Vocabulary
Food is at the heart of daily life in Tehran, and it is one of the easiest ways to start using Persian: at the bakery, the fruit stall, the dinner table and the café. This page collects the Persian food vocabulary you will use most, from basic ingredients to the dishes on every Tehran menu, plus the verbs you need in the kitchen and the words for describing how something tastes.
For ordering in restaurants, see Lesson 15: Food, Cafés and Restaurants. As elsewhere in the course, the spoken Tehrani form comes first, with the written form noted where it differs.
Staples and ingredients
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| نون | nun (written: nân) | bread |
| نونوایی | nunvâyi (written: nânvâyi) | bakery |
| برنج | berenj | rice (uncooked) |
| گوشت | gusht | meat |
| گوشت چرخ‌کرده | gusht-e charkh-karde | mince |
| مرغ | morgh | chicken |
| ماهی | mâhi | fish |
| تخم‌مرغ | tokhm-e morgh | egg |
| پنیر | panir | cheese |
| ماست | mâst | yoghurt |
| شیر | shir | milk |
| کره | kare | butter |
| روغن | roghan | oil |
| عدس | adas | lentils |
| لپه | lape | yellow split peas |
| نخود | nokhod | chickpeas |
| لوبیا | lubiâ | beans |
| نمک | namak | salt |
| فلفل | felfel | pepper |
| زعفرون | za’farun (written: za’farân) | saffron |
| زردچوبه | zardchube | turmeric |
| دارچین | dârchin | cinnamon |
| شکر | shekar | sugar |
| قند | ghand | sugar lump |
Fruit, vegetables, herbs and nuts
In Persian, سبزی sabzi means fresh herbs rather than vegetables in general: a plate of sabzi khordan (herbs for eating) of mint, basil, tarragon and spring onions comes with many meals.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| میوه | mive | fruit |
| سیب | sib | apple |
| پرتقال | porteghâl | orange |
| انار | anâr | pomegranate |
| انگور | angur | grapes |
| هندونه | hendune (written: hendevâne) | watermelon |
| خرما | khormâ | dates |
| لیمو | limu | lemon, lime |
| سیب‌زمینی | sibzamini | potato |
| پیاز | piâz | onion |
| سیر | sir | garlic |
| بادمجون | bâdemjun (written: bâdenjân) | aubergine |
| خیار | khiâr | cucumber |
| هویج | havij | carrot |
| گوجه | gowje (in full: gowje-farangi, گوجه‌فرنگی) | tomato |
| سبزی | sabzi | fresh herbs |
| گردو | gerdu | walnut |
| پسته | peste | pistachio |
| بادوم | bâdum (written: bâdâm) | almond |
| زرشک | zereshk | barberries |
Dishes you will meet in Tehran
خورش khoresh (stew) is served with چلو chelow (plain rice), while پلو polo is rice cooked together with other ingredients. The golden crust from the bottom of the rice pot, ته‌دیگ tahdig, is the part everyone reaches for first.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| خورش | khoresh | stew (served with rice) |
| پلو | polo | rice cooked with other ingredients |
| چلوکباب | chelow kabâb | rice with kebab |
| کباب کوبیده | kabâb kubide | minced-meat kebab |
| جوجه کباب | juje kabâb | chicken kebab |
| قرمه‌سبزی | ghorme sabzi | herb stew with kidney beans and meat |
| قیمه | gheyme | split-pea and meat stew, topped with chips |
| فسنجون | fesenjun (written: fesenjân) | walnut and pomegranate stew |
| زرشک‌پلو با مرغ | zereshk polo bâ morgh | barberry rice with chicken |
| آش رشته | âsh-e reshte | thick noodle, bean and herb soup |
| آبگوشت / دیزی | âbgusht / dizi | lamb, chickpea and potato stew |
| کشک بادمجون | kashk-e bâdemjun | aubergine dip with whey |
| میرزاقاسمی | mirzâ ghâsemi | smoked aubergine with garlic, tomato and egg |
| کوکو سبزی | kuku sabzi | herb frittata |
| ته‌دیگ | tahdig | crispy rice from the bottom of the pot |
| عدسی | adasi | lentil soup (often for breakfast) |
| حلیم | halim | wheat and meat porridge (a winter breakfast) |
| نون سنگک | nun-e sangak | sangak, wholewheat flatbread baked on hot pebbles |
