کجاست؟
“کجاست؟” (kâdzhâst؟) — where is? in Persian. Phrase, level A0, topic — asking the way. Koja where + ast is — melted into one word. The question that ends half the street conversations of the course. In a live sentence: “ایستگاه کجاست؟” — Where is the station? Written with the characters ک, ج, ا, س, ت. One of 18 words in the set “asking the way” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | کجاست؟ |
| Read in Latin letters | kâdzhâst؟ |
| Translation | where is? |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A0 |
Why it looks that way
Koja where + ast is — melted into one word. The question that ends half the street conversations of the course
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.
- ایستگاه کجاست؟iystgâ kâdzhâst؟Where is the station?
Nearby words: asking the way
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
- اینجاindzhâhereHere, at the speaker. Ask rasturan inja-ye? — is the restaurant here? — and point
- آنجاândzhâthereThere, away from us — the -un- is the far hand. Bank unja-ye: the bank is over there
- راستrâstright (direction)Right — the direction and the truth share this word, as in "the right answer". Raast bero: go right
- چپchapleft (direction)Left, one syllable. In street speech baad chap bero — then go left — is the second half of every direction
- مستقیمmâstaghimstraightFrom the root of "straightness" in law too — a straight line and a just one. Mostaghim bero: go straight
- نزدیکnazdikcloseClose, near — a shop can be nazdik and a person too: nazdike man, close to me. The -i of nazdaki turns it into a spot
- دورdurfarFar — and the same dur serves as "away" and "around". Istgah dour ast? — is the station far?
- چطور برمchâtâr beramhow do I get there?Chetor how + beram shall-I-go: the question that replaces every map. Point somewhere and ask it
- خود را رساندنkhâd râ resândanto arrive (get somewhere)Literally "to bring oneself": resândan, to deliver, from residan, to arrive. Khod changes with the person: khodam râ miresânam, I will get there myself
- اونور خیابانun-vâre khiyabânacross the streetVar is the side of anything — oon-var-e khiaban: the other side of the street. A pharmacy usually waits there
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “asking the way”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where is?” in Persian?
Koja where + ast is — melted into one word. The question that ends half the street conversations of the course
- How do you say “far” in Persian?
Far — and the same dur serves as "away" and "around". Istgah dour ast? — is the station far?
- How do you say “right (direction)” in Persian?
Right — the direction and the truth share this word, as in "the right answer". Raast bero: go right
- How do you say “across the street” in Persian?
Var is the side of anything — oon-var-e khiaban: the other side of the street. A pharmacy usually waits there
- How do you say “close” in Persian?
Close, near — a shop can be nazdik and a person too: nazdike man, close to me. The -i of nazdaki turns it into a spot
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 “where is?” in Persian?
«کجاست؟», read “kâdzhâst؟”. In a live sentence: “ایستگاه کجاست؟” — Where is the station? Phrase, level A0, from the set “asking the way”; written with the characters ک, ج, ا, س, ت.
How is “کجاست؟” written in Latin letters?
kâdzhâst؟. 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?
Koja where + ast is — melted into one word. The question that ends half the street conversations of the course. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.