“FOOD
FOR THOUGHT/ENGLISH AND PERSIAN WORDS”
Did
you know that as an English speaking person, you already know many words in
Persian without knowing it! Interestingly, the reverse is true for a Persian
speaking person! Here is listing of such words:
-
AID>
>FEAST, FESTIVAL
-ALLEY>
>HIGH; EMINENT
-BAD>
>BAD
-
BAR>
>LOAD; BURDEN; WEIGHT, [OF A SHIP]CARGO.
YIELD;
FRUIT.
-
BAIT>
>DISTICH; VERSE; ALSO, COUPLET.
-
BE SURE>
>LACK OF COMMON SENSE; FOOLISH; SILLY
-
BEAM>
>FEAR. DANGER
-
BALL>
>WING
-
BILL>
>SPADE; SHOVEL
-
BAND>
>ROPE; CORD.
-
BEAD>
>MOTH
-
BIZARRE>
>WEARY’
DISGUSTED; FED UP
-
BEAST>
>NUMBER 20
-
CAR>
>WORK, JOB, BUSINESS
-
CHEESE>
>THING. MATTER.
-
CARD>
>KNIFE
-
CALL>
>UNRIPE; GREEN
-
CHIN>
>WRINKLE. PLEAT. CHINA
-
COOL>
>BACK; SHOULDER
-
CHEAT>
>KIND OF FABRIC
-
COOK>
>BASTING- TUNED; IN TUNE. WOUND(UP).
-
CORK>
>DOWN. SOFT WOOL; TO MAT, AS THE HAIR
-
COFFEE>
>SUFFICIENT; ENOUGH.
-
CHOP>
>PRINT
-
CHAP>
>LEFT
-
COUGH, CUFF>
>PERSIAN LETTER FOR “K”
-
DIZZY>
>SMALL EARTHEN POT
-
DOLL/DULL>
>PERSIAN LETTER FOR “D,d”
-
DAY>
>TENTH MONTH IN IRANIAN CALENDAR
-
DOUGH>
>TWO
-
Dell>
> HEART. STOMACH. Mind, Courage, Patience.
-
DEAN>
>RELIGION
-
DIG>
>POT
-
DUDE>
>SMOKE
-
DOME>
>TAIL
-
EAST>
>STOP
-
EEL>
>TRIBE
-
FARSI> >PERSIAN
-
FARCE>
>A STATE IN IRAN
-
FALL>
>OMEN. FORTUNE. LOT.
-FAN>
>ART, TECHNIQUE
-
FOOT>
>BLOW
-
FEEL/PHIL>
>ELEPHANT
-
GEESE>
>(WOMAN’S)HAIR. TAIL OF HAIR
-
GIN>
>[CONT. OF “DOZEN”]
-
GAUZE>
>BITE
-
GAP>
>TO CHATTER. TO TALK
-
GAS>
>ASTRINGENT; ACRID.
-
HARASS>
> To
prune
-
HOSE/HOES>
>TANK; POND. BASIN
-
HALL>
>CONDITION (OF HEALTH)
-
HELL>
>CARDAMOM
-
IN>
>THIS
-
JUNE>
>LIFE, SOUL, DEAR
-JOE>
>BARLEY
-
JOHN>
>LIFE; SOUL
-
JIM/GYM.>
>PERSIAN LETTER FOR “J”
-
KNEE KNEE>
>BABY
-
KEY>
>WHO?
-
KAY>
>WHEN?
-
KISS>
>SHRINK; STRAIN
-
KEEP>
>WATER-TIGHT. AIR-TIGHT.
-
KNOW/NO>
>NEW
-
KNEEL/NEAL>
>NILE(RIVER) INDIGO-PLANT. (INDIGO)BLUE.
-
LOT>
>RUFFIAN. HOODLUM. TATTERDEMALION.
-
LOOSE>
>SPOILED
-
LEASE>
>LICK
-
LEAF>
>FIBER; FILAMENT.
-
MAY/MAE>
>MAE MEANS “WINE” IN PERSIAN LANGUAGE.
IT
IS USED WIDELY IN PERSIAN POETRY SYMBOLIZING THE TRUTH “THE SPIRITUAL WINE,
SYMBOLIC OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM”; FOR JUST AS WINE CHANGES THE MOOD AND
TEMPER OF PEOPLE, SO DOES TRUTH CHANGES SOUL.
-
MAN>
>I
-
MAST>
>DRUNK(EN), DRUNKARD
-
MUST>
>YOGURT
-
MALL>
>PROPERTY. RIDING ANIMAL.
-
MALE/MAIL>
>DESIRE, WISH. INCLINATION.
-
MEAL, MILL>
>ROD, BAR; SHAFT. PIN
-
MA>
>WE
-
MOO>
>HAIR
-
MESS>
>COPPER
-
MAX>
>PAUSE
-
MUCH>
>KISS
-
NUN/NONE>
>BREAD
-
NOON>
>BREAD
-
NAIL>
>ATTAINMENT; OBTAINING
-
NAY/NEIGH>
>NO; NOT; NAY. REED; CANE. STRAW. FLUTE;
PIPE.
-
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
-
PAW/PA/PAPA>
>FOOT
-
POOL/PULL>
>MONEY
-
POOR>
>SON
-
PEACH>
>SCREW
-
PETE/PEAT>
>LARGE TIN.
-
PEEP> Fr.
>PIPE
-
PEER>
>OLD; AGED.
-
PAST>
>LOW. MEAN. HUMBLE. OR INFERIOR QUALITY.
-
P/PEA>
>FAT
-
PASS>
>THEN. SO.
AFTERWARDS. BEHIND.
-
QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ
-
R/ARE>
>SHAME; DISGRACE. DISDAIN.
-
R/ARE>
>ARE(METRIC SYSTEM. THE AREA OF A SQUARE
OF
WHICH EACH SIDE IS TEN METERS IN LENGTH; 100 SQUARE METERS).
-
RUN>
>THIGH
-
RUDE>
>RIVER
-
RAG>
>VEIN
-
RIG>
>PEBBLE; SAND
-
SHEER/SHEAR>
>MILK, LION, VALVE, FAUCET
-
SURE>
>SALTY
- Sandal> > Sandal from the word Sandal-wood. The word Sandali means Chair in Persian.
-
SODA>
>TRANSACTION,
TRADE. BLACK BILE. MELANCHOLY.
-
SALE/SAIL>
>FLOOD
-
SIN>
>LETTER (S) IN PERSIAN
-
SAD>
>HUNDRED
-
SEA/SEE/C>
>NUMBER
30
-
SEEM/SEAM>
>SILVER
-
SEER/SEAR>
>GARLIC. FULL. OLD WEIGHT ALMOST EQUAL TO
75
GRAMS.
-
SUITE>
>WHISTLE
-
SHEEN>
>PERSIAN LETTER, PRONOUNCES AS “SH”
-
SUE>
>DIRECTION; SIDE-SIGHT-EVIL
-
SEAT>
>FAME; RENOWN
-
SAUCE>
>(BED)BUG.
-
SHARE>
>POEM
-
SHIN>
>SAND.
GRAVEL
-
SHALL>
>LAME
-
TOW>
>YOU
-
TOSS>
>BALD
-
TOUR>
>NET, LACE
-
TAR>
>MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
-
TAN>
>BODY, PERSON
-
TUB>
>SWING;
FORTITUDE
-
TOOL>
>LENGTH
-
TAB>
>FEVER
-
TEAR/TIER>
>ARROW. BEAM; GIRDER. POST; POLE. PILE. SHAFT. SHOT./SHOOTING PAIN;
TWINGE. FOURTH MONTH IN IRANIAN CALENDAR, HAVING 31 DAYS. ALSO MEANS-ASTRONOMY=
MERCURY.
-
TANG>
>TIGHT
-
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
-
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
-
WHO>
>EXCLAMATION UTTERED BY DERVISHES AS A CURSE OR GOOD WISH. (HOVAH)=HE.
-
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
-
YEAH>
>PERSIAN LETTER FOR “Y”
-
YAHOO>
>(O) GOD.
*
AT THE END, WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW, BUT I KNOW THAT YOU DON’T KNOW! NUMBER
ONE, THE VICTORY SIGN(GESTURE) WITH THUMB UP, IF IT HAPPENS IN PRESENCE OF A
PERSIAN, CAN BE MISTAKEN FOR SOMETHING QUITE DIFFERENT! IT IS AS IF YOU ARE
POINTING UP YOUR MIDDLE FINGER TO AN AMERICAN!
NUMBER
TWO, NEVER “SHUSH” AN IRANIAN! UNLESS IF YOU MEAN IT, OF COURSE! IT MEANS
“PEE” IN PERSIAN SLANG.
Bahereh
Khodadoost-Heath
April
1996 PA
_________________________________________
“FOOD
FOR THOUGHT / ENGLISH WORDS”
There
are many words in the Persian language and in the English language that they
pronounce and spell the same, but they have different meanings. There are also
the ones that pronounce the same, spell differently, but have different
meanings. Also there are words that pronounce differently, spell the same, but
have different meanings. Often, it surprises a non-Persian speaking person when
s/he hears of such words in the Persian language, and it is just as true with
most Persians when they are informed of such words in the English language. Here
is a listing of such words in the English language:
A-
Arm/Arm/Arms... Air/Heir... Aloud/Allowed... Add/Ad... Ate/Eight...
D-
Dear/Deer... Die/Dye... Date/Date... Doll/Dull... Dam/Damn...
Draw/Draw/Draw...Doe/Dough... Duel/Dual…
I-
I/Eye...
J-
J/Jay...
K-
Know/No... Knows/Nose... Knot/Not... Knight/Night... Knead/Need...
L-
Light/Light... Live/Live... Lime/Lime... Letter/Letter... Leak/Leek...
Lead/Lead... Lie/Lye...
M-
Male/Mail... Made/Maid... Mane/Main/Maine... Match/Match... Mat/Mat...
Meat/Meet... March/March... Marry/Merry... Mold/Mold... Minor/Miner...
N-
Net/Net... Night/Knight... Nail/Nail... No/Know... Nut/Nut... Nose/Knows...
None/Nun... Nay/Neigh... Need/Knead... Not/Knot...
O-
O/Oh!/Owe... Our/Hour... Or/Ore/Oar...
P-
P/Pea... Page/Page... Pear/Pair... Pool/Pool... Plant/Plant.. .Period/Period...
Peace/Piece... Pain/Pane... Plane/Plain... Pallet/Pallet.. .Punch/Punch...
Profit/Prophet... Patient/Patient... Pray/Prey... Pause/Paws...
Present/Present... Pen/Pin...Principle/ Principal...
Q-
Quarter/Quarter...
R-
R/Are... Red/Read... Race/Race.. Rain/Reign/Rein.. .Ruler/Ruler... Rear/Rear...
Right/Rite/Write/Wright... Ring/Ring/Wring... Read/Reed... Rap/Wrap...
Rock/Rock... Roll/Role...Rays/Raise...
S-
See/Sea/C... Site/Sight/Cite... Scull/Skull... Some/Sum...
Spring/Spring/Spring/Spring... Son/Sun... Seal/Seal... So/Sew/Sow... Season/Season(ing)...
Sage/Sage... Seer/Sear... Sound/Sound.. Second/Second/Second... Sale/Sail...
Sell/Cell... Sweet/Suite... Suit/Suit... Saw/Saw... Seem/Seam...
Scale/Scale/Scale... Shingles/Shingles... Sharp/Sharp... Stable/Stable...
Staff/Staff.... Sheer/Shear... Symbol/Cymbal... Stationary/ Stationery...Soar/
Sore...
T-
T/Tea/Tee... Tie/Tie... Toe/Tow... Towed/Toad... Tail/Tale... Toast/Toast...
