پیش

What it means

پیش (pish) functions as a preposition and an adverb with several related meanings that all orbit the idea of proximity in time or space. As a time adverb it means before or ago: قبلاً or پیش‌تر (pish-tar, earlier, before this), and in common spoken use سه روز پیش (se ruz pish) means three days ago. As a spatial preposition it means near, at, or toward someone: پیش دکتر رفتم (pish-e doktor raftam, I went to the doctor, literally I went to/toward the doctor’s place). The possessive use is important: چیزی پیشته؟ (chizi pishet-e? do you have anything with you?, literally is there something near you?). This possessive/locative sense of پیش covers ground that English splits among with, at, by, and near.

How to use it

• سه ساعت پیش رفت. (se sâ’at pish raft.) “He left three hours ago.”
• فردا می‌ریم پیش مامانم. (fardâ mirim pish-e mâmân-am.) “Tomorrow we’re going to my mom’s.”
• پول پیشته؟ (pul pishet-e?) “Do you have money on you?”
• پیش از این اینجا زندگی می‌کردم. (pish az in injâ zendegi mikardam.) “Before this I used to live here.”

Cultural note

The phrase پیش خودت نگه‌دار (pish-e khodat negah dâr, keep it to yourself, literally keep it near yourself) is a common way Iranians ask someone to treat something as confidential. It is gentler than a direct command to be silent and frames secrecy as a kind of personal custody. Similarly, پیشم بیا (pish-am biâ, come to me) is a warm, informal invitation, softer than a mere directive, because پیش frames the destination as a person rather than a place, adding emotional closeness to the spatial meaning.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab