What it means
بایگانی کردن (bâygâni kardan) means to archive something, to file it away into a records system, or, in a more figurative sense, to shelve a case and take it out of active consideration. It is a compound verb formed from بایگانی (bâygâni, the archive or filing system) plus کردن (kardan, to do or to make). The noun بایگانی itself derives from بایگان, an Old Persian word meaning guardian or keeper, rooted in پاییدن (pâyidan, to guard or watch over), combined with the Persian suffix “-âni” indicating a place or system. The figurative use, to shelve a case, is common in legal and journalistic Persian when a complaint or investigation is quietly dropped.
How to use it
- پرونده را بایگانی کردند و دیگر کسی پیگیر نشد. (Parvande râ bâygâni kardand va dige kasi peygir nashod.) “They archived the case and no one followed up again.”
- باید این مدارک را در سیستم بایگانی کنید. (Bâyad in madârek râ dar sistem bâygâni konid.) “You need to file these documents in the system.”
- شکایتم را بایگانی کردن بدون اینکه جواب بدن. (Shekâyat-am râ bâygâni kardan bedun-e inke javâb bedan.) “They shelved my complaint without giving an answer.”
- همه نامههای قدیمی را بایگانی کردهایم. (Hame nâme-hâ-ye qadimi râ bâygâni karde-im.) “We have archived all the old letters.”
Cultural note
In Iranian government offices and courts, بایگانی کردن a complaint or petition is often a source of public frustration, because it can mean the matter has been quietly buried rather than resolved. Citizens dealing with bureaucratic institutions sometimes say their case has been بایگانی شده (bâygâni shode, been filed away) as a resigned way of saying the system has swallowed their request. The phrase gained additional currency in media coverage of court cases, particularly when sensitive legal matters are removed from active dockets.