سختی

What it means

سختی (sakhti) means hardship, difficulty, or toughness. It is formed by adding the common Persian abstract noun suffix -ی (-i) to the adjective سخت (sakht), which means hard, difficult, or tough. The same suffix appears in خوشی (khoshi, happiness, from khosh), سردی (sardi, coldness, from sard), and hundreds of other Persian abstract nouns. Sakhti covers a wide range of meanings depending on context: physical hardship (سختی کار, the hardship of work), emotional difficulty (سختی جدایی, the pain of separation), toughness as a property of a material or task, and adversity in life generally. The phrase سختی کشیدن (sakhti keshidan, literally to draw/endure hardship) is the standard colloquial verb phrase meaning to go through hard times. With the preposition با: با سختی (bâ sakhti) means with difficulty, barely, or only just. The plural سختی‌ها (sakhti-hâ) is used to refer to hardships collectively, as in the hardships of life.

How to use it

• خیلی سختی کشیدم تا به اینجا رسیدم (kheyli sakhti keshidam tâ be injâ residam) “I endured a lot of hardship to get to this point.”
• با سختی تونستم این کارو تموم کنم (bâ sakhti tunestem in kâro tamum konam) “I barely managed to finish this work.”
• سختی‌های زندگی آدم رو قوی‌تر می‌کنه (sakhti-hâ-ye zendegi âdam ro ghavitar mikone) “Life’s hardships make a person stronger.”
• این کار سختی داره (in kâr sakhti dâre) “This job has its difficulties.”

Cultural note

The concept of enduring سختی with patience (صبر, sabr) is a recurring theme in Iranian culture and classical poetry. Rumi’s Masnavi and Hafez’s ghazals return repeatedly to the idea that hardship is a necessary stage on the path to growth or spiritual insight. In everyday modern speech, older Iranians often frame personal resilience through the lens of سختی کشیدن, and telling someone «سخت نگیر» (sakht nagir, don’t take it so hard) is a common expression of reassurance.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab