What it means
زیرقابلمه (zir-qâblame) is a trivet or pot-holder pad, a heat-resistant object placed under a hot pot or pan to protect the table or countertop from heat damage. The word is a compound of two elements: زیر (zir), a native Persian preposition and prefix meaning “under” or “beneath,” and قابلمه (qâblame), a saucepan or cooking pot, which is itself borrowed from the Turkish word kaplama (a metal coating or covering). This makes زیرقابلمه a mixed-origin compound. It is important not to confuse زیرقابلمه with دستگیره (dastgire), which is an oven mitt or pot-holder grip used to hold a hot handle, rather than a surface pad placed underneath.
How to use it
- زیرقابلمه رو بذار رو میز، قابلمه داغه. (Zir-qâblame ro bezâr ru miz, qâblame dâghe.) “Put the trivet on the table, the pot is hot.”
- یه زیرقابلمه سیلیکونی خریدم که ضد حرارته. (Ye zir-qâblame-ye silikuni kharidam ke zedd-e harârate.) “I bought a silicone trivet that is heat-resistant.”
- بدون زیرقابلمه قابلمه رو رو میز چوبی نذار. (Bedune zir-qâblame, qâblame ro ru miz-e chubi nazâr.) “Do not place the pot on the wooden table without a trivet.”
- زیرقابلمهها تو کشوی آشپزخانهان. (Zir-qâblame-hâ tu keshu-ye âshpazkhâne-an.) “The trivets are in the kitchen drawer.”
Cultural note
Iranian kitchens have long relied on improvised heat protection: folded cloth, ceramic tiles, or woven mats placed under heavy rice pots and pressure cookers. With the spread of modern engineered stone and laminate countertops in urban Iranian homes, dedicated زیرقابلمه products, often made from silicone, cork, or stainless steel, have become common kitchen purchases. The word قابلمه itself entered Persian from Turkish and is now so thoroughly integrated into everyday speech that most native speakers do not perceive it as a loanword.