What it means
آزمایشگاه (âzmâyeshgâh) means “laboratory,” a room or facility equipped for scientific experiments, medical tests, or research. The word is a pure Persian compound: “âzmâyesh” (آزمایش, test or experiment) comes from the old Persian verb “âzmuden” (to test, to try), and “-gâh” (گاه) is a native Persian suffix meaning “place of.” No Arabic or foreign borrowing is involved. The same suffix appears in words like “khâbgâh” (خوابگاه, dormitory) and “jâygâh” (جایگاه, position). A common shortened form in casual speech is just “lâb” (لاب), borrowed from the English “lab.”
How to use it
- آزمایشگاه فیزیک فردا داریم. (âzmâyeshgâh-e fizik fardâ dârim.) “We have physics lab tomorrow.”
- نمونه رو بردم آزمایشگاه. (nemune ro bordam âzmâyeshgâh.) “I took the sample to the laboratory.”
- آزمایشگاه زیستشناسی طبقه سومه. (âzmâyeshgâh-e zist-shenâsi tabaqe-ye seyome.) “The biology lab is on the third floor.”
- تو آزمایشگاه باید روپوش بپوشی. (tu âzmâyeshgâh bâyad rupush bepushi.) “You have to wear a lab coat in the laboratory.”
Cultural note
Laboratory courses (dars-hâye âzmâyeshgâhi) are a required part of science and engineering curricula at Iranian universities, and their grades are recorded separately from the theoretical lecture component. Students must typically purchase a lab notebook and wear protective gear, and attendance is strictly monitored because labs cannot be easily made up. Medical and clinical laboratories outside universities are also called âzmâyeshgâh, so the word applies both to school settings and to the independent diagnostic labs found on nearly every city block in Iran.