صفر
“صفر” (sefr) — zero in Persian. Numeral, level A1, topic — basic words. Zero — and the word behind "cipher": the empty circle left arithmetic and walked west with the caravans. In a live sentence: “صفر تومان” — Zero tomans. Written with the characters ص, ف, ر. One of 316 words in the set “basic words” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | صفر |
| Read in Latin letters | sefr |
| Translation | zero |
| Part of speech | numeral |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Zero — and the word behind "cipher": the empty circle left arithmetic and walked west with the caravans
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.
- صفر تومانsefr tumânZero tomans
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- بلهbaleyesShort and firm. Conversation loves to double it — bale, bale — the way English says "yes, yes, of course"
- نهnenoOne syllable, said with a falling tone. The soft refusal is na, mersi — the same shrug as "no, thanks"
- خوبkhubwellOne syllable that answers half the small talk of the course. Khubam — I am well — is khub with the ending -am stuck on
- بدbadbadThree letters, the plain opposite of khub. On "how are you?" people rarely say it flat out — politeness answers bad nist, not bad
- عالیâligreatFrom a root meaning height and loftiness. As an answer it outbids khubam: everything is top-notch — food, views, mood
- خوبمkhubamI am wellLiterally "well-I": the link verb -am glues straight onto the word, no separate "am" needed. The full answer runs khubam, mamnun
- همhamtooThe quiet "also" that follows the word it copies: man ham — me too. Never stands first in the sentence
- بایدbâyadmustObligation with no personal ending at all: bayad beram — [it is necessary that] I go. Whoever must, the verb ending says it
- باbawithThe companion preposition: cha ba shir — tea with milk. Before a word starting with a vowel it wears down to bo
- درdarin / atThe preposition of being inside: dar Tehran — in Tehran. It also opens the door, dar-e khane — the house door
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “zero” in Persian?
Zero — and the word behind "cipher": the empty circle left arithmetic and walked west with the caravans
- How do you say “too” in Persian?
The quiet "also" that follows the word it copies: man ham — me too. Never stands first in the sentence
- How do you say “well” in Persian?
One syllable that answers half the small talk of the course. Khubam — I am well — is khub with the ending -am stuck on
- How do you say “in / at” in Persian?
The preposition of being inside: dar Tehran — in Tehran. It also opens the door, dar-e khane — the house door
- How do you say “I am well” in Persian?
Literally "well-I": the link verb -am glues straight onto the word, no separate "am" needed. The full answer runs khubam, mamnun
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 “zero” in Persian?
«صفر», read “sefr”. In a live sentence: “صفر تومان” — Zero tomans. Numeral, level A1, from the set “basic words”; written with the characters ص, ف, ر.
How is “صفر” written in Latin letters?
sefr. 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?
Zero — and the word behind "cipher": the empty circle left arithmetic and walked west with the caravans. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.