Persian Rugs: Types, Patterns, Weaving Cities and the Persian Words for Them
In Persian, a rug is فرش (farsh), the everyday word for any carpet, and a hand-knotted pile carpet is قالی (ghâli). A small rug is a قالیچه (ghâliche), a flat-woven kilim is a گلیم (gelim), and a thick tribal rug is a گبه (gabbe). Persian rugs are named after the city or tribe that weaves them: Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Nain, Qom, Kerman, Heriz, Qashqai and more.
Most guides to Persian rugs are written by shops and give you the English trade names only. Here you get the words Iranians actually use for rugs, knots, sizes, colors and patterns, a short tour of the main weaving centers, and the sentences you need to describe a rug or ask about one in a bazaar. There is practice after each part and a quiz at the end.
Farsh, ghâli, gelim: the basic words
English has “rug” and “carpet.” Persian has a whole family of words, and Iranians use them precisely. The two you will hear most are farsh and ghâli.
- فرش (farsh) is the general word. It covers anything laid on the floor: a hand-knotted masterpiece, a cheap machine-made rug, even a flat-weave. The verb فرش کردن (farsh kardan) means “to carpet” or “to pave.” The famous “Persian carpet” is فرش ایرانی (farsh-e irâni).
- قالی (ghâli) is more specific: a knotted pile carpet, usually room-sized and usually handmade. When someone says قالی, they almost always mean the traditional kind.
- قالیچه (ghâliche) adds the diminutive ending ـچه (-che): a small rug, the size you put by a bed or in an entrance.
In daily speech, farsh is the safe choice. “We bought a new rug” is یه فرش نو خریدیم (ye farsh-e no kharidim, spoken). The weaver is a قالی‌باف (ghâlibâf), and weaving is قالی‌بافی (ghâlibâfi). Qalibaf is also a common Iranian family name.
Types of Persian rugs and floor coverings
| Persian | Pronunciation | English | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| فرش | farsh | rug, carpet (general) | Any floor covering; the everyday word |
| قالی | ghâli | knotted pile carpet | A traditional, usually large, hand-knotted carpet |
| قالیچه | ghâliche | small rug | A small knotted rug |
| گلیم | gelim | kilim, flat-weave | Woven without knots or pile, thin and light; English “kilim” comes from this family of words |
| گبه | gabbe | gabbeh | Thick, long-pile, simply patterned rug woven by nomads of Fars, especially the Qashqai |
| جاجیم | jâjim | jajim | Flat-weave made of narrow woven strips sewn together, often used as a blanket or cover |
| زیلو | zilu | zilu | Simple cotton flat-weave, traditionally from Meybod near Yazd, often seen in mosques |
| فرش دست‌باف | farsh-e dastbâf | handmade rug | Hand-knotted (literally “hand-woven”) |
| فرش ماشینی | farsh-e mâshini | machine-made rug | Factory-made; very common in Iranian homes today |
| موکت | moket | wall-to-wall carpet | Fitted carpeting, from French “moquette” |
Listen to the three rug types learners mix up most: گلیم , گبه and قالیچه .
How a Persian rug is made: knots, warp and weft
A carpet is built on a loom, دار قالی (dâr-e ghâli). Vertical threads are stretched on it first, then the weaver ties a knot of wool or silk around them, row after row, and beats each row down. The ends of the knots form the soft surface you walk on, the pile.
| Persian | Pronunciation | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| دار قالی | dâr-e ghâli | carpet loom | Upright looms in towns, horizontal ground looms among nomads |
| تار | târ | warp | The vertical threads; the fringe is the end of the warp |
| پود | pud | weft | The horizontal threads between rows of knots |
| گره | gereh | knot | Each knot is one “dot” of color in the design |
| پرز | porz | pile | The soft surface; short pile shows fine detail |
| رج | raj | row of knots | Used to state knot density, see below |
| ریشه | rishe | fringe | Also means “root” |
| شیرازه | shirâze | side binding, selvage | The wrapped edge along the long sides |
| نقشه | naghshe | design drawing, cartoon | The grid drawing a weaver follows; also “map” |
The pair تار و پود (târ-o pud) , “warp and weft,” is also an everyday expression for the very fabric of something. You will hear it in phrases like “it is woven into the warp and weft of my being.”
