Persian Wear

As a tourist who may stay in Iran for a couple of weeks, learning the names of clothes in Persian may seem unnecessary and even fruitless. However, it can happen that you lose your luggage at the airport or understand that you do not have proper clothes with you, which means you have to buy some in Iran. Then, this part can help you to go shopping. It is easier to buy a piece of clothing when you know its name. Reading the following tips can also help you understand the environment, culture and dress code in Iran and Afghanistan.

In Iranian Persian (Farsi), some of the related words to fashion and clothing have been borrowed from English or French. You only need to learn their Persian pronunciation if you are familiar with these two languages.

Here are some examples:

⦁ t-shirt → tišert
⦁ jacket → žâkat
⦁ boot → but
⦁ coat → kot
⦁ chemisier → šomiz
⦁ blouse → boluz
⦁ manteau → mânto
⦁ shorts → šort

(The last two words in this list, have different function, though)

Hijab in Persian Countries: Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan

In Iran, hijab is obligatory, but we do not mean burqa or veil when we talk about hijab. In Afghanistan, wearing burqa is not obligatory everywhere and for everyone. Iranian women have to wear a long shirt with long sleeves in public. This is what we call “mânto” in Iran. You need to cover your hair with a shawl, too. In the following picture, you can see what Iranian women usually wear in their daily life.

Be careful!

While you are talking about clothes in Persian “shorts” and “šort” are false friends. You need to be careful while using this word in Farsi, since “šort” means boxers or panties for Iranians. For saying “shorts” as short pants, you need to use “šalvârak” which you can’t wear in public no matter whether you are a man or a woman.

Finally, check where and when you are planning to travel in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Some parts of these countries can be very cold while other parts are really warm. Moreover, in some cities people are more conservative than other parts of these countries. So, you need to check all these before packing.

To learn more about clothes shopping, click here