How Do You Say 'yellow' In Persian? (Zard)

زرد

zard

yellow

adjectivea1

Quick Reference

PronunciationZARD

Meaningyellow

Levela1

زرد pronounced by Elyar

زرد is the color of autumn leaves and tired faces. Persian poetry uses it more for melancholy than for sunshine.

What it actually means

زرد (zard) means “yellow.” The word is used for objects that are literally yellow (lemons, the sun, gold-colored cloth) and also figuratively for a pale, sallow, or unwell complexion. “رنگش زرد شده” (rangash zard shode) means “his color has gone yellow,” which is to say he looks pale, sick, or shaken. The color word leans toward illness and fading rather than cheerful brightness in everyday Persian, even though it does cover lemons and sunlight too.

How to use it

زرد is a regular adjective, placed after the noun:

برگ زرد (barg-e zard) “yellow leaf”
لیمو زرد (limu-ye zard) “yellow lemon” (Persian distinguishes from the green لیمو ترش)
ماشین زرد (mâshin-e zard) “yellow car” (also: a taxi)

Comparative زردتر (zard-tar); superlative زردترین (zard-tarin). The verb زرد شدن (zard shodan) means “to turn yellow / to go pale,” used for leaves in autumn and faces in fear or illness.

How to say it

Formal (نوشتاری): زرد · zard · “yellow”

Colloquial (محاوره): زرد · zard · same form

In a sentence

برگ‌های پاییزی زرد شدند. · barg-hâ-ye pâyizi zard shodand. · The autumn leaves turned yellow.
رنگش زرد شده، حالش خوب نیست. · rangash zard shode, hâl-ash khub nist. · His face has gone pale, he’s not well.
یک تاکسی زرد گرفتیم. · yek tâksi-ye zard gereftim. · We took a yellow cab.

Cultural context

In Persian poetry زرد is the signature of پاییز (autumn) and of خزان (khazân, fading). Hafez, Saadi, and the modern poet Forough Farrokhzad all use زرد برگ (yellow leaf) as a stand-in for grief, age, lost love, or the body breaking down. The color is melancholic in a way that English yellow is not. Yellow in English often means sunshine and optimism; زرد in Persian usually means a leaf about to fall or a face about to faint. There is also the idiom “رنگش پرید” (rangash parid, “his color flew”) which is paired with زرد in describing fear or shock. On a less heavy note, زرد names Tehran taxis (تاکسی زرد) and a sweet rice dish (شله‌زرد, shole-zard, a saffron rice pudding served at religious ceremonies). The word does both registers; the poetry one is the dominant one.

Pair with سبز (the green of spring, زرد’s seasonal opposite) and پاییز (autumn). For the full set see Persian colors guide.

References

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Cultural Context

In Persian poetry زرد is the signature of پاییز (autumn) and of خزان (khazân, fading). Hafez, Saadi, and the modern poet Forough Farrokhzad all use زرد برگ (yellow leaf) as a stand-in for grief, age, lost love, or the body breaking down. The color is melancholic in a way that English yellow is not. Yellow in English often means sunshine and optimism; زرد in Persian usually means a leaf about to fall or a face about to faint. There is also the idiom "رنگش پرید" (rangash parid, "his color flew") which is paired with زرد in describing fear or shock. On a less heavy note, زرد names Tehran taxis (تاکسی زرد) and a sweet rice dish (شله‌زرد, shole-zard, a saffron rice pudding served at religious ceremonies). The word does both registers; the poetry one is the dominant one.

Connected Words

زرد

zard