The two knots: Persian and Turkish
Weavers use two main knots. The asymmetrical knot is called the Persian knot, گره فارسی (gereh-e fârsi), or the Senneh knot. The symmetrical knot is called the Turkish knot, گره ترکی (gereh-e torki), or the Ghiordes knot. The names are geographic labels, not rules: many famous Persian rugs, including those of Tabriz, Heriz and Bijar, are woven with the “Turkish” knot, and the rugs of Senneh (today’s Sanandaj) are themselves usually tied with the symmetrical knot. You cannot tell a rug’s origin from the knot alone.
What does “50 raj” mean?
Iranian sellers describe fineness in رج (raj), the number of knot rows in a fixed length, traditionally about 7 centimeters. A rug of 30 raj is coarse and sturdy, 50 raj is fine, and 70 raj or more is very fine. Higher raj means more knots, more hours of work and sharper detail, but not automatically a better rug: wool quality, dyes and design matter just as much. A buyer asks چند رجه؟ (chand raje?, spoken) , “how many raj is it?”
For Nain rugs you will also hear grades like چهارلا (chahâr-lâ, “4 la”), شیش‌لا (shish-lâ, “6 la”, spoken) and “9 la.” These refer to how many strands make up the warp thread; a 4 la Nain is the finest grade.
Materials and colors
Most Persian rugs have a wool pile on a cotton foundation. Fine city rugs may use کرک (kork), very soft wool, with silk details, and Qom is known for all-silk rugs.
| Persian | Pronunciation | English | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| پشم | pashm | wool | The most common pile; “woolen” is پشمی (pashmi) |
| کرک | kork | fine, soft wool | Used in fine city rugs |
| ابریشم | abrisham | silk | Silk rugs or silk highlights; “silk” as an adjective is ابریشمی (abrishami) |
| پنبه | panbe | cotton | Usually the foundation (warp and weft) |
| رنگ گیاهی | rang-e giâhi | vegetable dye | Natural plant dyes |
| رنگرزی | rangrazi | dyeing | The dyer is رنگرز (rangraz) |
| روناس | runâs | madder root | The classic source of red |
| نیل | nil | indigo | The classic source of blue |
| پوست انار | pust-e anâr | pomegranate rind | Used for yellows and browns |
Two color words belong to the rug world. لاکی (lâki) is the deep brick red of so many Persian carpets, and سرمه‌ای (sorme’i) is navy blue. The background color of the central field is called زمینه (zamine). For the rest of the colors, see the Persian colors vocabulary list. A slight change of shade within one color, caused by different batches of hand-dyed wool, is normal in handmade rugs; dealers call it by the trade term “abrash.”
Rug sizes: how Iranians name them
Iranians usually name a room-size carpet by its area in square meters, with the adjective ending ـی (-i): فرش دوازده‌متری (farsh-e davâzdah metri) is a “12-meter rug,” about 3 by 4 meters. Smaller pieces have traditional names.
| Persian | Pronunciation | English | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| شش‌متری | shesh-metri | 6-meter (about 2 x 3 m) | Bedroom or small room |
| نه‌متری | noh-metri | 9-meter (about 2.5 x 3.5 m) | Medium room |
| دوازده‌متری | davâzdah-metri | 12-meter (about 3 x 4 m) | Living room |
| کناره | kenâre | runner | Long, narrow rug for a hallway or the side of a room |
| پادری | pâdari | doormat, very small rug | By the door |
| پشتی | poshti | woven floor cushion | A firm cushion with a rug face, leaned on when sitting on the floor |
You may also see the old measure ذرع (zar’) in rug names such as “dozar” and “zaronim” (one and a half zar’), used in the trade for small rugs. Ask a seller for the exact dimensions, ابعادش چنده؟ (ab’âdesh chande?, spoken), because these names are approximate. For the numbers themselves, see Persian numbers with pronunciation.
Flashcards: rug words, tap to flip
knotted pile carpet
kilim, flat-weave
knot
warp and weft
fringe
runner
silk
deep brick red
Persian rug patterns and their names
In Persian, a whole design is a نقشه (naghshe) and a single motif is a نقش (naghsh). The central area is the متن (matn, field) and the frame around it is the حاشیه (hâshie, border). These are the layouts and motifs you will meet most often.
| Persian | Pronunciation | English | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| ترنج | toranj | medallion | The large central shape; the word also means a citron fruit |
| لچک | lachak | corner piece | A quarter medallion in each corner |
| لچک‌ترنج | lachak-toranj | medallion-and-corner | The classic layout: center medallion plus four corners |
| افشان | afshân | all-over | Flowers and vines scattered over the field, no medallion |
| بته‌جقه | bote-jeghe | paisley, boteh | A teardrop shape with a curled tip |
| هراتی | herâti | Herati, “fish” pattern | A small repeating flower in a diamond flanked by curved leaves; also called ماهی (mâhi, fish) |
| شاه‌عباسی | shâh-abbâsi | Shah Abbasi palmettes | Large, layered palmette flowers linked by vines, named after the Safavid king Shah Abbas |
| شکارگاه | shekârgâh | hunting scene | Riders, deer, lions and birds among trees |
| گلدانی | goldâni | vase design | Flowering plants growing out of vases |
| محرابی | mehrâbi | prayer-niche design | An arch shape at one end, like a mosque mihrab |
| درختی | derakhti | tree design | Trees of life, cypresses and flowering trees |
| خشتی | kheshti | panel or garden design | The field divided into square tiles, each with a tree or flower; typical of Bakhtiari rugs |
| میناخانی | minâkhâni | Mina Khani | Rows of flowers joined by a lattice of lines |
| تصویری | tasviri | pictorial | Portraits, scenes or famous images woven like a painting |
Practice the four that come up in almost every rug shop: لچک‌ترنج , بته‌جقه , شاه‌عباسی and شکارگاه .
A story you will often read is that every Persian rug contains a deliberate mistake, because only God is perfect. It is a popular saying, not a rule of the craft. Small irregularities in handmade rugs are usually just the natural result of handwork.
Famous weaving cities and tribes
A Persian rug is named after where it was woven. Broadly, there are city rugs (workshop rugs woven from a drawn design), village rugs, and tribal or nomadic rugs (woven from memory, with bolder geometric shapes). Here are the names you will see most, with their Persian spelling.
| Persian | Pronunciation | English name | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| تبریز | tabriz | Tabriz | A major weaving and trading center in the northwest; a huge range of designs, from medallions to pictorial rugs; the “Tabriz mâhi” (Herati) design |
| هریس | heris | Heriz | Villages near Tabriz; bold, angular medallions and very hard-wearing rugs; older fine pieces are sold as “Serapi” |
| کاشان | kâshân | Kashan | Fine medallion rugs in deep red and navy; the Mohtasham name is linked to its finest older rugs |
| اصفهان | esfahân | Isfahan | The Safavid capital; very fine rugs, often wool on a silk foundation, with shâh-abbâsi palmettes and graceful medallions |
| نائین | nâ’in | Nain | Fine rugs in ivory and blue with silk outlines; graded as 4 la, 6 la, 9 la |
| قم | ghom | Qom | A 20th-century weaving center best known for all-silk rugs |
| کرمان | kermân | Kerman | The southeast; soft, curving floral designs, vase and garden rugs, a wide palette |
| مشهد | mashhad | Mashhad (Khorasan) | The northeast; large rugs with rich reds and purples, often with shâh-abbâsi designs |
| بیجار | bijâr | Bijar | A Kurdish town in the west; packed so densely that the rugs are called the “iron rugs” of Persia |
| همدان | hamedân | Hamadan | A large western region of village rugs, sturdy and affordable |
| سنندج | sanandaj | Senneh | Kurdish city in the west, known for very fine, thin rugs and kilims |
| اراک | arâk | Sultanabad, Mahal, Sarouk area | Arak was once called Sultanabad; the region exported many rugs to the West around 1900 |
| قشقایی | ghashghâyi | Qashqai | Turkic-speaking nomads of Fars; gabbe, gelim and lively geometric rugs |
| بختیاری | bakhtiâri | Bakhtiari | Zagros Mountains; the kheshti garden-panel design |
| ترکمن | torkaman | Turkmen | Northeast; rows of octagonal “gul” motifs on deep red |
| بلوچ | baluch | Baluch | East and southeast; dark reds, blues and browns, many small prayer rugs |
Notice that the English names often follow older spellings: Heriz is هریس (heris) in Persian, and Isfahan is pronounced اصفهان (esfahân) . To read more about these cities in simple Persian, try the Persian reading lesson on Tabriz.
