What it means
سرویس (servis) is borrowed from French service and carries two distinct everyday meanings in Persian. In a home goods context it means a matched set: سرویس چای (servis-e châi) is a tea service and سرویس خواب (servis-e khâb) is a bedroom set (bed, wardrobe, dresser). In a sanitary context سرویس or سرویس بهداشتی (servis-e behdâshti) means a restroom, toilet room, or the full bathroom suite (toilet, sink, bidet). Both meanings are in active, everyday use and a learner needs to recognize both. The French origin is consistent with the large wave of French loanwords that entered Persian through administrative and commercial contact in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
How to use it
- سرویس خواب نو خریدیم. (servis-e khâb-e no kharidim.) “We bought a new bedroom set.”
- سرویس کجاست؟ (servis kojâst?) “Where is the restroom?”
- این سرویس چایی دوازدهنفرهست. (in servis-e châyi davâzdah-nafar-e.) “This tea service is for twelve people.”
- سرویس بهداشتی طبقه پاییناست. (servis-e behdâshti tabaqe-ye pâyin-e.) “The restroom is on the floor below.”
Cultural note
The dual meaning of سرویس reflects how a single French word was adopted into different domestic contexts in Iran simultaneously. In furniture shops and wedding gift lists, سرویس خواب is one of the most discussed purchases a couple makes. In public spaces and restaurants, asking for the سرویس is the standard polite way to ask for the toilet, and the full term سرویس بهداشتی (sanitary service) appears on signs across Iran. The word shows no social register restriction: it is equally at home in formal signage and casual conversation.