What it means
قفل پنجره (qofl-e panjare) is a window latch or window lock, the mechanism that holds a window closed. Persian places the head noun first, so قفل (qofl) comes before پنجره (panjare). قفل comes from Arabic and means lock or fastening. پنجره is a Persian word for window, tracing back through Iranian languages to a Sanskrit root meaning cage or latticed frame, which reflects the latticed appearance of traditional window screens. A related term is کلون (kolun), a traditional bolt-style door or window bar, and دستگیره (dastgire), which refers to a handle rather than a locking catch.
How to use it
- قفل پنجره رو بزن. (qofl-e panjare ro bezan.) “Latch the window.”
- قفل پنجره رو محکم ببند. (qofl-e panjare ro mohkam beband.) “Close the window latch tightly.”
- قفل پنجره شکسته، باید عوضش کنیم. (qofl-e panjare shekaste, bâyad avazash konim.) “The window lock is broken, we need to replace it.”
- یادت باشه قبل از خواب قفل پنجره رو بزنی. (yâdat bâshe ghabl az khâb qofl-e panjare ro bezani.) “Remember to latch the window before sleeping.”
Cultural note
Traditional Iranian windows, especially those found in historic courtyard houses, often used a simple wooden bolt or iron pin rather than a keyed lock. Modern apartment construction in Tehran and other cities has shifted toward European-style double-glazed casement windows with multi-point locking handles, but the everyday phrase قفل پنجره remains the natural way to talk about securing any window regardless of mechanism. Security concerns in urban apartments have made a reliable قفل پنجره a standard item on renters’ checklists.