What it means
باتلاق (bâtlâq) refers to a swamp or marsh: ground so saturated with water that it becomes soft, unstable, and difficult to cross. The word entered Persian from Turkic, where batak carried the same sense of muddy, boggy terrain. A close synonym is مرداب (mordâb), which refers more specifically to a stagnant lagoon or wetland. باتلاق tends to carry a stronger connotation of danger and the risk of sinking, while مرداب is used more neutrally for standing water bodies.
How to use it
- پایم توی باتلاق فرو رفت. (pâyam tu-ye bâtlâq foru raft.) “My foot sank into the swamp.”
- این منطقه پر از باتلاقه، مراقب باش. (in mantaqe por az bâtlâqe, morâqeb bâsh.) “This area is full of swamps, be careful.”
- باتلاق بعد از بارون خیلی خطرناکه. (bâtlâq ba’d az bârun kheyli khatarnâke.) “The swamp is very dangerous after rain.”
- حیوونا توی باتلاق زندگی میکنن. (hayvunâ tu-ye bâtlâq zendegi mi-konan.) “Animals live in the swamp.”
Cultural note
Parts of the Iranian coastline along the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf coast feature extensive wetland and swamp areas. The Anzali Lagoon in Gilan province borders swampy terrain that locals historically treated with caution. In everyday Persian speech, باتلاق is also used metaphorically to describe situations that trap a person: a difficult bureaucratic process or a failing relationship might be called a باتلاق.