Learn Farsi: در این خیابان دو سه گل‌فروشی است. - There are two or three flower shops in this street.

In Farsi, you can express an estimated amount simply by placing two consecutive or related numbers right next to each other. Saying do se literally means 'two three,' but it translates naturally to 'two or three.' You don't need to use the word for 'or' (yâ) here.

Since 'two or three' is more than one, why is gol-forushi (flower shop) in the singular form?

In Farsi, any noun that comes after a number must be singular, regardless of how large the number is. This rule still fully applies when you use an approximated number like do se. So, we say do se gol-forushi instead of using a plural suffix.

Why does the sentence end with the singular verb ast if it means 'there are'?

There are two things happening here. First, inanimate objects (like flower shops) typically take singular verbs in Farsi, even when there are multiple of them. Second, ast acts as an existential verb here meaning 'there is' or 'there are,' which is very common in written or formal Farsi. In spoken Farsi, you will often hear hast used in this exact same way.

How is the word gol-forushi put together?

It is a compound word made of three parts. gol means 'flower,' and forush is the present stem of foruxtan, which means 'to sell.' Finally, the -i suffix turns this combination into a noun indicating a place of business. Together, gol-forushi literally means 'flower-selling place,' or flower shop.