Divisions of Time
| Persian | English |
|---|---|
| ثانیه sâniye | second |
| دقیقه daǧiǧe | minute |
| ربع robø | quarter |
| ساعت sâat | hour |
| روز ruz | day |
| صبح sobh | morning |
| صبح زود sobh-e zud | early morning |
| پیش از ظهر piš az zohr | before noon |
| ظهر zohr | noon |
| بعد از ظهر baød az zohr | afternoon |
| عصر asr | late afternoon |
| غروب ǧorub | evening (about sunset) |
| شب šab | night |
| هفته hafte | week |
| ماه mâh | month |
| چله čelle | forty-day period |
| فصل fasl | season |
| سال sâl | year |
| دهه dahe | decade |
| سده sade | century |
| قرن ǧarn | century |
| هزاره hezâre | millennium |
The pattern “cardinal number + suffix -e” creates a division of time equal to that number:
- هفته (“hafte”; week) derives from هفت (“haft”; seven).
- دهه (“dahe”) derives from ده (“dah”; ten). It normally means a period of ten years but can also mean a period of ten days depending on the context.
- چله (“čelle”) is the shortened form of چهله (“čehelle”), which derives from چهل (“čehel”; forty).
- سده (“sade”; century) derives from صد (“sad”; hundred). Actually, the number 100 should be written as سد because it is a native Persian word. However, by orthographic convention, it is written as صد.
- هزاره (“hezâre”; millennium) derives from هزار (“hezâr”; thousand).
Past
| Persian | English |
|---|---|
| دیروز diruz | yesterday |
| دیروز صبح diruz sobh | yesterday morning |
| دیروز بعد از ظهر diruz baød az zohr | yesterday afternoon |
| دیروز غروب diruz ǧorub | yesterday evening |
| دیشب dišab | last night |
| پریروز pariruz | the day before yesterday |
| پریشب parišab | the night before last |
| هفته‌ی گذشته hafte-ye gozašte | last week |
| ماه گذشته mâh-e gozašte | last month |
| پارسال pârsâl | last year |
| پیرارسال pirârsâl | the year before last |
In written Persian, گذشته (“gozašte”) can also be used for روز (“ruz”), شب (“šab”) and سال (“sâl”).
| Persian | English |
|---|---|
| روز گذشته ruz-e gozašte | yesterday (lit. past day) |
| شب گذشته šab-e gozašte | last night (lit. past night) |
| سال گذشته sâl-e gozašte | last year (lit. past year) |
Present
| Persian | English |
|---|---|
| امروز emruz | today |
| امروز صبح emruz sobh | this morning |
| امروز بعد از ظهر emruz baød az zohr | this afternoon |
| امروز غروب emruz ǧorub | this evening |
| امشب emšab | tonight |
| این هفته in hafte | this week |
| این ماه in mâh | this month |
| امسال emsâl | this year |
“em” in emsâl, emruz and emšab means “this”. It is a remnant of Middle Persian. So, for example, emsâl literally means “this year”.
Future
| Persian | English |
|---|---|
| فردا fardâ | tomorrow |
| فردا صبح fardâ sobh | tomorrow morning |
| فردا بعد از ظهر fardâ baød az zohr | tomorrow afternoon |
| فردا غروب fardâ ǧorub | tomorrow evening |
| فردا شب fardâ šab | tomorrow night |
| پس‌فردا pasfardâ | the day after tomorrow |
| هفته‌ی آینده hafte-ye âyande | next week |
| ماه آینده mâh-e âyande | next month |
| سال آینده sâl-e âyande | next year |
Days of the Week
In Iran, the week begins on Saturday and ends on Friday. So, Thursday and Friday are weekend days.
| Persian | English |
|---|---|
| شنبه šanbe | Saturday |
| یکشنبه yekšanbe | Sunday |
| دوشنبه došanbe | Monday |
| سه‌شنبه sešanbe | Tuesday |
| چهارشنبه čahâršanbe | Wednesday |
| پنجشنبه panjšanbe | Thursday |
| جمعه jomøe | Friday |
| آدینه âdine | Friday [literary] |
| آخر هفته âxar-e hafte | weekend |
Related vocabulary
| Persian | English |
|---|---|
| شنبه‌ها šanbehâ | on Saturdays |
| شنبه‌ی گذشته šanbe-ye gozašte | last Saturday |
| این شنبه in šanbe | this Saturday |
| شنبه صبح šanbe sobh | Saturday morning |
| شنبه‌ی آینده šanbe-ye âyande | next Saturday |
| امروز شنبه است emruz šanbe ast | It’s Saturday today |
Months
Iranians have their own calendar system. Persian new year (Nowruz) begins on the first day of spring at the exact time of vernal equinox. Spring is the first season of the year and each month corresponds to a zodiac sign.
| Persian | English |
|---|---|
| فروردین Farvardin (31 days) | Aries |
| اردیبهشت Ordibehešt (31 days) | Taurus |
| خرداد Xordâd (31 days) | Gemini |
| تیر Tir (31 days) | Cancer |
| مرداد Mordâd (31 days) | Leo |
| شهریور Šahrivar (31 days) | Virgo |
| مهر Mehr (30 days) | Libra |
| آبان Âbân (30 days) | Scorpio |
| آذر Âzar (30 days) | Sagittarius |
| دی Dey (30 days) | Capricorn |
| بهمن Bahman (30 days) | Aquarius |
| اسفند Esfand (29/30 days) | Pisces |
Seasons
| Persian | English |
|---|---|
| بهار bahâr | spring |
| تابستان tâbestân | summer |
| پاییز pâyiz | fall |
| زمستان zemestân | winter |