بالش
“بالش” (bâlesh) — pillow, cushion in Persian. Noun, level A2, topic — home and things. A pillow for the head and a sofa cushion alike. On the floor people sit on cushions more willingly than on chairs — and the back is content. I want two, says the example. In a live sentence: “دو بالش میخواهم” — I want two cushions. Written with the characters ب, ا, ل, ش. One of 196 words in the set “home and things” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | بالش |
| Read in Latin letters | bâlesh |
| Translation | pillow, cushion |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
A pillow for the head and a sofa cushion alike. On the floor people sit on cushions more willingly than on chairs — and the back is content. I want two, says the example
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- دو بالش میخواهمdâ bâlesh mi-khâhamI want two cushions
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- خانهkhânehouse / homeThe house and the home in one word — khane-ha, houses. The final e is spoken and written both
- آپارتمانâpârtemânapartmentThe French appartement, said with the stress up front. City living is apartment living here too
- گرم کردنgârm kânto warm upGarm is warm; kardan makes it so: chay garm mikonam — I warm the tea. Food is warmed, never "heated"
- مسکنmaskanhousingThe word of rent ads and city plans — housing as a category. Maskan geran ast: housing is expensive
- اتاقâtâgroomA room of any kind; the living room will add its job to the name. Otaqh-e bozorg: a big room
- آشپزخانهâshpâzkhânekitchenLiterally "cook-house": ashpaz cook + khane house. The kitchen of the course lives in every third example
- حمامhâmmâmbathroomThe bath-house word of old cities, now the bathroom of every flat. Hammam unja-ye: the bathroom is over there
- بالکنbâlkânbalconyThe balcony where rugs are beaten and tea is drunk. Apariment-e baalkon darad: an apartment with a balcony
- طبقهtâbagefloor (storey)Tabaqe is the storey and the layer — the same word for a cake’s tiers. Khane-ye panj tabaqe: a five-storey house
- آسانسورâsânsârliftThe elevator — a French word said with the stress in the middle. Kharab ast: broken, says the example
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “pillow, cushion” in Persian?
A pillow for the head and a sofa cushion alike. On the floor people sit on cushions more willingly than on chairs — and the back is content. I want two, says the example
- How do you say “bathroom” in Persian?
The bath-house word of old cities, now the bathroom of every flat. Hammam unja-ye: the bathroom is over there
- How do you say “to warm up” in Persian?
Garm is warm; kardan makes it so: chay garm mikonam — I warm the tea. Food is warmed, never "heated"
- How do you say “lift” in Persian?
The elevator — a French word said with the stress in the middle. Kharab ast: broken, says the example
- How do you say “kitchen” in Persian?
Literally "cook-house": ashpaz cook + khane house. The kitchen of the course lives in every third example
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “pillow, cushion” in Persian?
«بالش», read “bâlesh”. In a live sentence: “دو بالش میخواهم” — I want two cushions. Noun, level A2, from the set “home and things”; written with the characters ب, ا, ل, ش.
How is “بالش” written in Latin letters?
bâlesh. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
A pillow for the head and a sofa cushion alike. On the floor people sit on cushions more willingly than on chairs — and the back is content. I want two, says the example. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.