کمکم
“کمکم” (kam-kam) — gradually, little by little in Persian. Adverb, level B1, topic — time, days and hours. Literally "little-little": the doubling itself makes the gradualness. The same move in "one by one": the language loves an honest count. Gradually I learned, says the example. In a live sentence: “کمکم یاد گرفتم” — Gradually I learned. Written with the characters ک, م, ک, م. One of 138 words in the set “time, days and hours” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | کمکم |
| Read in Latin letters | kam-kam |
| Translation | gradually, little by little |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "little-little": the doubling itself makes the gradualness. The same move in "one by one": the language loves an honest count. Gradually I learned, 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.
- کمکم یاد گرفتمkam-kam yâd gereftamGradually I learned
Nearby words: time, days and hours
Today, tomorrow, in the morning, at six. You cannot arrange to meet without these — let alone understand the answer.
- ساعتsââthour / clock / timeOne word for the hour, the clock and o’clock: saat-e che? — what time? The word came from Arabic, like the practice of counting hours itself
- امروزemruztodayToday — em the now + ruz the day. The day root ruz repeats in farda and diruz
- فرداfardâtomorrowTomorrow — the word of every promise. Farda bazaar mirim: tomorrow we go to the bazaar
- دیروزdiruzyesterdayYesterday, the di- an old mark of the past. Diruz dar khane budam: yesterday I was at home
- صبحsâbhmorningThe morning that runs to noon. Sobh bekheyr wishes it well; sobh-ha makes it a habit — every morning
- عصرasrlate afternoonThe slot between noon work and evening rest — the park hour. Asr bekheyr greets it
- شبshabnightNight, and the same word runs through shab bekheyr and emshab. Shab-ha: nights, as a routine
- روزruzdayThe day — and the sun itself, one word for both. Har ruz, every day, is the most common phrase it makes
- حالاhâlânowNow — of time and of concession: hala ke, now that. Hala vaqt nist: there is no time now
- امشبemshabtonightEm, the now, pressed against shab: tonight. One word where English needs three
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “time, days and hours”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “gradually, little by little” in Persian?
Literally "little-little": the doubling itself makes the gradualness. The same move in "one by one": the language loves an honest count. Gradually I learned, says the example
- How do you say “night” in Persian?
Night, and the same word runs through shab bekheyr and emshab. Shab-ha: nights, as a routine
- How do you say “tomorrow” in Persian?
Tomorrow — the word of every promise. Farda bazaar mirim: tomorrow we go to the bazaar
- How do you say “tonight” in Persian?
Em, the now, pressed against shab: tonight. One word where English needs three
- How do you say “late afternoon” in Persian?
The slot between noon work and evening rest — the park hour. Asr bekheyr greets it
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 “gradually, little by little” in Persian?
«کمکم», read “kam-kam”. In a live sentence: “کمکم یاد گرفتم” — Gradually I learned. Adverb, level B1, from the set “time, days and hours”; written with the characters ک, م, ک, م.
How is “کمکم” written in Latin letters?
kam-kam. 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?
Literally "little-little": the doubling itself makes the gradualness. The same move in "one by one": the language loves an honest count. Gradually I learned, 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.