صدا

What it means

صدا (sedâ) means sound, voice, or noise. It covers any auditory phenomenon: the sound of traffic, the sound of music, a person’s voice, or the sound of an animal. The compound verb صدا کردن (sedâ kardan) means to call out to someone, to summon them by voice, and is the natural everyday verb for calling a person’s name across a room or calling a child from outside. A related compound is صدا زدن (sedâ zadan), which carries the same meaning as صدا کردن in colloquial speech. صدات رو بالا نبر (sedât ro bâlâ nabar, do not raise your voice) and صدات خوبه (sedât khubi-ye, you have a nice voice) both show how naturally the word attaches to personal qualities.

How to use it

• صدات خیلی قشنگه (sedât kheyli ghashang-e) “Your voice is really beautiful.”
• صداش رو نمی‌شنوم (sedâ-sh ro nemi-shnavam) “I cannot hear his voice.”
• یکی صدام کرد (yeki sedâ-m kard) “Someone called out to me.”
• چه صدایی بود؟ (che sedâ-i bud?) “What was that sound?”

Cultural note

In Iranian culture صدا is deeply tied to hospitality and the social flow of the house. صدا کردن, calling someone, is the standard way to summon a family member or guest from another room, and the quality and tone of a person’s صدا is noticed and commented on freely. A warm, low, clear voice is admired; a thin or harsh voice invites gentle teasing. The word also anchors the phrase صدا و سیما (sedâ va simâ, literally sound and image), the official name of Iran’s national broadcasting organization, which gives the word a formal civic register alongside its everyday one.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab