What it means
ارزش (arzesh) means value, worth, or the quality of being important and deserving. The word is native Persian, inherited directly from Middle Persian, and has no Arabic origin. It covers a wide range: the ارزش of money is its purchasing power, the ارزش of a person is their dignity and character, and the ارزش of an action is its moral weight. A close related adjective is با ارزش (bâ-arzesh, valuable or worthwhile), while the opposite is بیارزش (bi-arzesh, worthless). Do not confuse ارزش with ارزان (arzân, cheap), which shares the same root but describes low price rather than high worth.
How to use it
- این کار خیلی ارزش داره. (in kâr kheyli arzesh dâre) “This work is very worthwhile.”
- ارزش وقتت رو بدون. (arzesh-e vaghtat ro bedun) “Know the value of your time.”
- برام ارزش نداره. (baram arzesh nadâre) “It is not worth it to me.”
- دوستی واقعی ارزش طلا داره. (dusti-ye vâghe’i arzesh-e talâ dâre) “A true friendship is worth its weight in gold.”
Cultural note
In Persian moral and educational discourse, ارزش is one of the most frequently used abstract nouns. Parents and teachers routinely ask children to recognize the ارزش of education, honesty, or family. In contemporary Iran, the phrase ارزشهای انسانی (arzesh-hâye ensâni, human values) appears widely in public speech and media. The word also does practical duty in commerce: ارزش افزوده (arzesh-e afzude) is the standard term for value-added tax (VAT).