زرد

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.