The Place Where (جایی که)
To describe where an event happened, Farsi uses the phrase جایی که (literally "a place that"). This acts just like the English relative clause "the place where".
You will often see it linking two halves of a memory. Notice that when an action happens inside the described place, Farsi sometimes includes a phrase like در آن (in it) inside the relative clause to make the relationship completely clear.
| My hometown is the place where I spent my adolescence. | زادگاه من جایی است که نوجوانی خود را در آن گذراندم.zâdgâh-e man jâyi ast ke nojavâni-ye khod râ dar ân gozarândam. |
| This very park is the place where our hangout spot was. | همین پارک جایی است که پاتوق ما بود.hamin pârk jâyi ast ke pâtogh mâ bud. |
If you want to strongly emphasize a specific spot—meaning "this very" or "that very" place—you can use the demonstrative words همین or همان before the noun.
| We sat on that very bench, the place where we ate ice cream. | ما روی همان نیمکت نشستیم، جایی که بستنی خوردیم.mâ ruye hamân nimkat neshastim, jâyi ke bastani khordim. |
The Time When (زمانی که)
Similarly, to talk about when a specific memory or event occurred, use زمانی که (literally "a time that"), meaning "the time when".
| The time when I returned to my hometown was memorable. | زمانی که به زادگاه خود برگشتم خاطرهانگیز بود.zamâni ke be zâdegâh khod bargashtam khâtere-angiz bud. |
Just like with physical locations, you can use همان to emphasize "that very time" when reminiscing about your childhood or teenage years.
| Adolescence is that very time when we had close friends. | نوجوانی همان زمانی است که ما دوستان صمیمی داشتیم.nojavâni hamân zamâni ast ke mâ dustân samimi dâshtim. |
You can also use زمانی که at the beginning of a sentence to establish the background of a story, connecting two related events. In these cases, it functions much like the English word "when".
| The time when we parted from each other, we missed the hangout spot too much. | زمانی که از یکدیگر جدا شدیم، بیش از حد دلتنگ پاتوق شدیم.zamâni ke az yekdigar jodâ shodim, bish az had deltang pâtogh shodim. |