What it means
پیراهن (pirâhan) means shirt or blouse, referring to the basic upper-body garment worn by men and women alike. The word descends from Middle Persian and has been part of the language for well over a thousand years, making it one of the genuinely native Persian clothing terms. In everyday speech it covers anything from a man’s formal dress shirt to a woman’s loose blouse. A close companion word is پیراهن مردانه (pirâhan-e mardâne) for a man’s shirt and پیراهن زنانه (pirâhan-e zanâne) for a women’s blouse or top.
How to use it
- پیراهن آبیم رو اتو کردی؟ (Pirâhan-e âbiyamo otu kardi?) “Did you iron my blue shirt?”
- این پیراهن خیلی گشاده. (In pirâhan kheyli goshâde.) “This shirt is very loose.”
- یه پیراهن تمیز بپوش. (Ye pirâhan tamiz bepush.) “Put on a clean shirt.”
- پیراهنم گیر کرد. (Pirâhanam gir kard.) “My shirt got caught (snagged).”
Cultural note
پیراهن has appeared in classical Persian poetry for centuries, sometimes as a metaphor for the body or the soul’s outer covering in the works of poets such as Hafez. In modern Iranian daily life it is one of the first words children learn for clothing. Traditional embroidered پیراهن styles, often worn at Nowruz or regional celebrations, vary significantly by province, with Kurdish, Baluchi, and Gilaki designs each having distinctive cuts and patterns.