What it means
طبق (tabaq) means a tray or large flat platter used for carrying or presenting food and objects. The word is borrowed from Arabic, where it derives from the root ط-ب-ق (t-b-q), conveying the sense of something flat, layered, or covering. In everyday spoken Persian, سینی (sini) is far more common for a tray, and مجمه (majma) covers the traditional ornate round tray. طبق belongs to a more formal, literary, or ceremonial register and appears more often in written texts, news language, classical poetry, and formal speech than in casual kitchen conversation. You may encounter it in phrases describing a servant presenting a dish to a king in classical literature, or in formal descriptions of ceremonial banquets.
How to use it
- خادم طبقی از میوه به حضور شاه تقدیم کرد. (Khâdem tabaq-i az mive be hozur-e shâh taqdim kard.) “The attendant presented a platter of fruit before the king.”
- غذا را روی طبق بزرگی چیدند و به مهمانان عرضه کردند. (Ghazâ râ ru-ye tabaq-e bozorgi chidand o be mehmânân arze kardand.) “They arranged the food on a large platter and offered it to the guests.”
- آن طبق نقره در موزه نگهداری میشود. (Ân tabaq-e noqre dar muze negahdâri mishavad.) “That silver platter is kept in the museum.”
- طبق شیرینی را جلوی مهمانان گذاشتند. (Tabaq-e shirini râ jelo-ye mehmânân gozâshtand.) “They placed the tray of sweets before the guests.”
Cultural note
In classical Persian literature, طبق appears frequently as an object of courtly presentation, a platter borne by servants or carried as an offering. The word’s formal register reflects its long history in written Persian, where it distinguished a ceremonial or refined serving piece from an ordinary household item. In contemporary Persian, the word survives mainly in formal writing and in the names of traditional crafts and antique objects. Everyday speakers reaching for the word “tray” in conversation will almost always say سینی, reserving طبق for written or elevated contexts.