ایران
“ایران” (Irân) — Iran in Persian. Noun, level A0, topic — buildings and premises. The name speakers themselves use — the self-name of the country, older than any exonym. Stress stays flat: i-RAAN. In a live sentence: “ایران بزرگ است” — Iran is big. Written with the characters ا, ی, ر, ا, ن. One of 26 words in the set “buildings and premises” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | ایران |
| Read in Latin letters | Irân |
| Translation | Iran |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A0 |
Why it looks that way
The name speakers themselves use — the self-name of the country, older than any exonym. Stress stays flat: i-RAAN
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.
- ایران بزرگ استIrân bâzârg astIran is big
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.
- 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
- سوپرمارکتsupermarketsupermarketThe global word, same shape and sound. The shelves where the bazaar’s goods meet price tags
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 “Iran” in Persian?
The name speakers themselves use — the self-name of the country, older than any exonym. Stress stays flat: i-RAAN
- How do you say “bank” in Persian?
The same word as in every currency of the world. State banks keep the queues; sarafi keeps the exchange rates
- How do you say “square” in Persian?
The open square a city pivots on — and the roundabout where streets meet. Meydan-e azadi is the gate of the capital
- How do you say “supermarket” in Persian?
The global word, same shape and sound. The shelves where the bazaar’s goods meet price tags
- How do you say “pharmacy” in Persian?
Literally "house of drugs": daroo medicine + khane house. Marked by a green cross
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 “Iran” in Persian?
«ایران», read “Irân”. In a live sentence: “ایران بزرگ است” — Iran is big. Noun, level A0, from the set “buildings and premises”; written with the characters ا, ی, ر, ا, ن.
How is “ایران” written in Latin letters?
Irân. 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 name speakers themselves use — the self-name of the country, older than any exonym. Stress stays flat: i-RAAN. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.