What it means
سرفه (sorfe) means “cough,” the sudden, forceful push of air from the lungs that clears the throat or airways. The word is an Arabic loanword that became fully at home in Persian, where the older medical synonym was سعال (so’âl), also from Arabic. In everyday speech you almost always hear it as the compound verb سرفه کردن (sorfe kardan), “to cough.” A close relative is عطسه (atse), “a sneeze,” which is the reflex through the nose rather than the chest.
How to use it
- دارم سرفه میکنم. (dâram sorfe mikonam) “I’m coughing.”
- سرفهام خوب نمیشه. (sorfam khub nemishe) “My cough won’t get better.”
- یه شربت برای سرفه میخوام. (ye sharbat barâye sorfe mikhâm) “I want a syrup for the cough.”
- اونقدر سرفه کردم که گلوم درد گرفت. (unqadr sorfe kardam ke galum dard gereft) “I coughed so much that my throat started to hurt.”
Cultural note
A lingering سرفه is one of the first things people mention at a pharmacy in Iran, and pharmacists often suggest a شربت سینه (sharbat-e sine), a chest syrup, before a doctor visit. Home remedies stay popular alongside medicine: warm نبات (nabât, rock sugar) dissolved in tea, or آب لیمو با عسل (lemon juice with honey) are common comforts for a sore, coughing throat. The Arabic-rooted term سرفه has long sat next to سعال in classical Persian medical writing, but in daily life today سرفه is the word everyone reaches for.