چاه

Persian

Alternative forms

• چه (čah)

Etymology

Akin to Sogdian [script needed] (c’t /⁠čāt⁠/), Avestan 𐬗𐬁𐬝 (cāt̰), Khotanese [script needed] (cāta), Khwarezmian [script needed] (ct’), Baluchi چات (cát), etc.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃɑːh]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɑːʱ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɑːʱ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɑː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɔː]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɒːʱ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɔʱ]

Readings
Classical reading?	čāh
Dari reading?	čāh
Iranian reading?	čâh
Tajik reading?	čoh

• Audio (Iran):

  (file)

Noun

Dari	چاه
Iranian Persian
Tajik	чоҳ

چاه • (čâh) (plural چاه‌ها (čâh-hâ))

1. well (a hole sunk into the ground as a source of water, oil, natural gas or other fluids)

Descendants

• → Ottoman Turkish: چاه (çah, “well; shaft; pit; dungeon”)

References

• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892) “چاه”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul
• Gharib, B. (1995) “c’t”, in Sogdian dictionary: Sogdian–Persian–English, Tehran: Farhangan Publications, page 124