A short history of the Persian carpet
The oldest surviving knotted carpet, the Pazyryk carpet, was found in a frozen burial mound in the Altai Mountains of Siberia and dates to about the 5th century BC; scholars still debate whether it was woven in Persia or under Persian influence. It is kept in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Historical accounts describe a vast Sasanian garden carpet, known as Bahârestân or “the spring of Khosrow,” in the palace at Ctesiphon.
The great age of the court carpet came under the Safavids in the 16th and 17th centuries, when royal workshops in cities like Tabriz, Kashan and Isfahan wove carpets from designs drawn by court artists. The best known of these, the Ardabil carpet, carries an inscription dated 946 AH (1539-40 AD) and is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, demand from Europe and America brought a revival of weaving in Tabriz, Arak and Kerman.
In 2010, UNESCO added the traditional skills of carpet weaving in Fars and in Kashan to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. If you read Persian at an intermediate level, the lesson Persian Carpets and Rugs (reading lesson 17) covers this history in simple Persian, and Iranian Art and Handicrafts (lesson 16) places carpets among Iran’s other crafts.
Rugs in Iranian daily life
In many Iranian homes, the carpet is the center of the room in a very practical way. People take their shoes off at the door, sit on the floor against a پشتی (poshti), and spread a cloth, the سفره (sofre), on the carpet for meals. A good carpet is often part of a bride’s household goods, kept for decades and passed down in the family.
Before Nowruz, the Persian New Year, families do خانه‌تکانی (khâne-tekâni), the big spring cleaning, and many send their carpets to a قالی‌شویی (ghâlishuyi) , a carpet-washing workshop. In Mashhad-e Ardehal near Kashan, a ceremony called قالی‌شویان (ghâlishuyân, “carpet washing”) is held every year, in which a carpet is washed in a spring; UNESCO listed it as intangible heritage in 2012. If you plan a trip, the Nowruz guide explains the rest of the holiday.
Rug idioms in everyday Persian
Carpets and kilims also live in the language. Two idioms you will hear:
- پایش را از گلیمش درازتر کرد (pâyash râ az gelimash derâztar kard), “he stretched his foot beyond his kilim”: he overstepped his limits or took on more than he could afford. Parents say پاتو از گلیمت درازتر نکن (pâto az gelimet derâztar nakon, spoken) .
- گلیم خود را از آب بیرون کشیدن (gelim-e khod râ az âb birun keshidan), “to pull one’s own kilim out of the water”: to look after yourself and get out of a difficult situation.
Find more like these in the Persian idioms quiz.
How to describe a Persian rug in Persian
With the words above you can describe any rug in five short sentences: type and origin, design, colors, material, and size. The examples are in written Persian with the spoken version where it differs. Adjectives follow the noun with the ezâfe link (-e / -ye); see ezâfe in Persian if that is new.
