سر راه
“سر راه” (sâre râh) — on the way in Persian. Phrase, level A1, topic — asking the way. Literally "at the head of the way": sar-e rah-e ma — on our way. Things you pass without a detour. In a live sentence: “مدرسه سر راه ما است.” — The school is on our way. Written with the characters س, ر, ر, ا, ه. One of 18 words in the set “asking the way” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | سر راه |
| Read in Latin letters | sâre râh |
| Translation | on the way |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "at the head of the way": sar-e rah-e ma — on our way. Things you pass without a detour
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.
- مدرسه سر راه ما است.madrese sâre râhe mâ ast.The school is on our way.
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.
- کجاست؟kâdzhâst؟where is?Koja where + ast is — melted into one word. The question that ends half the street conversations of the course
- 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
- برسیدنberesidanto arrive (get somewhere)The reaching verb of journeys: ba otoboos key beresim? — when do we get there by bus?
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 “on the way” in Persian?
Literally "at the head of the way": sar-e rah-e ma — on our way. Things you pass without a detour
- 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 do you say “there” in Persian?
There, away from us — the -un- is the far hand. Bank unja-ye: the bank is over there
- How do you say “to arrive (get somewhere)” in Persian?
The reaching verb of journeys: ba otoboos key beresim? — when do we get there by bus?
- How do you say “straight” in Persian?
From the root of "straightness" in law too — a straight line and a just one. Mostaghim bero: go straight
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 “on the way” in Persian?
«سر راه», read “sâre râh”. In a live sentence: “مدرسه سر راه ما است.” — The school is on our way. Phrase, level A1, from the set “asking the way”; written with the characters س, ر, ر, ا, ه.
How is “سر راه” written in Latin letters?
sâre râh. 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 "at the head of the way": sar-e rah-e ma — on our way. Things you pass without a detour. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.