| نون بربری | nun-e barbari | barbari, thick oval flatbread |
| بستنی سنتی | bastani sonnati | saffron and rosewater ice cream |
Cooking verbs
Most cooking verbs are made with کردن kardan (to do, make), so once you know the present tense of kardan (Lesson 12) you can use them all: sorkh mikonam, I fry.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| پختن – می‌پزم | pokhtan – mipazam | to cook – I cook |
| سرخ کردن | sorkh kardan | to fry |
| آب‌پز کردن | âbpaz kardan | to boil (food) |
| دم کردن | dam kardan | to brew (tea); to steam (rice) |
| خرد کردن | khord kardan | to chop |
| پوست کندن | pust kandan | to peel |
| شستن – می‌شورم | shostan – mishuram (written: mishuyam) | to wash – I wash |
| هم زدن | ham zadan | to stir |
| خیس کردن | khis kardan | to soak (rice, beans) |
| گرم کردن | garm kardan | to heat up |
| مزه کردن | maze kardan | to taste, try |
Tastes, hunger and thirst
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| خوشمزه | khoshmaze | tasty, delicious |
| بی‌مزه | bimaze | bland, tasteless |
| شیرین | shirin | sweet |
| شور | shur | salty |
| ترش | torsh | sour |
| تلخ | talkh | bitter |
| تند | tond | spicy (hot) |
| تازه | tâze | fresh |
| بیات | biât | stale (bread) |
| گشنمه | goshname (written: gorosne hastam) | I’m hungry |
| تشنمه | teshname (written: teshne hastam) | I’m thirsty |
| سیرم | siram | I’m full |
Drinks
Tea is drunk all day, usually from a small glass, with a sugar lump held between the teeth or a stick of nabât (rock sugar). For somewhere to try the coffee, see our guide to cafés in north Tehran.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| چای | châi | tea |
| چای پررنگ | châi-ye porrang | strong tea |
| چای کم‌رنگ | châi-ye kamrang | weak tea |
| چای نبات | châi nabât | tea with rock sugar |
| قهوه | ghahve | coffee |
| دوغ | dugh | yoghurt drink |
| شربت | sharbat | sweet cordial drink |
| آبمیوه | âbmive | fruit juice |
| آب معدنی | âb-e ma’dani | mineral water |
| نوشابه | nushâbe | fizzy drink |
| دمنوش | damnush | herbal tea |
In the kitchen
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| آشپزخونه | âshpazkhune (written: âshpazkhâne) | kitchen |
| قابلمه | ghâblame | saucepan, pot |
| ماهیتابه | mâhitâbe | frying pan |
| پلوپز | polopaz | rice cooker |
| سماور | samâvar | samovar |
| قوری | ghuri | teapot |
| کتری | ketri | kettle |
| یخچال | yakhchâl | fridge |
| بشقاب | boshghâb | plate |
| کاسه | kâse | bowl |
| لیوان | livân | glass, mug |
| استکان | estekân | small tea glass |
| قاشق | ghâshogh | spoon |
| چنگال | changâl | fork |
| چاقو | châghu | knife |
| سفره | sofre | cloth spread on the floor or table for a meal |
Tehran tip: Fresh flatbread is bought several times a day from the neighbourhood nunvâyi, and the queue at a good sangak bakery at breakfast time can be long. Ask for ye dune sangak (one sangak) and enjoy it while it is still hot. Prices change often; our Iran prices tracker keeps an eye on everyday costs.
Example sentences
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| گشنمه، بریم غذا بخوریم؟ | goshname, berim ghazâ bokhorim? | I’m hungry; shall we go and eat? |
| چای می‌خورید؟ | châi mikhorid? | would you like some tea? |
| یه چای کم‌رنگ لطفاً | ye châi-ye kamrang lotfan | a weak tea, please |
| غذا تنده؟ | ghazâ tonde? | is the food spicy? |
| بدون پیاز لطفاً | bedun-e piâz lotfan | without onion, please |
| نون تازه دارید؟ | nun-e tâze dârid? | do you have fresh bread? |
| برنج رو خیس کن | berenj ro khis kon | soak the rice (informal) |
| امشب چی بپزیم؟ | emshab chi bepazim? | what shall we cook tonight? |
| سیرم، دستتون درد نکنه | siram, dastetun dard nakone | I’m full, thank you (to the cook) |
| ته‌دیگ مال منه | tahdig mâl-e mane | the tahdig is mine |