How Do You Say 'thirty' In Persian? (Si)

سی

thirty

numbera1

Quick Reference

PronunciationSI

Meaningthirty

Levela1

What it means

سی (si) is the cardinal number 30 in Persian. It descends from the same Indo-European base that gave Latin “triginta” and the Sanskrit “trimshat,” with the Persian form contracting over centuries to a single short syllable. Pronounced exactly like English “see,” with a clean s and a long i.

How to use it

سی تا (si tâ) “thirty (of something)”
سی سالمه (si sâlame) “I’m thirty years old”
سی دقیقه (si daqiqe) “thirty minutes, half an hour”
سی و یک (si-o yek) “thirty-one”
سی و سه پل (si-o se pol) “the Thirty-Three Bridge” (in Isfahan)

How counters work

Si follows the standard pattern. تا for general objects, نفر for people: si nafar mehmun (“thirty guests”). For numbers between 31 and 39, Persian uses the connective و (-o): si-o yek (31), si-o do (32), si-o se (33), and so on through si-o noh (39). The و reduces in pronunciation to a quick o that links the two parts. The ordinal form is سی‌ام (si-om), “thirtieth.” Si also marks half-hour times: sâ’at-e do-o si daqiqe (“two-thirty”), often shortened to do-o nim (“two and a half”).

Cultural note

The most famous use of si in Iranian culture is سی و سه پل (Si-o-se Pol), the Thirty-Three Bridge in Isfahan, a Safavid-era stone arched bridge with thirty-three arches spanning the Zayanderud River. Built in 1602 under Shah Abbas I, it’s one of the most photographed monuments in Iran and the heart of Isfahani evening life. Couples walk across it, students sit under its arches reciting poetry, and tea sellers set up by the water. The number si also recurs in Sufi and mystical literature through the legendary سیمرغ (simorgh), the mythical bird whose name combines si (thirty) and morgh (bird), “thirty birds.” In Attar’s Conference of the Birds, thirty birds undertake a quest to find the Simorgh, only to discover at the end that they themselves are the Simorgh, the thirty-bird, a Persian-language pun and one of the most cherished metaphors in Iranian literature. سی روز (si ruz), “thirty days,” is the standard length of an Iranian month and of the Ramadan fast.

References

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Cultural Context

The most famous use of si in Iranian culture is سی و سه پل (Si-o-se Pol), the Thirty-Three Bridge in Isfahan, a Safavid-era stone arched bridge with thirty-three arches spanning the Zayanderud River. Built in 1602 under Shah Abbas I, it's one of the most photographed monuments in Iran and the heart of Isfahani evening life. Couples walk across it, students sit under its arches reciting poetry, and tea sellers set up by the water. The number si also recurs in Sufi and mystical literature through the legendary سیمرغ (simorgh), the mythical bird whose name combines si (thirty) and morgh (bird), "thirty birds." In Attar's Conference of the Birds, thirty birds undertake a quest to find the Simorgh, only to discover at the end that they themselves are the Simorgh, the thirty-bird, a Persian-language pun and one of the most cherished metaphors in Iranian literature. سی روز (si ruz), "thirty days," is the standard length of an Iranian month and of the Ramadan fast.

Connected Words

سی