What it means
بازی رایانهای (bâzi-ye râyanei) means a computer game or video game, and as a phrase it covers the activity of playing such games. بازی (bâzi) is the native Persian word for game or play, and رایانه (râyâne) is the term coined by the Academy of Persian Language and Literature (Farhangestan) as a pure Persian substitute for the loanword کامپیوتر (kompyuter). The full phrase is بازی رایانهای (a computer-type game). In informal everyday speech most Iranians say بازی کامپیوتری (bâzi-ye kompyuteri) or simply گیم (gim, borrowed from English), but بازی رایانهای is the formal and written standard.
How to use it
- بچهها همش بازی رایانهای میکنن. (bachehâ hamash bâzi-ye râyanei mikonan.) “The kids are always playing video games.”
- بازی رایانهای جدیدی خریدم. (bâzi-ye râyanei-ye jadidi kharidam.) “I bought a new video game.”
- بازی رایانهای برای تمرکز خوبه؟ (bâzi-ye râyanei barâ-ye tamarkoz khube?) “Are video games good for concentration?”
- اون تو صنعت بازی رایانهای کار میکنه. (un tu san’at-e bâzi-ye râyanei kâr mikone.) “He works in the video game industry.”
Cultural note
Video gaming has grown into one of the most popular leisure activities among young Iranians. Iran has a notable domestic game development scene, with Iranian studios producing titles that have reached international markets. The tension between the formal Farhangestan term رایانه and the universally used colloquial کامپیوتر or گیم reflects a broader pattern in modern Persian, where official language bodies coin pure Persian equivalents that coexist with the loanwords people actually use in daily speech.