What it means
پلان (pelân) means a floor plan or architectural layout: the top-down drawing that shows the arrangement of rooms, walls, doors, and spaces in a building. The word is borrowed directly from French “plan,” which entered Persian through the influence of French architectural and engineering education in Iran during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is the term architects, engineers, and real estate agents use in everyday professional speech. You may also hear نقشه (naqshe) used more generally for any map or drawing, but when talking specifically about a building’s floor layout, پلان is the precise and expected word.
How to use it
- پلان آپارتمان رو برام بفرست. (pelân-e âpârtmân ro barâm befrest.) “Send me the apartment floor plan.”
- معمار داره روی پلان کار میکنه. (me’mâr dâre ru-ye pelân kâr mi-kone.) “The architect is working on the floor plan.”
- پلان این خونه خیلی باز طراحی شده. (pelân-e in khune khyli bâz tarâhi shode.) “The layout of this house has been designed very open.”
- قبل از ساخت باید پلان تأیید بشه. (qabl az sâkht bâyad pelân ta’yid beshe.) “The floor plan must be approved before construction.”
Cultural note
The word پلان reflects a broader wave of French loanwords that entered Persian technical vocabulary in the nineteenth century, alongside terms like آسانسور (elevator, from French ascenseur) and بالکن (balcony, from French balcon). French was the dominant language of engineering and architecture education in Iran during the Qajar and early Pahlavi periods, which is why so many architectural terms in Persian trace to French rather than English. Today, even as English influence has grown, پلان remains firmly established in professional construction and real estate speech.