What it means
آمپول (âmpul) has two uses in Persian. In everyday clinic language it means an injection or a shot, the act of being injected with medicine by syringe. In pharmacy and hospital contexts it also refers to the small sealed glass vial (ampoule) that holds a single dose of injectable medication. The word is borrowed from French ampoule, which in turn goes back to Latin ampulla (a small flask). Persian dropped the final e and adjusted the vowel to âmpul following common phonetic patterns for French medical borrowings. The standard verb combination is آمپول زدن (âmpul zadan, to give or get an injection), where زدن (zadan, to strike) is the multipurpose Persian verb for administering injections, vaccines, and blows alike. An informal synonym sometimes heard is تزریق (tazriq), which is Arabic-origin and slightly more clinical in register.
How to use it
- دکتر گفت باید آمپول بزنی (doktor goft bâyad âmpul bezani) “The doctor said you need to get an injection”
- آمپول درد داره؟ (âmpul dard dâre?) “Does the injection hurt?”
- پرستار آمپول زد (parastâr âmpul zad) “The nurse gave the injection”
- این داروش به شکل آمپوله (in dârush be shakl-e âmpule) “This medicine comes in ampoule form”
Cultural note
In Iranian medical culture, injections have traditionally been seen as more effective than oral medication, and many patients actively request an âmpul instead of pills, believing the injectable form works faster. This preference is so well known that it has become a minor cultural cliche. Private clinics often have a dedicated injection room (اتاق تزریقات, otâq-e tazriqât) where a nurse administers injections prescribed elsewhere, a common practice because many Iranian patients pick up the medicine at a pharmacy and bring it back to the clinic themselves.