Word A Day

дер

дер: late

Онҳо дер мехезанд.
They get up late.
Аз меваҳо биҳӣ дер гул мекунад ва дер мепазад.
Among the fruits quince blooms late and ripens late.

Bonus:
дер шудан: to become (get) late
дер кардан ба кор: to be late to work
дертар: later

This word can also mean –
дер: a long time

шодии ӯ дер давом накард: his joy didn’t last long
дер-дер: rarely
дер истодан: to stay a long time

рақам

рақам: number

Чор рақами ҷуфт аст.
Four is an even number.
Рақами ҳавлии мо бисту шаш аст.
Our house number is twenty-six.

Bonus:
Synonyms: адад, шумора

рақам мондан: to number
рақами телефон: phone number
рақами ҷуфт: even number
рақами тоқ: odd number

The word рақам can also mean something that has been written.
рақам кардан: to write

суръат

суръат: speed

Бо анемометр суръати бодро чен мекунанд.
Wind speed is measured with an anemometer.
Пингвинҳои Антарктида дар зери об бо суръати 35 километр дар як соат шино менамоянд.
Antarctic penguins swim underwater at a speed of 35 kilometres in one hour.

Bonus:
камсуръат: slow
босуръат: fast
суръатнок: fast

суръати бод: wind speed
суръати автомобил: car speed
суръати садо: speed of sound
суръати фавқуссадо: supersonic speed

гуфтан

гуфтан: to say, to tell

Намедонам ва намефаҳмам, ки ту чӣ мегӯӣ.
I don’t know and I don’t understand what you are saying.
Ба муаллим гӯед, ки ман омада наметавонам.
Tell the teacher that I can’t come.
Ман чизе гуфтанӣ будам.
I wanted to say something. I was going to say something.

Bonus:
гуфтугӯ(й): conversation, discussion
шеър гуфтан: to recite a poem
рост гуфтан: to speak truth (as in “Рост мегӯед.” You speak truth. You’re right.)
зери лаб гуфтан: to whisper, to say quietly

бист

бист: twenty

Рақами хонаи мо бист аст.
Our house number is twenty.
Дар соати бист дақиқа кам нӯҳ аз хона мебароям.
At twenty minutes to nine I leave the house.

Bonus:
When combining thousands, hundreds, tens and digits you use у (or ю), and.
бисту як: twenty-one
саду бист: one hundred and twenty
дусаду бисту панҷ: two hundred and twenty-five

To change a cardinal number to an ordinal number add the suffix ум (or юм).
бистум: twentieth

When writing ordinal numbers often the number is written instead of the word, and then hyphenated with the ending, for example:
20-уми май: 20th of May

When a noun comes after a number, the noun does not take the plural ending.
гулҳо: flowers
бист гул: twenty flowers

кор

кор: work

Ман кори худамро тамом кардам.
I finished my (own) work.
Ман ҳозир ба кор меравам.
I am going to work now.

Bonus:
As in English, the word кор (work) has several meanings. It can mean a task or tasks (as in the first sentence), a job (as in the second sentence) and a transfer of energy (physics).

кор кардан: to work
кор доштан: to have work, to be busy
коргар: worker
корхона: workplace (office, factory etc.)

Compound words can also be formed by combining a noun with кор to give another noun, a person. Example:
ҷинояткор: criminal
пахтакор: cotton farmer
гуноҳкор: sinner

кӯлмак

кӯлмак: puddle

Ҳангоми вазидани боди суст ҳам кӯлмакҳо ва либос зуд хушк мешаванд.
When a soft wind blows the both the puddles and clothes dry quickly.
Кӯлмакҳои оби борони шабона боридагӣ медурахшиданд.
The puddles of rainwater from the evening rain glistened.

Bonus:
кӯлмак шудан: to form a puddle

далер

далер: brave

Падари ман марди ҷасуру далер буд.
My father was a courageous and brave man.
Чӯпони далер ба хирс ҳуҷум кард.
The brave shepherd attacked the bear.

Bonus:
Synonyms: нотарс, ҷасур, шердил

далерона: bravely
далерӣ: bravery

See more Word of the Day adjectives here: Word of the Day: adjectives

хазанда

хазанда: reptile

Дар рӯйи Замин зиёда аз 7 ҳазор намуди гуногуни хазандаҳо зиндагӣ мекунанд.
More than seven thousand various kinds reptiles live on the face of the earth.
Ғайр аз морҳо ва калтакалоси бепой (баҳтур) ҳамаи намудҳои дигари хазандаҳо дар ду паҳлуи танаашон як ҷуфтӣ пой доранд.
Besides snakes and legless lizards, all other different kinds of reptiles have a pair of feet on both sides of their body.

Bonus:
The sentences for today came from allinweb website – Синфи хазандаҳо. The article has loads of great reading about reptiles along with good pictures of reptiles including body parts and bones. There are lots of other great educational articles on that website too.

The plural of ҳазанда can be ҳазандаҳо or ҳазандагон. The suffix -он is used for animate nouns; when the noun ends with the letter “a” the ending is -гон.

Баҳтур (or боҳтур) is a kind of legless lizard that lives in Tajikistan and other parts of Central Asia. You can read about them here: Боҳтур.

пой

пой: foot, leg

Дастҳо ва пойҳои худро ба онҳо нишон дод.
He showed them his hands and his feet.
Фил пойҳои ғафс, гушҳои калон, чашмони хурд, хартуми дароз, думи кӯтоҳи борик дорад.
An elephant has thick legs, large ears, small eyes, a long trunk and a short, thin tail.

Bonus:
Alternate spelling: по

По(й) means both leg and foot.

пойи луч: barefoot
сар то по: head to foot; beginning to end; completely

Tajik saying –
Аввал бубин ҷои худ, баъд бимон пои худ.
First see your place, then put your foot. Or, don’t get yourself into a situation that you shouldn’t be in.