قهوه

قهوه means coffee. The same Arabic word traveled through Turkey and into European languages, which is how English got “coffee.”

What it actually means

قهوه means “coffee” in Persian, used for the drink, the beans, and the place that serves it. Iran is now better known as a tea country, but coffee culture is older: قهوه‌خانه (qahve-khune, “coffee-house”) appeared in Iran in the late 16th century, before tea took over the everyday slot. Modern Iranians drink coffee at breakfast, in cafés, and after rich meals. Espresso has become common in Tehran’s café culture. Traditional Persian coffee is strong, often served black or with cardamom. The word also lives in compound forms: قهوه ترک (qahve-ye tork, Turkish coffee), قهوه فوری (qahve-ye forī, instant coffee), قهوه‌چی (qahve-chī, coffee-server, an older term).

How to say it

قهوه is invariant. The word triggers the verb خوردن (to consume) in Persian: “قهوه می‌خورم” (qahve mikhoram, “I drink coffee,” literally “I eat coffee”). Iranians use the same verb for tea (چای می‌خورم) and any liquid that isn’t water. For “to brew coffee,” Persian uses دم کردن (dam kardan).

In a sentence

Cultural note

قهوه is borrowed from Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa). The Arabic word originally meant “wine” in pre-Islamic Arabia, and the term shifted to the new bean drink as coffee spread out of Yemen in the 15th century. From Arabic, the word traveled to Ottoman Turkish as kahve, then into European languages: Italian “caffè,” Dutch “koffie,” English “coffee,” French “café.” Persian inherited the word directly from Arabic during the early Islamic period, even though coffee as a drink only spread to Iran centuries later. The 16th-century Safavid coffee houses (قهوه‌خانه) became important social spaces, hosting poets, storytellers, and political conversation. When tea became dominant in the 19th century, the قهوه‌خانه institution survived but the drinks changed. Modern Iranian “tea-houses” still bear the older name. The word kept the building, even after the drink switched.

Related

You will see this word together with چای (tea, the beverage that replaced coffee in everyday Iranian life) and آب (water, what coffee is brewed in). For the broader story of Persian’s loanword history, see Persian etymology: Arabic, French, and Turkish in your Farsi.