زیرزمین
“زیرزمین” (zirezamin) — basement, cellar in Persian. Noun, level B1, topic — home and things. Literally "under-earth": zir, under, plus zamin, earth. It is cold here — sard, the cold of winter too. In the basement it is cold, says the example. In a live sentence: “زیرزمین سرد است” — It is cold in the basement. Written with the characters ز, ی, ر, ز, م, ی, ن. One of 196 words in the set “home and things” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | زیرزمین |
| Read in Latin letters | zirezamin |
| Translation | basement, cellar |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "under-earth": zir, under, plus zamin, earth. It is cold here — sard, the cold of winter too. In the basement it is cold, 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.
- زیرزمین سرد استzirezamin sârd astIt is cold in the basement
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- خانهkhânehouse / homeThe house and the home in one word — khane-ha, houses. The final e is spoken and written both
- آپارتمانâpârtemânapartmentThe French appartement, said with the stress up front. City living is apartment living here too
- گرم کردنgarm kardanto warm upGarm is warm; kardan makes it so: chay garm mikonam — I warm the tea. Food is warmed, never "heated"
- مسکنmaskanhousingThe word of rent ads and city plans — housing as a category. Maskan geran ast: housing is expensive
- اتاقâtâgroomA room of any kind; the living room will add its job to the name. Otaqh-e bozorg: a big room
- آشپزخانهâshpâzkhânekitchenLiterally "cook-house": ashpaz cook + khane house. The kitchen of the course lives in every third example
- حمامhâmmâmbathroomThe bath-house word of old cities, now the bathroom of every flat. Hammam unja-ye: the bathroom is over there
- بالکنbâlkânbalconyThe balcony where rugs are beaten and tea is drunk. Apariment-e baalkon darad: an apartment with a balcony
- طبقهtâbagefloor (storey)Tabaqe is the storey and the layer — the same word for a cake’s tiers. Khane-ye panj tabaqe: a five-storey house
- آسانسورâsânsârliftThe elevator — a French word said with the stress in the middle. Kharab ast: broken, says the example
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “basement, cellar” in Persian?
Literally "under-earth": zir, under, plus zamin, earth. It is cold here — sard, the cold of winter too. In the basement it is cold, says the example
- How do you say “bathroom” in Persian?
The bath-house word of old cities, now the bathroom of every flat. Hammam unja-ye: the bathroom is over there
- How do you say “to warm up” in Persian?
Garm is warm; kardan makes it so: chay garm mikonam — I warm the tea. Food is warmed, never "heated"
- How do you say “lift” in Persian?
The elevator — a French word said with the stress in the middle. Kharab ast: broken, says the example
- How do you say “kitchen” in Persian?
Literally "cook-house": ashpaz cook + khane house. The kitchen of the course lives in every third example
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 “basement, cellar” in Persian?
«زیرزمین», read “zirezamin”. In a live sentence: “زیرزمین سرد است” — It is cold in the basement. Noun, level B1, from the set “home and things”; written with the characters ز, ی, ر, ز, م, ی, ن.
How is “زیرزمین” written in Latin letters?
zirezamin. 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 "under-earth": zir, under, plus zamin, earth. It is cold here — sard, the cold of winter too. In the basement it is cold, 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.