Kitchen and cooking words in Persian for kids: cooking with grandma

Q: What does tahdig mean?

Tahdig (تهدیگ) means "bottom of the pot": tah is bottom and dig is a cooking pot, usually the big one. It is the golden, crispy layer of rice that forms at the bottom of the pot, and in many families it is the best part.

The Persian kitchen is âshpazkhune in speech (written آشپزخانه, âshpazkhâne), and the first words a child picks up there are ghâshogh (spoon), boshghâb (plate), ghâblame (pot), ham bezan (stir), beriz (pour) and tahdig, the crispy rice from the bottom of the pot. Below are 28 words and phrases in four small tables: things you cook with, things you do, things you cook, and things you say. Most are the same written and spoken; where they differ, both are given, and every word comes with a short line a grandparent might say while cooking. One rule runs through the whole page: an adult handles heat and knives, and the child stirs, pours, washes and tastes. Azizan (azizan.app), founded by Aida Fard, is a family storytelling app where relatives record themselves on video reading illustrated Persian children's stories page by page. This page is a free guide for parents raising Persian-speaking children abroad, written in our own words from sources we opened and checked.

Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app for immigrant and diaspora families: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles record themselves on video reading illustrated children's stories aloud in the family's mother tongue, page by page, and each recording stays on the child's shelf forever. Real family voices — never AI narration. Persian (Farsi) first.

Pots, pans and spoons

These are the things a child sees on the counter and the table. Persian has two common words for a knife: châghu is the everyday one, kârd is more formal and is also the table knife. The frying pan is written mâhitâbe, but most people just say tâbe.

Written	Spoken	Say it like	Meaning	A line a grandparent says
قابلمه	قابلمه	ghâb-le-ME	pot (with a lid)	قابلمه رو من برمی‌دارم، تو نگاه کن. ghâblame ro man barmidâram, to negâh kon. I'll lift the pot, you watch.
ماهیتابه	تابه	mâ-hi-tâ-BE / tâ-BE	frying pan	تابه داغه، از دور نگاه کن. tâbe dâghe, az dur negâh kon. The pan is hot, watch from a distance.
کفگیر	کفگیر	kaf-GIR	flat rice spoon with holes	با کفگیر برنج رو می‌کشیم تو بشقاب. bâ kafgir berenj ro mikeshim tu boshghâb. We serve the rice onto the plate with the kafgir.
ملاقه	ملاقه	ma-lâ-GHE	ladle	با ملاقه آش رو می‌ریزیم تو کاسه. bâ malâghe âsh ro mirizim tu kâse. We ladle the soup into the bowl.
چاقو	چاقو	châ-GHU	knife	چاقو مالِ بزرگ‌تراست. châghu mâl-e bozorgtarâst. The knife is for grown-ups.
قاشق	قاشق	ghâ-SHOGH	spoon	یه قاشق بیار، مزه‌ش کنیم. ye ghâshogh biyâr, mazash konim. Bring a spoon, let's taste it.
چنگال	چنگال	chan-GÂL	fork	چنگالا رو بذار کنارِ بشقابا. changâlâ ro bezâr kenâr-e boshghâbâ. Put the forks next to the plates.
بشقاب	بشقاب	bosh-GHÂB	plate	بشقابا رو بچین سرِ سفره. boshghâbâ ro bechin sar-e sofre. Set the plates out on the sofre.
کاسه	کاسه	kâ-SE	bowl	ماست رو بریز تو کاسه. mâst ro beriz tu kâse. Pour the yogurt into the bowl.
لیوان	لیوان	li-VÂN	glass, cup	یه لیوان آب ببر برای بابابزرگ. ye livân âb bebar barâye bâbâbozorg. Take a glass of water to Grandpa.
سینی	سینی	si-NI	tray	چاییا رو بذاریم تو سینی. châyiyâ ro bezârim tu sini. Let's put the teas on the tray.
دیگ	دیگ	dig	cooking pot, usually the big one	برای مهمونی برنج رو تو دیگِ بزرگ می‌پزن. barâye mehmuni berenj ro tu dig-e bozorg mipazan. For a party they cook the rice in a big dig.

Ghâblame and dig are both pots. A ghâblame is the everyday pot with a lid; a dig is the big one for a crowd, and it is the word inside tahdig, "bottom of the pot".

Cooking action words

In the kitchen, verbs come out as short commands: "stir", "pour", "wash". The table gives the dictionary form first (the infinitive, which ends in -an) and then the spoken command a grandparent actually says. For more everyday verbs, see Persian action words for kids.

Written (to ...)	Spoken (do it)	Say it like	Meaning	A line a grandparent says
پختن	بپز / می‌پزیم	pokh-TAN / BE-paz	to cook	امروز با هم شله‌زرد می‌پزیم. emruz bâ ham sholezard mipazim. Today we're cooking sholezard together.
شستن	بشور	shos-TAN / BE-shur	to wash	اول دستاتو بشور. avval dastâto beshur. First wash your hands.
خرد کردن	خرد کن	khord kar-DAN / KHORD kon	to chop	من پیاز رو خرد می‌کنم، تو سبزی رو بشور. man piyâz ro khord mikonam, to sabzi ro beshur. I'll chop the onion, you wash the herbs.
هم زدن	هم بزن	ham za-DAN / ham BE-zan	to stir	تو کاسه یواش هم بزن. tu kâse yavâsh ham bezan. Stir slowly in the bowl.
ریختن	بریز	rikh-TAN / BE-riz	to pour	آب رو یواش‌یواش بریز. âb ro yavâsh-yavâsh beriz. Pour the water little by little.
سرخ کردن	سرخ کن	sorkh kar-DAN / SORKH kon	to fry	پیازا دارن سرخ می‌شن، صداشونو می‌شنوی؟ piyâzâ dâran sorkh mishan, sedâshuno mishenavi? The onions are frying, can you hear them?
دم کشیدن	دم بکشه	dam ke-shi-DAN	(rice) to steam until done	برنج باید دم بکشه، یه کم صبر کن. berenj bâyad dam bekeshe, ye kam sabr kon. The rice has to steam, wait a little.

