جای خالی
“جای خالی” (dzhâe khâli) — free seat in Persian. Noun, level A1, topic — transport. The empty place — jaaye khaali. Is there one? — asks the example. In a live sentence: “یک جای خالی هست؟” — Is there a free seat? Written with the characters ج, ا, ی, خ, ا, ل, ی. One of 15 words in the set “transport” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | جای خالی |
| Read in Latin letters | dzhâe khâli |
| Translation | free seat |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
The empty place — jaaye khaali. Is there one? — asks 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.
- یک جای خالی هست؟yek dzhâe khâli hast؟Is there a free seat?
Nearby words: transport
Bus, metro, taxi, stop, station. These are words you need to recognize in writing — off a departure board and off a sign.
- اتوبوسâtâbusbusThe international word, stress on the first o. The city bus takes tokens, not cash
- ایستگاهiystgâstationThe stop of every transport: istgah-e otobus, bus stop; istgah-e ghatatr, railway station. The word you ask with kojast
- قطارghâtartrainFrom ghatr, dropping — rain that keeps dropping became the iron string of carriages. The gh is deep
- تاکسیtâksitaxiSaid exactly as at home, and as cheap-shared rides: a snappy taxi of strangers is the street way to travel
- متروmetrâmetroThe subway, two clean syllables. The women-only carriages are the first thing a guide mentions
- توقفtavagâfstop (bus)The halt — tavaghof, the bus stop word. The bus stops here, says the example
- مسافرmâsaferpassengerThe traveler — mosaafir, also simply "guest". Every passenger has a ticket, says the example
- جای نشستنdzhâe neshâstanseatLiterally "place of sitting": jaaye neshastan. This one is mine, says the example
- میلهmilehandrailThe bar — mile. My hand is on it, says the example — the standing ride
- بازرسbâzresticket inspectorThe inspector — baazres. Saw my ticket, says the example
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “transport”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “free seat” in Persian?
The empty place — jaaye khaali. Is there one? — asks the example
- How do you say “passenger” in Persian?
The traveler — mosaafir, also simply "guest". Every passenger has a ticket, says the example
- How do you say “train” in Persian?
From ghatr, dropping — rain that keeps dropping became the iron string of carriages. The gh is deep
- How do you say “ticket inspector” in Persian?
The inspector — baazres. Saw my ticket, says the example
- How do you say “stop (bus)” in Persian?
The halt — tavaghof, the bus stop word. The bus stops here, says the 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 “free seat” in Persian?
«جای خالی», read “dzhâe khâli”. In a live sentence: “یک جای خالی هست؟” — Is there a free seat? Noun, level A1, from the set “transport”; written with the characters ج, ا, ی, خ, ا, ل, ی.
How is “جای خالی” written in Latin letters?
dzhâe khâli. 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 empty place — jaaye khaali. Is there one? — asks 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.