What it means
باتری (bâteri) is the Persian word for a battery, covering disposable cells (AA, AAA) as well as rechargeable batteries in phones, laptops, and cars. The word is a loanword from French batterie; Iran received much of its early electrical vocabulary through French rather than English, which is consistent with how this word entered the language. It is used identically to its English or French counterparts. A related word is شارژ (shârzh, charge), which refers to the act of charging a battery, and پریز (pariz, socket), where you plug the charger in.
How to use it
- باتری ریموتم تموم شد. (bâteri-ye rimotam tamum shod.) “The remote’s battery has run out.”
- باتری گوشیم خیلی زود خالی میشه. (bâteri-ye gushiam khili zud khâli mishe.) “My phone battery drains very fast.”
- باتری ماشین عوض کردم. (bâteri-ye mâshin avaz kardam.) “I replaced the car battery.”
- یه بسته باتری قلمی داری؟ (ye baste bâteri-ye ghalami dâri?) “Do you have a pack of AA batteries?”
Cultural note
Iran received much of its early electrical and automotive vocabulary through French influence in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which is why باتری comes from French batterie rather than English battery, even though the two are very close in sound. The word باتری قلمی (bâteri-ye ghalami, literally pen-type battery) is the standard colloquial name for AA or AAA cells, a compound built around the French loanword. In everyday speech, Iranians often say شارژم تمومه (shârjam tamume, my charge is out) interchangeably with باتریم تمومه to mean the same thing about a phone.