To/Too/Two... Time/Thyme... Ten/Tin... Trip/Trip... Trim/Trim... Throw/Throw(Pots
on the potters wheel)... and the interesting similarities between the following
words:
Tier/Tear/Tear...and
having a little fun with the word “TEACHER”, may be you can put a cup of TEA
on a CHAIR!
U-
U/You...Urn/ Earn...
V-
Vain/Vein...
W-
Waste/Waist... Whole/Hole... Wait/Weight... Well/Well/Well... Watch/Watch...
Write/Wright/Rite/Right... Which/Witch... Washer/Washer... Weather/Whether...
Way/Whey... Why/Y... Wrap/Rap.. .Wring/Ring/Ring...
X-
...
Y-
Yard/Yard...
Z-
...
That’s
it for now!
April 1996 PA Copyright 1996
_________________________________________
“A New Perspective on LANGUAGE”
Since
I came to this country in 1979, many times people have asked me if I write
BACKWARDS when I write in my native language (PERSIAN). My answer to them has
always been and still is NO! I don’t write BACKWARDS, rather I write from
right to left. You see, it all depends where you are coming from, where your
view point is, or where you are basing your point of view.
After
all, if one really thinks about it, we all form some of our letters and numbers
from right to left, and from left to right (this is true at least in a few
languages that I know and am familiar with). Let us look at a few examples:
NUMBERS
IN PERSIAN
NUMBERS
IN ENGLISH
1 2
3
4 5
6
7 8
9
10
Both
derived from Arabic numbers.
Look
at the similarities!
If you turn the Persian
sideways, you will see English 2.
If you use part of Persian
, you will see English 3.
If you flip over Persian
, you will see English 4.
If you rotate Persian
, you will see English 7.
Of
course number 1, 9, and 10
are almost identical in both languages. Also if you turn around Persian or
English 9, what you will get is English 6. If you know how to write “
l “, you
know how to write Persian A(
l ).
Look
at the similarities between English 2
and 5. They are very similar from the form standpoint.
English
8 is nothing more than two zeros on
top of each other, and zero is identical as letter O.
Now,
for the fun of it, let’s look at number 5
in Persian. What do you think it looks like. It has the shape of a heart
only upside down. As a matter of fact, I have come up with a design used
in my art-work which is based on the interplay of heart and Persian five (Panj).
*
By the way, in Persian, we write our numbers from left to right like English
numbers.
You
already know how to say these
numbers in Persian:
* 2 in Persian
pronounces Dough or Doe
* 20
“
“
Beast
* 100 in “
“
SAD
In
my childhood, and now as an artist, I look at letters and numbers as FORMS. As a
matter of fact, even as a child, I had my favorite numbers and letters based on
their shapes. The more I write and form them, the more it becomes apparent to me
that there are all just
forms
and shapes, consisting of a few curves and a few straight lines, manipulated,
flipped over, etc..., to make different letters and numbers out of them. If we
recognize and realize this fact, hopefully we will manage to get rid of all the
prejudices, misconceptions, and assumptions that maybe our native language is
better than someone else’s.
Now,
let’s see how we form our letters in English language:
A
B C
D E F G
H I
J K
L M N
O P
Q R S
T U
V W
X Y Z
a b
c d
e f g
h i
j k l
m n
o p q
r s
t u v
w x
y z
You
see, if one pays close attention, s/he realizes that all of them consist of a
few curves and a few straight lines. Also the fact that all or most letters are
formed by going from right side to the left side, or, visa versa. Many letters,
once turned around, or flipped over, cna become another letter, such as: b-9-d-p-q,Mm-Ww-E
or even number 3, e-9-6 and Persian 9,
B consist of two D’s, N when is
looked at sideways, becomes Z, n when
is turned over, becomes letter u, and
yes, don’t forget that if you know how to write Vv,
you know how to write seven in Persian (V),
and if you flip it over, it becomes number eight ( )in Persian, and if
you rotate it, you will have Persian d
( ). Also, if you can
write S in English, with a little effort, you can make it to Persian Y
( ). Letter T
in English is very similar to Persian A
(
).
