دفتر
“دفتر” (daftâr) — office in Persian. Noun, level A1, topic — buildings and premises. The office — daftar, the same word as the notebook, both being "leaves of work". Far: says the example. In a live sentence: “دفتر دور است” — The office is far. Written with the characters د, ف, ت, ر. One of 26 words in the set “buildings and premises” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | دفتر |
| Read in Latin letters | daftâr |
| Translation | office |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
The office — daftar, the same word as the notebook, both being "leaves of work". Far: 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.
- دفتر دور استdaftâr dur astThe office is far
Nearby words: buildings and premises
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
- ایرانIrânIranThe name speakers themselves use — the self-name of the country, older than any exonym. Stress stays flat: i-RAAN
- تهرانTehrânTehranThe capital, and the accent this course teaches. The h in the middle is breathed, not silent
- رستورانresturânrestaurantThe same loanword as English, said with the stress pulled to the end: restuRAAN. On signs it sits next to fast food
- میدانmeydânsquareThe open square a city pivots on — and the roundabout where streets meet. Meydan-e azadi is the gate of the capital
- فروشگاهfârushgâhshopLiterally "place of selling": forush sale + gah place. The generic shop, from grocery to mall
- ایستگاهiystgâstationThe stop of every transport: istgah-e otobus, bus stop; istgah-e ghatatr, railway station. The word you ask with kojast
- داروخانهdârukhânepharmacyLiterally "house of drugs": daroo medicine + khane house. Marked by a green cross
- بانکbânkbankThe same word as in every currency of the world. State banks keep the queues; sarafi keeps the exchange rates
- بازارbâzârbazaarThe covered market-city of shops and caravanserais — the word that walked from these streets into English whole
- نیمکتnemkatcounterThe shop counter, the bench of trade. Same word as the park bench — the place you lean on to buy
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “buildings and premises”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “office” in Persian?
The office — daftar, the same word as the notebook, both being "leaves of work". Far: says the example
- How do you say “pharmacy” in Persian?
Literally "house of drugs": daroo medicine + khane house. Marked by a green cross
- How do you say “restaurant” in Persian?
The same loanword as English, said with the stress pulled to the end: restuRAAN. On signs it sits next to fast food
- How do you say “counter” in Persian?
The shop counter, the bench of trade. Same word as the park bench — the place you lean on to buy
- How do you say “station” in Persian?
The stop of every transport: istgah-e otobus, bus stop; istgah-e ghatatr, railway station. The word you ask with kojast
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 “office” in Persian?
«دفتر», read “daftâr”. In a live sentence: “دفتر دور است” — The office is far. Noun, level A1, from the set “buildings and premises”; written with the characters د, ف, ت, ر.
How is “دفتر” written in Latin letters?
daftâr. 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?
The office — daftar, the same word as the notebook, both being "leaves of work". Far: 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.