Asking the way in Persian
18 words in Persian on the topic “asking the way”: کجاست؟ — where is?, اینجا — here, آنجا — there, راست — right (direction).
18 words on the topic
- 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?
- اونور خیابانun-vâre khiyabânacross the streetVar is the side of anything — oon-var-e khiaban: the other side of the street. A pharmacy usually waits there
- دو قدمیdâ gadamitwo steps awayGhadam is a step; do-ghadami is "at two steps" — the promise every shopkeeper makes
- بعد از پیچbâd az pichpast the turnPich is the bend, the twist of a road. Baad az pich — after the bend — is where our house stands
- سمت چپsamate chapon the left (side)Semt is the side, borrowed from Arabic through Turkish. Samt-e chap-e khiaban: the left side of the street
- سمت راستsamate râston the right (side)The right-side twin: samt-e raast. The mosque stands on the right, the example says — mosques face the street square
- در وسطdar vâsatin the middleDar, in, + vasat the middle: the place of the dinner table and of the roundabout
- پیچ بعدیpiche ba'dinext turnThe bend that follows: pich-e badi. The shop sits on it, and the driver will know
- سر راهsâre râhon the wayLiterally "at the head of the way": sar-e rah-e ma — on our way. Things you pass without a detour
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How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
کجاست؟ (kâdzhâst؟) — where is? Koja where + ast is — melted into one word. The question that ends half the street conversations of the course.
اینجا (indzhâ) — here. Here, at the speaker. Ask rasturan inja-ye? — is the restaurant here? — and point.
آنجا (ândzhâ) — there. There, away from us — the -un- is the far hand. Bank unja-ye: the bank is over there.
راست (râst) — right (direction). Right — the direction and the truth share this word, as in "the right answer". Raast bero: go right.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where is?” in Persian?
Koja where + ast is — melted into one word. The question that ends half the street conversations of the course
- How do you say “far” in Persian?
Far — and the same dur serves as "away" and "around". Istgah dour ast? — is the station far?
- How do you say “on the right (side)” in Persian?
The right-side twin: samt-e raast. The mosque stands on the right, the example says — mosques face the street square
- How do you say “right (direction)” in Persian?
Right — the direction and the truth share this word, as in "the right answer". Raast bero: go right
- How do you say “across the street” in Persian?
Var is the side of anything — oon-var-e khiaban: the other side of the street. A pharmacy usually waits there
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
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.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “where is?” in Persian?
«کجاست؟», read “kâdzhâst؟”. Koja where + ast is — melted into one word. The question that ends half the street conversations of the course. It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 18 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.