The
above statements are pretty much true in Persian letters:
These
four Persian letters (
,
, ,
) are good examples for writing from left to right.
My
last name KHODADOOST consists of two words, KHODA meaning GOD and DOOST meaning
FRIEND.
Have
you ever thought that many words in the English language (and that is also true
in the Persian language), when it spelled backwards, they become another word,
or even stay as the same word. Here is an example of such words in English:
-
Stop/Pots - Top/Pot - Loop/Pool - On/No - Eye/Eye - Net/Ten - Bad/Dab - But/Tub
- Nap/Pan - War/Raw - Look/ (Cool) - Bat/Tab - Rat/Tar - Deer/Reed - Gum/Mug -
God/Dog - Live/
Evil- Wow/Wow (And if you turned it upside down, you see Mom!)
Also,
many words are combinations of two words, and many times when combined, they
lose their original meaning, such as:
-
Carpet
/ Car
Pet
-
Butterfly
/ Butter
Fly
-
Dragonfly
/ Dragon
Fly
-
Catscan
/ Cat
Scan
-
Dogwood
/ Dog
Wood
-
Manage
/ Man
Age
-
Season
/ Sea
Son
-
Tenants
/Ten
Ants
-
Dragonfly
/ Dragon
Fly
Just
for the fun of it, is the word for an educator, a TEACHER or a TEA CHAIR!
Unfortunately
there are also words such as:
- Black-market - Blackmail - Blacksheep - Etc....
My
hope is, that these words become extinct, since they seem to have some racist
connotation to them.
At
the end, I would like to draw your attention to the predominant use of the
pronoun HE. Did you know if one really ponders upon the HE and SHE pronouns,
they may find out that the word HE lives in SHE(S/he), and is part of it! So if
one feels compelled to use only one pronoun when addressing both sexes, I
suggest using the pronouns SHE as opposed to the pronoun HE. Otherwise the best
is using both pronouns: he or she, she or he, or simply s/he that reads as both
pronouns.
Have
you ever noticed that the above statement is also true with the nouns MAN and
WOMAN. So if one feels s/he must use only one or the other, I suggest the use of
the word WOMAN over the MAN. For example, in the following expression: “Peace
on Earth for All Men!” The word WOMAN can replace the word MEN. Otherwise I
personally prefer to use the word “PEOPLE” which it covers both sexes. So,
it may read as follows:
“Peace
on Earth for All PEOPLE!”
Bahereh
Khodadoost-Heath
April,
1996, PA
Copyright
1996
P.S.
“PERSIAN” is a branch of the Indo-European Languages. It is divided
into: OLD PERSIAN, the language of ancient Persia, written in cuneiform
characters, and closely related to the language of the Avesta; MIDDLE PERSIAN,
including chiefly PAHLAVI and PARSI; the Iranian dialect of the Parsi religious
literature, and MODERN PERSIAN (or Iranian) dating from about the 9th century,
in which the greatest of Persian literature is written, it contains many Arabic
loan words and is written in Arabic script; yet in its grammatical structure and
its basic vocabulary Persian remains Indo-European, hence quite unlike Arabic.
“PERSIA”/”IRAN”
- A country in SW Asia, south of Caspian sea. Its name was officially changed to
Iran in 1935.
_________________________________________
“LANGUAGE
CONNECTIONS”
Dedicated to: All People
Often
Westerners ask me if I speak or read Arabic. My answer is (and has always been)
NO. Unfortunately I do not know much about the Arabic language. I see surprise
and disbelief in their faces, as if it is hard for them to believe or comprehend
my answer to their question.
The
fact that the Persian language is written in Arabic script, or today Persian
language contains some borrowed words (vocabulary) from Arabic language, does
not enable a Persian speaking person to read or speak Arabic.