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| این یک قالی دست‌باف تبریز است. | in yek ghâli-ye dastbâf-e tabriz ast. | This is a handmade Tabriz carpet. |
| نقشه‌اش لچک‌ترنج است. | naghshe-ash lachak-toranj ast. (spoken: naghshesh lachak-toranje.) | Its design is medallion-and-corner. |
| زمینه‌اش لاکی و حاشیه‌اش سرمه‌ای است. | zamine-ash lâki va hâshie-ash sorme’i ast. | Its field is brick red and its border is navy. |
| جنسش کرک و ابریشم است. | jensesh kork-o abrisham ast. (spoken: kork-o abrishame.) | It is made of fine wool and silk. |
| پنجاه رج و دوازده‌متری است. | panjâh raj va davâzdah-metri ast. | It is 50 raj and 12 square meters. |
Useful adjectives: ریزبافت (rizbâft, finely woven), درشت‌بافت (dorosht-bâft, coarsely woven), کهنه (kohne, old, worn), قدیمی (ghadimi, old, antique), نو (no, new), نرم (narm, soft) and ظریف (zarif, delicate).
Try it: describe this rug in Persian
A small handmade Nain rug, ivory field, blue border, wool and silk. Say it out loud first, then check.
این یک قالیچه‌ی دست‌باف نائین است. زمینه‌اش کرم و حاشیه‌اش آبی است. جنسش پشم و ابریشم است.
in yek ghâliche-ye dastbâf-e nâ’in ast. zamine-ash kerem va hâshie-ash âbi ast. jensesh pashm-o abrisham ast.
Small rug, so قالیچه; ivory is usually called کرم (kerem, cream).
Buying a rug: phrases for the bazaar
In a carpet shop in the bazaar you will speak colloquial Persian. These are the questions buyers really ask, in spoken form. Bargaining is normal, and so is a cup of tea while the seller unrolls rug after rug. For the general shop vocabulary, see shopping words in Persian, and to hear a full shop dialogue, try buying a clay vase in a shop.
| Persian (spoken) | Pronunciation | English | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| این فرش دست‌بافه یا ماشینی؟ | in farsh dastbâfe yâ mâshini? | Is this rug handmade or machine-made? | The first question to ask |
| مال کجاست؟ | mâl-e kojâst? | Where is it from? | Asking the origin |
| جنسش چیه؟ | jensesh chie? | What is it made of? | Asking the material |
| رنگش گیاهیه؟ | rangesh giâhie? | Are the dyes natural? | Asking about dyes |
| چند رجه؟ | chand raje? | How many raj is it? | Asking about fineness |
| چند متریه؟ | chand metrie? | How many square meters is it? | Asking the size |
| قیمتش چنده؟ | gheymatesh chande? | How much is it? | Asking the price |
| یه کم تخفیف بدید. | ye kam takhfif bedid. | Please give a little discount. | Bargaining |
Listen to the two questions you will use most: مال کجاست؟ and قیمتش چنده؟ . If the seller says قابل نداره (ghâbel nadâre, “it’s not worthy of you”), that is polite taarof, not a free rug; the guide to taarof explains how to answer.
Practice: choose the right word
A long, narrow rug for the hallway is a: کناره (kenâre) is a runner.
A flat-woven rug with no pile is a: گلیم (gelim) is woven without knots, so it has no pile.
A rug with a central medallion and four corner pieces has the design: لچک‌ترنج (lachak-toranj): corner pieces plus medallion.
To ask how fine a rug is, you say: این فرش چند است؟رج (raj) counts rows of knots, the usual measure of fineness.
A very shiny, soft rug from Qom is often made of: Qom is known for all-silk rugs, ابریشم (abrisham).
The field is deep brick red: زمینه‌اش است.لاکی (lâki) is the classic carpet red; سرمه‌ای is navy, کرم is cream.
Before Nowruz, many families send their carpets to the: قالی‌شویی (ghâlishuyi) is a carpet-washing workshop.
Keep learning
Rugs are one of the best doors into Iranian culture and vocabulary at the same time: places, colors, numbers, crafts and history all meet in one object. If you enjoy reading about Iran’s art and history in Persian, the Farsi Reading Bundle collects graded texts on these subjects.
Quick quiz: Persian rugs
1. Which word is the general, everyday word for any rug or carpet, including machine-made ones?
- فرش (farsh)
- قالی (ghâli)
- گبه (gabbe)
- ترنج (toranj)
Why
فرش covers every kind of floor covering; قالی usually means a traditional knotted carpet.
