Persian School & Education Vocabulary

My cousin failed the کنکور. konkur. three times. Three years of his life, locked in a room with prep books, eating dinner at his desk, barely seeing sunlight. His mom cried each time the results came in. The fourth year, he got into medical school at Tehran University. His mom cried again. different tears.

If you want to understand Iran, you need to understand its schools. The Persian school vocabulary below isn't just a word list. it's a map of a system that shapes every Iranian's identity. From دبستان. dabestân. elementary school to دانشگاه. dâneshgâh. university, every level has its own culture, its own slang, and its own trauma. Here are 40 farsi education words that every Iranian knows by heart.

School Levels in Persian

Iran's education system doesn't map neatly onto the American or European model. The structure has changed multiple times since the revolution, but the vocabulary has stuck. Here's the hierarchy from youngest to oldest.

کودکستان. kudakestân. kindergarten / preschool
Literally "children's place." Not mandatory, but most urban families send their kids. Ages 3–5.

دبستان. dabestân. elementary school
Grades 1 through 6. Where you learn the alphabet, basic Persian numbers, and how to sit still for six hours. Ages 6–12.

راهنمایی. râhnamâyi. middle school / guidance school
The old term. Grades 7–9. Iran merged this with high school in 2012, but every Iranian over 20 still calls it râhnamâyi. You'll hear this word constantly.

دبیرستان. dabirestân. high school
Now covers grades 7–12 under the new system. The word comes from دبیر. dabir. which means teacher (specifically a high school teacher, not an elementary one).

دانشگاه. dâneshgâh. university
Literally "place of knowledge." The word every Iranian parent whispers like a prayer. Getting into a good dâneshgâh is the single most important event in an Iranian family's life. sometimes more than the wedding.

مهد کودک. mahd-e kudak. daycare / nursery
For ages 0–3. Literally "cradle of children." Different from kudakestân.

In the Classroom

Walk into any Iranian classroom and you'll see the same things: rows of desks, a whiteboard (or chalkboard if the school's budget hasn't been updated since 1995), and a teacher who commands the room like a military officer. The vocabulary reflects this.

معلم. mo'allem. teacher (elementary)
The general word for teacher. Carries a lot of cultural weight. mo'allem is a respected title in Iran. "Teacher's Day" (ruz-e mo'allem) is a national event.

دانش‌آموز. dânesh-âmuz. student (school-age)
Literally "knowledge learner." This is for school students, not university.

دانشجو. dâneshjoo. university student
Different word. Using dânesh-âmuz for a university student is like calling a college senior a "schoolboy."

درس. dars. lesson / class / subject
Dars khundam. I studied (literally "I read the lesson"). One of the most common Farsi words you'll hear in any family home.

امتحان. emtehân. exam / test
The word that makes every Iranian student's stomach drop. Emtehân dâram. I have an exam. Said with the tone of someone announcing a funeral.

تکلیف. taklif. homework / assignment
Taklifât (plural) is the bane of every Iranian kid's existence. Taklifâto neveshti?. Did you write your homework? Every Iranian mom, every evening, forever.

کتاب. ketâb. book
Ketâb-e dars. textbook (literally "lesson book"). Iran's school textbooks are government-issued and standardized nationwide.

دفتر. daftar. notebook
Also means "office" in other contexts. Daftar-e mashgham kojâst?. Where's my exercise notebook?

تخته. takhteh. blackboard / whiteboard
Literally "board" or "plank." Boro pây-e takhteh. Go to the board. A sentence that strikes fear into every student who didn't do the reading.

گوچ. gooch. cheat sheet / cheating
Slang, but universal. Gooch zadan. to cheat (on an exam). Not in any textbook, but every Iranian knows it.

کلاس. kelâs. class / classroom
Borrowed from French classe. Kelâs-e chand-om?. What grade are you in?

زنگ. zang. bell / period
Zang-e tafrih. recess bell. The best sound in every Iranian school.

تفریح. tafrih. recess / recreation
Zang-e tafrih zad. The recess bell rang. Fifteen minutes of freedom between classes.

School Subjects in Farsi

Iranian schools teach a standard set of subjects. Some names are Arabic-origin, some are pure Persian, and a couple are borrowed from European languages. If you're talking to an Iranian about their school memories, these words will come up fast.

ریاضی. riyâzi. mathematics
The subject Iranian parents worship. Riyâziyât nafahmidam. I didn't understand math. Words that no Iranian parent wants to hear.

فیزیک. fizik. physics
From French. Along with math and chemistry, it forms the holy trinity of the reshteh-ye riyâzi-fizik (math-physics track). the most prestigious high school track.

شیمی. shimi. chemistry
Also from French chimie. Âzmâyeshgâh-e shimi. chemistry lab.

