صرافی
“صرافی” (sârrâfi) — exchange office in Persian. Noun, level A1, topic — buildings and premises. From sarf, exchange. The licensed counter where dollars turn into tomans — open till six, says the example. In a live sentence: “این صرافی تا ساعت شش باز است.” — This exchange office is open until six. Written with the characters ص, ر, ا, ف, ی. One of 26 words in the set “buildings and premises” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | صرافی |
| Read in Latin letters | sârrâfi |
| Translation | exchange office |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
From sarf, exchange. The licensed counter where dollars turn into tomans — open till six, 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.
- این صرافی تا ساعت شش باز است.in sârrâfi tâ sââte shesh bâz ast.This exchange office is open until six.
Nearby words: buildings and premises
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
- ایرانIrânIranThe name speakers themselves use — the self-name of the country, older than any exonym. Stress stays flat: i-RAAN
- تهرانTehrânTehranThe capital, and the accent this course teaches. The h in the middle is breathed, not silent
- رستورانresturânrestaurantThe same loanword as English, said with the stress pulled to the end: restuRAAN. On signs it sits next to fast food
- میدانmeydânsquareThe open square a city pivots on — and the roundabout where streets meet. Meydan-e azadi is the gate of the capital
- فروشگاهfârushgâhshopLiterally "place of selling": forush sale + gah place. The generic shop, from grocery to mall
- ایستگاهiystgâstationThe stop of every transport: istgah-e otobus, bus stop; istgah-e ghatatr, railway station. The word you ask with kojast
- 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
- بازارbâzârbazaarThe covered market-city of shops and caravanserais — the word that walked from these streets into English whole
- نیمکتnemkatcounterThe shop counter, the bench of trade. Same word as the park bench — the place you lean on to buy
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “buildings and premises”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “exchange office” in Persian?
From sarf, exchange. The licensed counter where dollars turn into tomans — open till six, says the example
- How do you say “pharmacy” in Persian?
Literally "house of drugs": daroo medicine + khane house. Marked by a green cross
- How do you say “restaurant” in Persian?
The same loanword as English, said with the stress pulled to the end: restuRAAN. On signs it sits next to fast food
- How do you say “counter” in Persian?
The shop counter, the bench of trade. Same word as the park bench — the place you lean on to buy
- How do you say “station” in Persian?
The stop of every transport: istgah-e otobus, bus stop; istgah-e ghatatr, railway station. The word you ask with kojast
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 “exchange office” in Persian?
«صرافی», read “sârrâfi”. In a live sentence: “این صرافی تا ساعت شش باز است.” — This exchange office is open until six. Noun, level A1, from the set “buildings and premises”; written with the characters ص, ر, ا, ف, ی.
How is “صرافی” written in Latin letters?
sârrâfi. 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?
From sarf, exchange. The licensed counter where dollars turn into tomans — open till six, 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.