tend to happen. Traditionally, Thursday was also associated with visiting cemeteries and reciting prayers for the deceased, a custom called رفتن سر قبر (raftan sar-e qabr) that persists in many families. The phrase شب جمعه (shab-e jom’eh) in Persian Islamic reckoning refers to Thursday night, the night that precedes Friday, in the same way that Jewish Shabbat begins at sundown on Friday.