ادبیات. adabiyât. literature
Persian literature class is where students memorize Hafez and Saadi. It's also where most students discover they hate poetry. until they're 30 and suddenly understand it.

تاریخ. târikh. history
Also means "date" (as in calendar). Târikh-e Irân. History of Iran.

جغرافیا. joghâfiyâ. geography
From Arabic, ultimately from Greek. Mo'allem-e joghâfiyâ. geography teacher.

زیست‌شناسی. zist-shenâsi. biology
Pure Persian construction: zist (life) + shenâsi (study of). The track for future doctors.

هنر. honar. art
Also means "skill" or "talent" in classical Persian. Honar nazd-e irâniyân ast o bas. "Art belongs to Iranians and that's it". a famous (and debated) verse by Ferdowsi.

ورزش. varzesh. physical education / sports
Zang-e varzesh. PE class. Usually means soccer in the schoolyard for boys, and volleyball for girls.

زبان. zabân. language (as a school subject: English / foreign language)
Mo'allem-e zabân. English teacher. In Iran's schools, zabân almost always means English class specifically.

Grades and Performance

Iranian grading runs on a 0–20 scale. A 10 is passing. A 20 is perfect. and it's not a myth, some students actually get it. The vocabulary around grades is deeply emotional in Iranian culture because your nomreh basically determines your future.

نمره. nomreh. grade / score
Nomreh-ye emtehânam bad shod. My exam grade was bad. The sentence that triggers family meetings.

قبول شدن. qabul shodan. to pass (an exam or course)
Literally "to become accepted." Qabul shodi?. Did you pass?

رد شدن. rad shodan. to fail (an exam or course)
Literally "to become rejected." Riyâzi rad shodam. I failed math. Three words that can ruin a summer.

معدل. mo'addel. GPA / grade average
Your mo'addel follows you everywhere. University applications, job interviews, family gatherings where your aunt compares you to your cousin. Mo'addelet chand shod?. What was your GPA?

کارنامه. kâr-nâmeh. report card / transcript
Literally "work document." The piece of paper that either makes your parents proud or gets hidden under the mattress.

دیپلم. diplom. high school diploma
From French. Diplom gereftam. I got my diploma. The minimum credential for most jobs in Iran.

The Konkur: Iran's University Entrance Exam

No list of school in Farsi vocabulary is complete without the word that haunts every Iranian teenager. The کنکور. konkur. is Iran's national university entrance exam, and it's not an exaggeration to say it's the most important test of an Iranian's life.

کنکور. konkur. university entrance exam
From French concours (competition). Taken once a year, in the summer. One shot. Millions of students. Limited spots. The pressure is unreal.

کنکوری. konkuri. someone preparing for the konkur
An adjective that becomes an identity. "My son is konkuri" means: don't call the house, don't invite us anywhere, don't breathe loudly near him. Being konkuri is a full-time status that lasts a year or more.

رتبه. rotbeh. rank / ranking
Your konkur result is a national rank, not a percentage. Rotbeh-ye chand âvordi?. What rank did you get? Getting a rank under 1,000 means you're going somewhere good. Under 100, you're a legend.

پشت کنکوری. posht-konkuri. someone retaking the konkur
Literally "behind the konkur." Someone who didn't get their desired rank and is trying again. No shame in it. many of Iran's best doctors and engineers are posht-konkuri. My cousin was one of them.

تست زدن. test zadan. to do multiple-choice practice
The konkur is entirely multiple choice. Test (borrowed from English) plus zadan (to hit/strike). Students spend months just doing practice tests. thousands of them.

کلاس کنکور. kelâs-e konkur. konkur prep class
A massive industry. Families spend serious money on prep courses. The top konkur teachers are celebrities. some earn more than surgeons.

Quick Reference Table

All 40 education words in one place. Screenshot it, print it, or add them to your flashcard app.

FAQ

Forty words. That's enough to understand any Iranian's school story. and every Iranian has one. The time they cheated with a gooch, the teacher who threw chalk at them, the summer they were konkuri and forgot what sunlight looked like.

If you're building your Persian vocabulary by topic, education words connect to everything. family conversations, social status, even politics. Half the arguments at an Iranian dinner table circle back to someone's reshteh or mo'addel.

Want to practice using these words in real sentences. not textbook sentences, but the way an actual Iranian would talk about their school years? I'm on Preply. Book a session and we'll talk about the Iranian education system in Farsi. I'll tell you my own konkur story. it involves a lot of tea and very little sleep.

Get it wrong and the worst that happens is a warm laugh and a story they’ll tell for years. Get it right — refuse the tea twice, accept on the third — and you’ll watch a face open up. You didn’t just speak Persian. You played the game.