What it means
سینک (sink) is borrowed directly from English and means kitchen sink, the fixed basin with a drain set into the kitchen counter for washing dishes and food. Persian adopted the word as fitted kitchens became common in Iranian urban homes from the mid-twentieth century onward. The borrowed form سینک is now completely standard and has almost entirely displaced older descriptive phrases. You will occasionally hear سینک ظرفشویی (sink-e zarfshuyi) for emphasis, where ظرفشویی means dishwashing, but in practice سینک alone is understood.
How to use it
- ظرفا رو تو سینک بذار تا بعد بشورم. (zarfa ro tu sink bezar ta ba’d beshurum.) “Put the dishes in the sink and I will wash them later.”
- آب سینک خوب نمیره، لوله گرفته. (ab-e sink khoob nemire, lule gerufte.) “The sink water is not draining well, the pipe is blocked.”
- سینک استیل نو خریدیم برای آشپزخونه. (sink-e steel-e no kharidim baraye ashpazkhune.) “We bought a new stainless steel sink for the kitchen.”
- زیر سینک یه کابینت دارم که توش جارو میذارم. (zir-e sink ye kabinet daram ke tush jaru mizaram.) “Under the sink I have a cabinet where I keep the broom.”
Cultural note
The adoption of سینک reflects the wider wave of English technical vocabulary that entered Persian as Western kitchen design became fashionable in Iranian homes during the Pahlavi era. Before built-in sinks, a portable تشت or metal basin was used for washing. Today سینک is completely unremarkable vocabulary even for older speakers, showing how thoroughly the loanword has been naturalized.