What it means
برقکش (bargh-kesh) is the everyday word for an electrician, the tradesperson who installs, repairs, and maintains electrical wiring and systems. The word is a Persian compound: برق (bargh) comes from Arabic, meaning lightning and by extension electricity, while کش is a Persian agent suffix derived from کشیدن (to pull, to draw), used to form occupational nouns. So the compound is of mixed Arabic-Persian origin. In formal or written contexts you may also encounter الکتریسین (elektrisin), borrowed from French, but برقکش is the natural spoken word.
How to use it
- باید یه برقکش بیاد برق خونه رو چک کنه. (bâyad ye bargh-kesh biyâd bargh-e khune ro chek kone.) “An electrician needs to come and check the house wiring.”
- برقکش گفت سیمکشی باید عوض بشه. (bargh-kesh goft sim-keshi bâyad avaz beshe.) “The electrician said the wiring needs to be replaced.”
- شماره یه برقکش خوب داری؟ (shomâre-ye ye bargh-kesh-e khub dâri?) “Do you have the number of a good electrician?”
- برقکش داره کلید برق رو نصب میکنه. (bargh-kesh dâre kelid-e bargh ro nasb mi-kone.) “The electrician is installing the light switch.”
Cultural note
In Iranian housing construction, برقکش is one of a trio of essential tradespeople alongside بنّا (mason) and لولهکش (plumber), and apartment renovations almost always require all three. Because much of Tehran’s older housing stock was built before modern electrical codes, finding a skilled برقکش to rewire aging apartments is a common need. The suffix کش appears in a number of similar occupational words in Persian, making it a productive pattern for naming trades.