صورت شستن
“صورت شستن” (surât shâstan) — to wash one’s face in Persian. Verb, level A1, topic — everyday life and routine. Surat is the face; shostan washes it — and dishes, and clothes. The morning verb of the bathroom. In a live sentence: “صبح صورتم را میشویم” — In the morning I wash my face. Written with the characters ص, و, ر, ت, ش, س, ت, ن. One of 12 words in the set “everyday life and routine” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | صورت شستن |
| Read in Latin letters | surât shâstan |
| Translation | to wash one’s face |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Surat is the face; shostan washes it — and dishes, and clothes. The morning verb of the bathroom
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.
- صبح صورتم را میشویمsâbh suratam râ mi-shuyamIn the morning I wash my face
Nearby words: everyday life and routine
Work, home, rest, errands. The words the answer to “how are things?” is made of.
- کارkârworkWork, a job, a deed — and the verb partner kar kardan, to work, literally "to do work"
- کار کردنkâr kânto workTo do work — the compound that says half of everyday activity. Dar resturan kar mikonam: I work at a restaurant
- بیدار شدنbidâr shâdanto wake upBidar is awake; shodan makes you become it. Sobh bidar mishavam: I wake in the morning
- بلند شدنbâland shâdanto get upTo become tall — rise from bed, rise from a chair. Sobh zood boland mishavam: I get up early
- شانه کردنshâne kânto combShane is the comb; kardan does the combing. Sobh shane mikonam — morning routine, item three
- شیو کردنshiv kânto shaveThe borrowed shiv — from the French rasage world via Russian. Har ruz shiv mikonam: a daily habit
- لباس پوشیدنlebâs pushidanto get dressedLebas is clothes; pushidan is to wear, to cover. Sobh lebas mipoosham: I dress in the morning
- لباس درآوردنlebâs dârâvardanto get undressedLiterally "to bring the clothes out": dar-avar make-out. The evening reverse of dressing
- نشستنneshâstanto sit downThe sitting verb whose command is a single syllable: beshin, sit! Inja beshin: sit here
- دراز کشیدنdârâz keshidanto lie downLiterally "to stretch length": deraz long + keshidan to pull, to stretch. Shab zood deraz keshidam: I lay down early
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “everyday life and routine”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to wash one’s face” in Persian?
Surat is the face; shostan washes it — and dishes, and clothes. The morning verb of the bathroom
- How do you say “to get dressed” in Persian?
Lebas is clothes; pushidan is to wear, to cover. Sobh lebas mipoosham: I dress in the morning
- How do you say “to wake up” in Persian?
Bidar is awake; shodan makes you become it. Sobh bidar mishavam: I wake in the morning
- How do you say “to lie down” in Persian?
Literally "to stretch length": deraz long + keshidan to pull, to stretch. Shab zood deraz keshidam: I lay down early
- How do you say “to shave” in Persian?
The borrowed shiv — from the French rasage world via Russian. Har ruz shiv mikonam: a daily habit
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 “to wash one’s face” in Persian?
«صورت شستن», read “surât shâstan”. In a live sentence: “صبح صورتم را میشویم” — In the morning I wash my face. Verb, level A1, from the set “everyday life and routine”; written with the characters ص, و, ر, ت, ش, س, ت, ن.
How is “صورت شستن” written in Latin letters?
surât shâstan. 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?
Surat is the face; shostan washes it — and dishes, and clothes. The morning verb of the bathroom. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.