What it means
ویترین (vitrin) refers to the glass-fronted display window of a shop, or a glass display case inside a store. The word comes directly from French “vitrine,” which entered Persian along with dozens of other French borrowings during the Qajar and early Pahlavi periods, when French was the prestige language of education and diplomacy in Iran. A close related word is دکان (dokân, the shop itself), but vitrin specifically means the window or case where goods are shown, not the shop as a whole.
How to use it
- کفشهای ویترین رو نگاه کن چقدر قشنگن. (kafsh-hâye vitrin ro negâh kon, cheghadr ghashangan.) “Look at the shoes in the shop window, how beautiful they are.”
- گوشیه رو از تو ویترین بیار بیرون ببینم. (gushiye ro az tu vitrin biyâr birun bebinam.) “Bring the phone out of the display case so I can have a look.”
- این مغازه یه ویترین خیلی بزرگ داره. (in maghâze ye vitrin kheyli bozorg dâre.) “This shop has a very large display window.”
- عروسکها رو تو ویترین چیدن. (arusak-hâ ro tu vitrin chidan.) “They arranged the dolls in the display case.”
Cultural note
In Iranian cities, the vitrin of a shop is treated as a serious investment in attracting customers, and shopkeepers change their displays seasonally or before major holidays like Nowruz. Clothing boutiques in Tehran’s commercial districts such as Valiasr and Tajrish Square are known for elaborate window displays that signal the shop’s price range and taste. The word is also used informally to describe anything put on show for appearances, for example someone dressed up just to be seen can jokingly be called a vitrin.