GIVING DIRECTIONS in FARSI

Giving directions in Farsi, can seem surprising. In many countries, addresses start with the name of the street and the building plate along with the zip code. The names of residents are written on doorbells and post boxes. But in Iran, addresses are not just as easy because they are realistic instructions to reach the destination, and can sometimes be a three-line text written unlike most countries from general to particular.

Addresses in Iran

Addresses in Iran start from the name of a famous street, neighborhood or square, then comes the name of the main street or the boulevard and then that of smaller streets or alleys. Sometimes you see several street names coming one after another. For example, the name of the longest street in Tehran is Vali-e ‘asr. But there are more than twenty streets in other parts of the city which are also called Vali-e ‘asr.

Iranian addresses may in some cases contain strange details for guidance like “right after Pesiyân bus stop” or “opposite to the Parsiân Bank” or even “after the Keyvân barbershop alley!”

Finally comes the house number, called pelâk in Farsi, like in French (plaque). Usually, the floor and the unit numbers follow the house number. Every house has a zip code, but you might not be able to reach the destination by typing the postcode on your smartphone map.
Still some addresses may be written in shorter forms, example:
Tehran, Roodaki st., Niroomand st., #5, unit 3
or
تهران، خ رودَکی، ک نیرومَند، پ 5، و 3
Where خ is the name of the street, ک is the name of the alley, پ is the house number and و is the unit number.

Asking Address - Giving Directions in Farsi

Don’t worry anyway…

You don’t need worry about addresses anyway because you will easily find any address in all Iranian major cities. You can ask people addresses using the following words and phrases. Most Iranians are very kind to guests and will most certainly help you out or even accompany you to your destination (funny!).

Directions Vocabulary in Farsi

English Pronunciation Farsi
north šomâl شُمال
south jonub جُنوب
east šarq شَرق
west qarb غَرب
up bâlâ بالا
down pâyin پایین
left čap چَپ
right râst راست
straght ahead mostaqim مُستَقیم
in front of ruberu/moqâbel روبرو/ مُقابِل
next kenâr کِنار
far dur دور
near nazdik نَزدیک
address âdres آدرِس
highway bozorgrâh بُزُرگراه
squire meydân مِیدان
boulevard bolvâr بُلوار
street xiyâbân خیابان
one-way street xiyâbân-e yektarafe(h) خیابانِ یِکطَرَفه
alley kuče(h) کوچه
number pelâk پِلاک
postal code kod-e posti کُدِ پُستی
toward be samt-e به سَمتِ
location makân/lokeyšen مَکان / لوکِیشِن
direction jahat جَهَت

Directions Phrases in Farsi

English Pronunciation Farsi
Where? kojâ? کُجا؟
Where is it? kojâst? کُجاست؟
Excuse me. Where is the post office? bebaxšid, edâre(h)-ye post kojâst? بِبَخشید، اِداره یِ پُست کُجاست؟
Keep straight on and turn right mostaqim berid, ba’d samt-e râst bepičid مُستَقیم بِرید، بَعد سَمتِ راست بِپیچید
Is it very far? xeyli dure(h)? خِیلی دوره؟
No. Only 200 metres/2 minutes away na(h) faqat devist metr, do daqiqe(h) râhe(h) نه، فَقَط دِویست مِتر، دو دَقیقه راهه
Thanks mamnun مَمنون
Where is the national museum? muze(h)-ye melli kojâst? موزه یِ مِلّی کُجاست؟
How do I get to national museum? četor mitunam be(h) muze(h)-ye melli beram? چِطور می تونَم به موزه یِ مِلّی بِرَم؟
How do I get to my hotel? četor mitunam be(h) hotelam beram? چِطور می تونَم به هُتِلَم بِرَم؟
Is it far? dure(h)? دوره؟
Is it near? nazdike(h)? نزدیکه؟
Turn left be čap bepičid به چَپ بِپیچید
Turn right be râst bepičid به راست بِپیچید
Keep straight on mostaqim berid مُستَقیم بِرید
It’s here hamin jâst همین جاست
It’s over there unjâst اونجاست