What it means
تاریک (târik) means dark, dim, or unlit. It is a pure Persian word descended from Middle Persian tārīk, which itself comes from Old Iranian roots. The word applies to physical darkness, such as a room with no lights, but also extends metaphorically to gloomy moods, bleak times, or unclear ideas. Its direct antonym is روشن (rowshan), meaning bright or lit. In everyday speech تاریک and its noun form تاریکی (târiki, darkness) are very common.
How to use it
- اتاق خیلی تاریکه. (Otâq khyli târike.) “The room is very dark.”
- شب تاریک بود و برق رفته بود. (Shab târik bud o barq rafte bud.) “The night was dark and the electricity had gone out.”
- آیندهاش تاریک به نظر میرسه. (Âyandash târik be nazar mirese.) “His future looks bleak.”
- تو این کوچهی تاریک نرو. (Tu in kuche-ye târik naro.) “Don’t go down that dark alley.”
Cultural note
In Persian literature and poetry, تاریک and its noun تاریکی are powerful symbols. Classical poets frequently contrast light and dark to represent knowledge and ignorance, union and separation, or the presence and absence of God. The phrase شب تاریک (shab-e târik, the dark night) opens one of the most famous lines in Persian poetry, from Hafez, where navigating a dark night at sea becomes a metaphor for the human spiritual condition. In colloquial speech the word has no special weight and is used plainly to describe unlit spaces.