2. What is a گلیم (gelim)?
- A silk carpet from Qom
- A woven floor cushion
- A flat-woven rug with no pile
- A carpet-washing workshop
Why
A gelim is woven without knots, so it is thin and has no pile.
3. Which rug is thick, long-piled and woven by nomads of Fars such as the Qashqai?
- زیلو (zilu)
- گبه (gabbe)
- کناره (kenâre)
- موکت (moket)
Why
The gabbe is the thick, simply patterned rug of the Fars nomads.
4. What does ترنج (toranj) mean on a carpet?
- Fringe
- Border
- Paisley
- Central medallion
Why
ترنج is the medallion; لچک are the corner pieces.
5. A seller says the rug is “60 raj.” What is he telling you?
- How finely it is knotted
- Its age in years
- Its area in square meters
- How many colors it has
Why
رج (raj) counts rows of knots in a fixed length, so it measures fineness.
6. Which town’s rugs are called the “iron rugs” of Persia?
- Nain
- Qom
- Bijar
- Kashan
Why
Bijar rugs are packed so densely that they are famously heavy and stiff.
7. What is a فرش دوازده‌متری (farsh-e davâzdah metri)?
- A rug 12 meters long
- A rug of about 12 square meters, roughly 3 x 4 m
- A rug with 12 colors
- A rug that is 12 years old
Why
Iranians name room-size carpets by their area in square meters.
8. What is بته‌جقه (bote-jeghe)?
- A hunting scene
- A prayer-niche design
- A garden-panel layout
- The paisley-like teardrop motif
Why
بته‌جقه is the boteh, the teardrop with a curled tip that English calls paisley.
9. Someone says پاتو از گلیمت درازتر نکن. What do they mean?
- Don’t overstep your limits
- Take your shoes off on the rug
- Don’t buy a rug that is too big
- Wash your kilim before Nowruz
Why
“Don’t stretch your foot beyond your kilim” means don’t go beyond your means or your place.
Common questions
What is a Persian rug called in Persian?
A Persian rug is فرش ایرانی (farsh-e irâni). The general word for rug is فرش (farsh); a traditional hand-knotted carpet is قالی (ghâli), and a small one is قالیچه (ghâliche).
What is the difference between farsh and ghâli?
Farsh is the broad word for any floor covering, including machine-made rugs and flat-weaves. Ghâli is narrower: a knotted pile carpet, usually handmade. Every ghâli is a farsh, but not every farsh is a ghâli.
What are the main types of Persian rugs?
By construction: knotted pile carpets (ghâli, ghâliche), thick tribal gabbe, and flat-weaves such as gelim, jâjim and zilu. By origin: city rugs such as Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Nain, Qom and Kerman; village rugs such as Heriz, Bijar and Hamadan; and tribal rugs of the Qashqai, Bakhtiari, Turkmen and Baluch.
How can you tell if a Persian rug is handmade?
Turn it over. On a hand-knotted rug the pattern shows clearly on the back, the knots are slightly uneven, and the fringe is the end of the warp threads rather than a strip sewn on. Machine-made rugs look perfectly regular and often have a stiff backing. In Persian, ask دست‌بافه یا ماشینی؟ (dastbâfe yâ mâshini?).
What do the patterns on Persian rugs mean?
Most motifs come from gardens and nature: flowers, vines, trees, vases and animals, framed by borders. The best-known layouts are lachak-toranj (medallion and corners), afshân (all-over), shekârgâh (hunting scene), mehrâbi (prayer niche) and kheshti (garden panels). Specific symbolic meanings are often claimed by sellers, but many are modern interpretations rather than documented tradition.
Which Persian city makes the best rugs?
There is no single answer. Isfahan, Nain, Kashan and Qom are known for fine city rugs, Tabriz for range and skill, Bijar and Heriz for durability, and tribal weavers for bold, personal designs. The right rug depends on where it will go and what you like.
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