What it means
سفید برف (sefid-e barf) is a compound adjective meaning “snow white”: as white as snow. It combines سفید (sefid), meaning white, with برف (barf), meaning snow. Both words trace back to Old Iranian roots: sefid comes from the Avestan root for brightness, and barf from the Avestan word for snowfall. The compound works like the English phrase “snow white” but is written with the linking vowel -e (ezafe) in formal or literary speech. A simpler synonym is just سفید (sefid) on its own, but sefid-e barf adds emphasis and vividness.
How to use it
- پوست او سفید برف بود. (Pust-e u sefid-e barf bud.) “Her skin was snow white.”
- دندانهاش سفید برف شده. (Dandunash sefid-e barf shode.) “His teeth have become snow white.”
- یه لباس سفید برف خریدم. (Ye lebas-e sefid-e barf kharidam.) “I bought a snow-white dress.”
- برف که اومد، همه جا سفید برف شد. (Barf ke umad, hame ja sefid-e barf shod.) “When the snow came, everywhere turned snow white.”
Cultural note
White has a layered meaning in Persian culture. Historically it was worn at weddings in some regions and associated with purity, but it also appears in mourning contexts in certain older traditions. The specific phrase سفید برف is most commonly encountered in literary and poetic descriptions of beauty, particularly skin color in classical poetry, where the whiteness of a beloved’s complexion is a standard image. In everyday modern Persian it functions as a simple, emphatic color descriptor without the weight of those older associations.