Žiri (pronounced [ʒiˈɾiː] or [ˈʒiːɾi]; formerly also Žir, locally Žier, German: Sairach) is a town in northwestern Slovenia. It is the administrative seat of the Municipality of Žiri, created in 1994. Prior to this the town belonged administratively to the area of Škofja Loka.

The town of Žiri lies in the extreme southwest part of the Upper Carniola region on the borders with the Inner Carniola and the Littoral regions in the Žiri Basin (Slovene: Žirovska kotlina) at the end of the Poljane Valley (Poljanska dolina). A number of tributaries join there to become the Poljane Sora (Poljanska Sora).

The name of the settlement was first attested in 1291 as Syroch (and as Seyroch in 1307 and Syroch in 1318). It is probably derived from a plural form of the hypocorism *Žirъ, and the name would therefore mean 'Žir and his people'. An alternative, less likely theory, connects the name to the Slovene common noun žir 'beech nuts'.

An Austrian post office was established in Žiri in 1871 under the name Sairach, district of Loitsch (Logatec). The Slovene name was added to the postal name at the end of the 19th century.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1948	598	—
1953	651	+8.9%
1961	667	+2.5%
1971	627	−6.0%
1981	577	−8.0%
1991	3,442	+496.5%
2002	3,593	+4.4%
2011	3,588	−0.1%
2021	3,654	+1.8%
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.

The parish church in the town of Žiri is dedicated to Saint Martin and belongs to the Archdiocese of Ljubljana.

Notable people that were born or lived in Žiri include:

• Leopold Suhodolčan (1928–1980), writer

• Media related to Žiri at Wikimedia Commons
• Žiri on Geopedia