What it means
سمت (samt) means side or direction toward. It is borrowed from Arabic, where it denotes a direction of travel or bearing. In Persian, سمت is slightly more formal than طرف (taraf), which covers similar ground, and you are more likely to encounter it in written instructions, official signage, and formal speech. The Arabic compound سمتالرأس (samt-ol-ra’s), literally the direction of the head, is the astronomical term that became the English word zenith through Old Spanish.
How to use it
- برو سمت شمال (boro samt-e shomâl) “Head toward the north.”
- از سمت راست بپیچ (az samt-e râst bepich) “Turn from the right side.”
- سمت کدومه؟ (samt kodume?) “Which direction is it?”
- اون سمت خیابونه (un samt-e khiâbune) “It is on that side of the street.”
Cultural note
On Iranian road signs and GPS navigation systems, سمت is the standard word for direction or side, where English might say toward or exit. In formal administrative writing, phrases like از سمت دولت (az samt-e dowlat), from the government side, use سمت to mean party or quarter, a usage inherited directly from classical Arabic. Learners sometimes confuse سمت with طرف, but سمت tends to imply a directional vector, while طرف often just marks a side or party.