What it means
ثانیه (sâniyeh) is the Persian word for a second, the smallest common unit of time. It comes directly from Arabic ثانية (thâniya), meaning “the second one” or “next,” since a second is the second subdivision of an hour after the minute. In daily conversation Iranians use it constantly: counting down, measuring reaction times, or telling someone to wait just a moment. A close related word is لحظه (lahzeh), which also means a brief moment but carries a more poetic, indefinite feeling rather than a precise sixty-of-a-minute measurement.
How to use it
- یه ثانیه صبر کن. (ye sâniyeh sabr kon.) “Wait one second.”
- فقط ده ثانیه طول کشید. (faqat dah sâniyeh tul keshid.) “It only took ten seconds.”
- در عرض چند ثانیه برمیگردم. (dar arz-e chand sâniyeh barmigardam.) “I’ll be back in a few seconds.”
- ثانیهها داشتن تموم میشدن. (sâniyeh-hâ dâshtan tamum mishodan.) “The seconds were running out.”
Cultural note
In Persian, time expressions often stack from smallest to largest: ثانیه, دقیقه, ساعت (hour), روز (day). Iranians also use ثانیه informally to ask someone to hold on, much like English “one sec.” The phrase یه ثانیه (ye sâniyeh) is one of the most common polite interruptions in spoken Persian.