سریع

What it means

سریع (sari’) means “fast, quick, rapid.” It is an Arabic loanword from the root س-ر-ع (s-r-‘, the root for speed and haste), naturalized into Persian as both an adjective and an adverb. Cars are sariʿ, lessons can be sariʿ, replies are sariʿ, decisions are sariʿ. The word covers speed in any domain: physical, mental, emotional.

Note the small final glottal stop, which Iranians often drop in fast speech. Written formally with the letter ع. In transliteration we mark it with an apostrophe.

How to use it

• سریع باش (sari’ bâsh) “hurry up, be quick”
• یه جواب سریع می‌خوام (ye javâb-e sari’ mikhâm) “I want a quick answer”
• این ماشین خیلی سریعه (in mâshin kheyli sari’e) “this car is very fast”
• سریع برو (sari’ boro) “go fast”
• سریع‌ترین راه چیه؟ (sari’-tarin râh chiye) “what’s the fastest way?”

سریع vs تند

The colloquial alternative is تند (tond), which is the more spoken word for “fast.” Tehrani street speech leans toward تند برو (tond boro, “go fast”) for a taxi driver. سریع feels slightly more written, more formal, more measured. Both work, but if you say sari’ to a snack-bar cook, expect a flicker of “why are you talking like a news anchor.” Use تند in casual speech, سریع in writing, instructions, technical contexts, or when you want to sound careful.

Cultural note

Iranian time is famously elastic. When someone says سریع میام (sari’ miyâm, “I’ll come quickly”), the actual arrival time can stretch by an hour. Sari’ is sometimes a sincere promise, sometimes a polite reassurance that means “I’ll come when I can.” Read the speaker, the context, and the traffic.

The noun form

سرعت (sor’at) is the noun: “speed, velocity.” Speedometers, speed limits, traffic signs, news reports about car crashes all use sor’at. سریع‌تر (sari’-tar) is the comparative, “faster.” سریع‌ترین (sari’-tarin) is the superlative, “the fastest.” The phrase به سرعت (be-sor’at, “at speed, quickly”) works as another adverbial form, slightly more written than sari’ alone. Persian gives you several routes to say “fast,” and each one carries a slightly different register flavor. The right choice depends on whether you are texting a friend, writing an email, telling a taxi driver, or filling out a school report.