محله
“محله” (mahâlle) — neighborhood, district in Persian. Noun, level A2, topic — the city and its places. The quarter, its own yards and its own market: what at home is called the neighborhood. "Our neighborhood" — and there everyone knows everyone. Ours is old, says the example. In a live sentence: “محله ما قدیمی است” — Our neighborhood is old. Written with the characters م, ح, ل, ه. One of 81 words in the set “the city and its places” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | محله |
| Read in Latin letters | mahâlle |
| Translation | neighborhood, district |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
The quarter, its own yards and its own market: what at home is called the neighborhood. "Our neighborhood" — and there everyone knows everyone. Ours is old, 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.
- محله ما قدیمی استmahâlle mâ gadimi astOur neighborhood is old
Nearby words: the city and its places
Street, square, pharmacy, bank. An address is built out of these, and an address is something you have to both say and understand.
- شهرshahrcityThe city as a whole, from a hamlet to the capital. Shahr-e qadimi — the old city — is a phrase of guidebooks
- خیابانkhiyabânstreetThe big street with traffic and shopfronts. The small twisty one is kucheh — learn both and the map opens
- میدانmeydânsquareThe open square a city pivots on — and the roundabout where streets meet. Meydan-e azadi is the gate of the capital
- 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
- شلوغیshâlugicrowdSholugh is busy, crowded; the -i makes the bustle a noun. Dar bazaar sholooghi ziad ast: the bazaar is packed
- چراغ راهنماcherâge rahnâmâtraffic lightLiterally "guiding lamp": cheraagh, lamp, light, plus raahnamaa, guide — raah, road, and namaa, showing. Red is ghermez. The light is red, says the example
- دوچرخهdâchârkhebicycleLiterally "two wheels": do, two, plus charkh, wheel. To work one rides it with the same "I go to work" as on foot. So, says the example
- ایستگاه اتوبوسiystgâe âtâbusbus stopistgaah is both a stop and a station; the second word tells which. The rail one is istgaah-e ghataar. Where is it? says the example
- بلیط ماهانهbâlite mâhânemonthly passThe ticket word in general — it traveled from Europe with the tickets themselves. The monthly adds the month. I am buying a pass, says the example
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “the city and its places”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “neighborhood, district” in Persian?
The quarter, its own yards and its own market: what at home is called the neighborhood. "Our neighborhood" — and there everyone knows everyone. Ours is old, says the example
- How do you say “traffic light” in Persian?
Literally "guiding lamp": cheraagh, lamp, light, plus raahnamaa, guide — raah, road, and namaa, showing. Red is ghermez. The light is red, says the example
- 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 “monthly pass” in Persian?
The ticket word in general — it traveled from Europe with the tickets themselves. The monthly adds the month. I am buying a pass, says the example
- How do you say “crowd” in Persian?
Sholugh is busy, crowded; the -i makes the bustle a noun. Dar bazaar sholooghi ziad ast: the bazaar is packed
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 “neighborhood, district” in Persian?
«محله», read “mahâlle”. In a live sentence: “محله ما قدیمی است” — Our neighborhood is old. Noun, level A2, from the set “the city and its places”; written with the characters م, ح, ل, ه.
How is “محله” written in Latin letters?
mahâlle. 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 quarter, its own yards and its own market: what at home is called the neighborhood. "Our neighborhood" — and there everyone knows everyone. Ours is old, 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.