What it means
شنا (shenâ) is a pure Persian noun with two distinct meanings that learners often find surprising. In the context of water sports and leisure, شنا means “swimming.” In the context of gym or floor exercises, شنا means “push-up.” The two uses are easily told apart by context: استخر شنا (estakhr-e shenâ) is a swimming pool, while شنا رفتن (shenâ raftan) means to go swimming, but شنا زدن (shenâ zadan) in a workout setting means to do push-ups. There is no separate native word for “push-up” in standard Persian: the same word covers both.
How to use it
- هر روز صبح میرم شنا. (har ruz sobh miram shenâ.) “Every morning I go swimming.”
- پنجاه تا شنا زدم امروز. (panjâh tâ shenâ zadam emruz.) “I did fifty push-ups today.”
- شنا یاد گرفتی؟ (shenâ yâd gereft?) “Did you learn how to swim?”
- مربیم گفت هر روز سی تا شنا بزنم. (morabbi-am goft har ruz si tâ shenâ bezanam.) “My trainer told me to do thirty push-ups every day.”
Cultural note
Swimming holds a practical place in Iranian culture, partly because of the Caspian Sea coast in the north and public pools in cities. However, mixed-gender swimming is not permitted in public pools in Iran, where separate hours or separate facilities are standard for men and women. The double meaning of شنا, covering both a water sport and a floor exercise, reflects how Persian often repurposes a single root word across related physical actions rather than borrowing foreign terms.