Colors and Sizes

Colors in Everyday Persian

In this chapter you learn the most common Persian words for colors and for describing size. You will see how to use them in simple sentences so that you can talk about clothes, objects, and places.

Persian color words are adjectives. In this level we simply put the color after the noun: “red car” is “car red.”

Basic Color Words

Here are the most frequent colors you will need from the beginning.

White in Persian is “sefid.”
Black is “siyâh” or “meshki.” Both are common.
Red is “ghermez.”
Blue is “âbi.”
Green is “sabz.”
Yellow is “zard.”
Orange is “nârengi.”
Brown is “ghahvei.”
Pink is “sorati.”
Purple is “banafsh.”
Gray is “khakestari.”

Use these after a noun.

For example:
“ketâb-e sefid” means “the white book.”
“mâshin-e ghermez” means “the red car.”
“pirâhan-e âbi” means “the blue shirt.”

You already know that Persian often links two nouns with the “-e” sound. You can also use this link between a noun and an adjective, especially in careful or slightly more formal speech. So you will hear both “mâshin ghermez” and “mâshin-e ghermez.” At A2 you can copy either pattern.

Light and Dark Colors

To make “light blue” or “dark green” you add a word before the color.

“kâmelân” and so on belong to other parts of the course. Here we only use simple “light” and “dark.”

“light” as a color word is “kâmel rohshan” in more careful speech, but at this level you will very often hear “rohshan” alone.
“dark” as a color word is “tir.”

You put “light” or “dark” before the color word.

Examples:
“sabz-e rohshan” means “light green.”
“âbi-e tir” means “dark blue.”
“ghermez-e tir” means “dark red.”

You can also put all this after the noun.

For example:
“pirâhan-e sabz-e rohshan” means “the light green shirt.”
“kif-e âbi-e tir” means “the dark blue bag.”

In fast everyday talk, some speakers say “sabz-e kam rang” for “light green” and “sabz-e por rang” for “strong / dark green,” but for A2 it is enough to recognize that “rohshan” and “tir” describe lightness and darkness of the color.

Mixed and Derived Colors

Persian often uses a noun made from another thing to describe color.

“bezh” is “beige.”
“talâyi” means “golden,” from “talâ,” gold.
“noghrei” means “silver,” from “noghreh,” silver metal.

You can also describe something as “cream-colored” with “kerem,” and “skin-colored” with “rang-e pust,” literally “color of skin.”

These pattern as normal adjectives after nouns.

For example:
“sândali-ye talâyi” means “golden chair.”
“khodkâr-e noghrei” means “silver pen.”
“divâr-e bezh” means “beige wall.”

Using “rang” (color)

The word “rang” means “color.”

“che rang?” means “what color?”
“in che rang-e?” means “what color is this?”
“rang-e” means “the color of.”

Some examples:

“in pirâhan che rang-e?” means “what color is this shirt?”
“in pirâhan âbi-e” means “this shirt is blue.”
“rang-e cheshm-at âbi-e” means “your eye color is blue” or naturally “your eyes are blue.”

You can also say “rang-e mahbub-am sabz-e” for “my favorite color is green,” using grammar you already know.

Sizes in Everyday Persian

Now we add basic size adjectives so you can describe things more precisely.

Big and Small

The most common word for “big” is “bozorg.”
The most common word for “small / little” is “kuchik” or “koochik.” Both forms are common.

As with colors, size adjectives come after the noun.

Examples:
“mâshin-e bozorg” means “big car.”
“mâshin-e kuchik” means “small car.”
“khâne-ye bozorg” means “big house.”
“ketâb-e kuchik” means “small book.”

You can combine size and color.

For example:
“mâshin-e bozorg-e sefid” means “the big white car.”
“sandali-ye kuchik-e sabz” means “the small green chair.”

In conversation, speakers often put several adjectives after each other, with the “-e” link between them.

Long and Short

To describe length or height you use “tavân” and others in later grammar. Here you only need the adjectives.

“tulâni” means “long” in time or physical length.
“kuta” or “kootâh” means “short.”

Use them after the noun.

Examples:
“dast-e tulâni” means “long arm.”
“pirâhan-e tulâni” means “long shirt / long dress.”
“pirâhan-e kootâh” means “short shirt.”
“mâshe-ye kootâh” means “short hair,” but in practice you more often hear “mo-ye kootâh,” “short hair.”

For height of a person, you will hear “ghad-e boland” and “ghad-e kootâh,” but the details of describing people belong to another chapter. For this level, just recognize that “tulâni” and “kootâh” describe things that are long or short.

Tall and Short (for Objects)

For vertical objects, such as buildings, bottles, or tables, many Persian speakers also use “boland” for “tall” and again “kootâh” for “short.”

“boland” means “tall, high, loud” depending on context.

Examples:
“emârât-e boland” means “tall building.”
“meyz-e boland” means “tall table.”
“meyz-e kootâh” means “low / short table.”

At this level it is enough to remember that “boland” suggests height, “kootâh” suggests shortness.

Wide and Narrow

To describe width of streets, rooms, or objects, you can use two very common adjectives.

“arzu” or “aruz” in some dialects is not the word you need. At A2 the useful words are:

“arzu” as “wide” is not correct here. The usual word for “wide” is “arzu” in some descriptive contexts, but for simple A2 learners, it is more natural to use “vasi.”
So “vasi” means “wide, spacious.”
“barik” means “narrow, thin.”

Some examples:

“koche-ye barik” means “narrow alley.”
“khiâbân-e vasi” means “wide street.”
“otâgh-e vasi” means “spacious room.”
“rah-e barik” means “narrow path.”

Combining Colors and Sizes

You can now create quite rich descriptions with the words from this chapter plus what you already know about simple sentences.

The general order is:

noun + -e + size + -e + color

For example:
“mâshin-e bozorg-e sefid” means “big white car.”
“pirâhan-e kootâh-e ghermez” means “short red dress.”
“sandali-ye kuchik-e sabz-e tir” means “small dark green chair.”

You can also say simple sentences about objects:

“in ketâb kuchik-e” means “this book is small.”
“in ketâb-e kuchik ghermez-e” means “this small book is red.”
“ân mâshin bozorg-e sefid-e” means “that big car is white.”

You already know from earlier chapters how to say “this” (in) and “that” (ân), and how to use the verb “to be.” Here you simply add the new adjectives.

Vocabulary Table for This Section