The
following may help an English speaking person to understand my above statement:
-
If one who knows English quite well, but has no knowledge on other Latin based
languages, is confronted with one of these other languages, can s/he understand
it?! Probably not. S/he may recognize the alphabets, and may try to make some
sense out of them, but my guess is that s/he can not go much further with it;
unless if s/he educates himself or herself in those languages.
-
Also the fact that the English language has many borrowed words from languages
such as Persian, Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit, etc... does not enable an English
speaking person to speak in or read in those languages. Here is a listing of
such words in the English language:
-
Amen
Egyptian God, meaning the hidden one.
-
Ammonia from the word Amen/an Egyptian deity.
-
Bad from the Persian word bad
?
-
Bandanna from the Hindi word badhnu.
-
Cummerbund from the Hindi term Kamarband, which in turn derives from
Persian Kamar, ‘waist’
/
.
-
Hashish from the Arabic word hashish
.
-
Paper from the word Papyrus in Egyptian.
-
Carat from the Arabic Qirat, ‘bean pod’
.
-
Devil from the word Satan (literally ‘adversary’) in the Hebrew Old
Testament. In Persian
/ Shaytaan.
-
Djinn / Genie from the Arabic Jinniy demon, spirit.
-
Genius A variation from Jinni was borrowed directly from the Arabic. In
that language the plural of jinniy is Jinn, and has yielded (in differing styles
translation from the Arabic Alphabet) English variants Jinn and Djinn
.
-
Jerusalem artichoke The Jerusalem artichoke, also called girasole, does
not come from Jerusalem or anywhere else the Middle East, nor is it an
artichoke; it is widely cultivated perennial American sunflower ....The fact
that the flavor of these tubers reminiscent of the flavor of the artichoke
accounts for this element of the name. Jerusalem is here the result of folk
etymology from girasole, ‘sunflower’.
-
Khaki Khaki is ultimately derived from the Persian word for ‘dust’
.
-
Lesbian Erotic: In allusion to the reputed sensuality of the people of
Lesbos, a Greek island.
-
Lute the Arabic word ‘ud has the basic meaning ‘wood, stick’. The
prefixed 1 came from the Arabic definite article al-, which is normally attached
to nouns, as in al-’udd’ the oud’
.
-
Alchemy, Alcohol, Alfalfa, Algebra, Almanac are all from the Arabic
language.
-
Azimuth from
Arabic as-sumut.
-
Music from the Greek word Mousike.
-
Salaam
Shalom is greetings in Hebrew. Salaam
is greetings in Arabic. Also meaning ‘Peace’ in both languages. The
prominence of this greeting in Muslim countries led English to borrow the word
Salaam first as the term for such a salutation and then as a verb meaning to
perform the bowing obeisance that sometimes accompanies the greeting.
-
Sandal from the word Sandal-wood. The word Sandali means Chair in Persian.
Below is an
explanation of the word Hell’o’ from a CRAZY EYEranian woman’s
perspective (please do not forget that this is only a JOKE!):
- DO
YOU KNOW WHY IN THE WORLD, THE GREETING WORD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS: HELL’O’ as opposed to HEAVEN’O’?!
As
an Iranian (Persian), or as some of you call us EYErainian, I have wondered, and
still do wonder about it. So, please if you have a good answer to the above
question, simply send it to Bahereh@wyndows.com or call (610)863-3362. This is
just a joke!
Is
the origin of the word Hello: Hallo/Halloo/Hollo, or is it simply Hello? If it
is Hell’o’, then, my Iranian New Year’s resolution (March 20, 1998, 1377
Iranian Calendar) is to start greeting people by saying Heaven’o’ as opposed
to saying Hell’o’! This is also a joke!
Thank You!
-
Turkey from the beginning, the New World fowl was confuse with a bird of
African origin that had been known to Mediterranean people since ancient times.
This Old World bird was commonly known as the guinea fowl (also guinea cock) or
turkey-cock.... The name turkey-cock derived from the fact that the fowl had
been originally imported to Europe from territory that the Europeans thought of
as Turkish.