What it means
شیشه ماشین (shishe-ye mashin) literally means “the glass of the car” and refers to any car window, though it most often points to the windshield. شیشه (shishe) is a native Persian word for glass or a pane of glass. ماشین (mashin) is a European loanword, borrowed into Persian via French “machine,” which came to mean car in colloquial Persian. Together they form a mixed-origin compound. When Iranians need to be specific, they say شیشه جلو (shishe-ye jolo) for the windshield and شیشه عقب (shishe-ye aqab) for the rear window.
How to use it
- شیشه ماشینم کثیفه. (shishe-ye mashinam kasife.) “My car window is dirty.”
- شیشه ماشین رو بده پایین. (shishe-ye mashin ro bede pain.) “Roll the car window down.”
- شیشه ماشینم ترک خورده. (shishe-ye mashinam tarak khorde.) “My windshield has cracked.”
- شیشه عقب ماشین یخ زده. (shishe-ye aqab-e mashin yakh zade.) “The rear car window has frozen over.”
Cultural note
Cracked windshields are a familiar sight on Iranian roads, partly because of road surface conditions and partly because of temperature swings between cold mornings and hot afternoons in cities like Tehran and Isfahan. There are specialist شیشه ماشین repair shops throughout Iranian cities and roadside bazaars. Rolling down the window, دادن شیشه پایین, is also a common phrase that younger speakers use almost as a fixed idiom even though many cars now have electric windows.