What it means
بذر (bazr) means “seed,” specifically seed kept or prepared for planting, not a seed you might eat. It comes from the Arabic root ب-ذ-ر (b-dh-r), meaning “to scatter” or “to sow seed.” In everyday spoken Persian, you are more likely to hear دانه (dâne, “grain” or “seed” in a general sense) or تخم (tokhm, “seed” or “egg”), but بذر is the precise technical term used in agriculture, horticulture, and formal writing. The compound بذرکاری (bazrkâri) means “seed sowing” and بذرپاشی (bazrpâshi) means “seed broadcasting” or scattering seed by hand or machine.
How to use it
- بذر گندم رو پاییز میکارن. (bazr-e gandom ro pâiz mikâran.) “Wheat seed is planted in autumn.”
- این بذرها اصلاحشدهان. (in bazrhâ eslâhshodeand.) “These seeds are improved varieties.”
- باید بذر رو قبل از کاشت ضدعفونی کرد. (bâyad bazr ro qabl az kâsht zeddofuni kard.) “Seeds should be disinfected before planting.”
- کمبود بذر مشکل بزرگیه برای کشاورزا. (kambud-e bazr moshkel-e bozorgihe barâye keshâvarzâ.) “Seed shortage is a big problem for farmers.”
Cultural note
The careful selection and storage of seed for the next planting season has always been a critical skill in Iranian village life. Before the era of commercial seed production, farming families saved their best grain as بذر for the following year, a practice that developed locally adapted varieties over generations. In modern Iran, government seed banks and agricultural research institutes now produce certified بذر اصلاحشده (bazr-e eslâhshode, “improved seed”) for distribution to farmers. The metaphorical use of بذر is also common in Persian: بذر امید (bazr-e omid) means “the seed of hope,” reflecting how naturally this agricultural word crosses into poetic and philosophical language.