Dam keshidan has no single English word. It is the last step of Persian rice: the drained rice goes back in the pot on low heat with the lid on until it is fluffy. The same verb is used for tea left to brew.

Salt, oil, rice, tahdig, and what we say

Rice and water are also on the food words page; here they are as things you cook with.

Written	Spoken	Say it like	Meaning	A line a grandparent says
نمک	نمک	na-MAK	salt	یه ذره نمک، نه زیاد. ye zarre namak, na ziyâd. A tiny bit of salt, not too much.
روغن	روغن	ro-GHAN	oil	روغن داغه، عقب وایسا. roghan dâghe, aghab vâysâ. The oil is hot, stand back.
آب	آب	âb	water	برنج رو با آب می‌شوریم. berenj ro bâ âb mishurim. We wash the rice with water.
برنج	برنج	be-RENJ	rice	برنج رو از دیشب خیس کردیم. berenj ro az dishab khis kardim. We soaked the rice last night.
تَه‌دیگ	تَه‌دیگ	tah-DIG	the crispy rice at the bottom of the pot	ته‌دیگ مالِ کیه؟ مالِ تو. tahdig mâl-e kiye? mâl-e to. Whose is the tahdig? Yours.

Written	Spoken	Say it like	Meaning	When it is said
بویش چه خوب است	بوش چه خوبه	bush che KHU-be	It smells so good.	When the lid comes off the pot.
داغ است، دست نزن	داغه، دست نزن	DÂ-ghe, dast NA-zan	It's hot, don't touch.	Near the stove, the oven, a hot pan.
نوش جان	نوش جان	nush-e JÂN	Enjoy your food (like "bon appétit")	To someone who is eating, and as the reply to "thank you for the food".
دستت درد نکند	دستت درد نکنه	DAS-tet dard NA-ko-ne	Thank you (for cooking, for your effort); literally "may your hand not hurt"	To whoever cooked. To a grandparent, many families use the polite plural, dastetun dard nakone.

The last two go together. The child says dastet dard nakone to the cook, and the cook answers nush-e jân. It is one of the first exchanges a small child can do on their own at the table, and grandparents love hearing it. For more polite words, see greetings and polite words in Persian.

Cooking together with a grandparent

A kitchen is one of the easiest places for a child to hear Persian, because every word comes with a smell, a sound and something in their hands. Nobody has to teach: the grandparent just talks while they work. Bede man. Ham bezan. Bush che khube. "Give it to me. Stir. It smells so good."

In person, give the child the jobs that are really theirs: washing the herbs, pouring water from a cup, stirring something cold in a bowl, setting out plates and forks, carrying the bread to the sofre. An adult handles heat and knives. The stove, the oven, the hot oil, the chopping and the draining of the rice stay with the grown-up, and the child watches from a safe spot.

On a video call it works too. Prop the phone on the counter on both sides and cook the same simple thing at the same time, such as a bowl of yogurt with cucumber, or a cold dough to shape. The grandparent leads in Persian, a parent next to the child does anything hot or sharp, and at the end the child says dastet dard nakone into the screen. Many families also keep the grandparent's voice close between calls with recorded stories, which is what Azizan is for. For tips on keeping a call going with a small child, see video calls with grandparents for toddlers.

Easy ways to practise

Set the table in Persian. Ask for one thing at a time: ye boshghâb biyâr, ye ghâshogh, ye changâl. "Bring a plate, a spoon, a fork."
What is in the drawer? Hold up a utensil and let the child name it, then swap: they hold it up and you name it, sometimes wrongly, so they can correct you.
Stir, pour, wash. While cooking, say every action out loud as it happens. The verbs stick because the child is doing them.
The tahdig question. At a rice dinner, ask tahdig mâl-e kiye? and let the child decide who gets the next piece.

For the foods themselves, see food words in Persian and fruits in Persian; for the kitchen as a room in the house, see home and house words.

Related guides

Questions

How do you say kitchen in Persian?

Kitchen is âshpazkhâne (آشپزخانه) in writing and âshpazkhune in everyday speech. Cooking is âshpazi, and a cook is âshpaz.

What is the Persian word for spoon, fork and plate?

Spoon is ghâshogh (قاشق), fork is changâl (چنگال) and plate is boshghâb (بشقاب). A bowl is kâse (کاسه) and a glass is livân (لیوان).

What does tahdig mean?

Tahdig (ته‌دیگ) means "bottom of the pot": tah is bottom and dig is a cooking pot, usually the big one. It is the golden, crispy layer of rice that forms at the bottom of the pot, and in many families it is the best part.

What does nush-e jân mean?

Nush-e jân (نوش جان) is said to someone who is eating, like "enjoy your food" or "bon appétit". It is also the usual reply when someone thanks the cook.

How do you thank someone for cooking in Persian?

Say dastet dard nakone (دستت درد نکنه), literally "may your hand not hurt". To a grandparent or someone older, many families use the polite plural, dastetun dard nakone. The cook usually answers nush-e jân.

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Updated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard

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