What it means
چسب (chasb) is the Persian word for glue, adhesive, or tape, any substance or material that makes things stick together. It is a deverbal noun formed from the verb چسبیدن (chasbidan), meaning to stick or to adhere, which traces back to Proto-Iranian roots and is probably related to Proto-Iranian *čap- meaning to seize or grip. The word covers a wide range of products in everyday speech: چسب چوب (chasb-e chub) is wood glue, چسب زخم (chasb-e zakhm) is a bandage or plaster, and چسب نواری (chasb-e navâri) is adhesive tape. There is no single Arabic or European loanword competing with چسب in standard spoken Persian for this meaning.
How to use it
- یه کم چسب بده این کاغذ رو بچسبونم. (ye kami chasb bede in kâghaz ro bechesbonam.) “Give me a bit of glue so I can stick this paper.”
- چسب نواری کجاست، باید جعبه رو ببندم. (chasb-e navâri kojâst, bâyad ja’be ro bebandam.) “Where is the tape, I need to close the box.”
- زانوم زخم شد، باید چسب زخم بذارم. (zânum zakhm shod, bâyad chasb-e zakhm bezâram.) “My knee is cut, I need to put a plaster on it.”
- این چسب برای چوب مناسبه. (in chasb barâye chub monâsebe.) “This glue is suitable for wood.”
Cultural note
چسب has an almost universal domestic presence in Iranian households, appearing in everything from school supply kits to car repair toolboxes. The word is also used colloquially as an adjective: کسی که چسبندهست (kasi ke chasbandest) describes a clingy or intrusive person, derived from the same verb root. In traditional Persian bookbinding, a craft with centuries of history, specialized flour-based pastes and later synthetic adhesives were all called چسب, showing how one word has tracked the evolution of material culture from handcraft to industrial product.