دخالت

What it means

دخالت (dakhalat) means interference, meddling, or intervention. The word is borrowed from Arabic, built on the root د-خ-ل (d-kh-l) meaning to enter or to go inside. The Arabic verbal noun دَخالة (dakhâla) or the pattern of دخالت in Persian usage carries the sense of entering into something uninvited, hence interfering. In Persian the compound verb دخالت کردن (dakhalat kardan) is the standard way to express to interfere or to meddle, covering everything from a relative who gives unsolicited life advice to a foreign government intervening in another country’s politics. The negative imperative دخالت نکن (dakhalat nakon) is a firm, common phrase in everyday arguments meaning don’t interfere or stay out of it. The prepositional phrase بی‌دخالت (bi-dakhalat) means without interference.

How to use it

• دخالت نکن، به تو ربطی نداره (dakhalat nakon, be to rabti nadâre) “Don’t interfere, it’s none of your business.”
• دخالت دولت تو بازار مشکل‌ساز شد (dakhalat-e dowlat to bâzâr moshkel-sâz shod) “Government intervention in the market caused problems.”
• از دخالت توی زندگی من دست بردار (az dakhalat to zendegi-ye man dast bardâr) “Stop meddling in my life.”
• بی‌دخالت بهتر حل می‌شه (bi-dakhalat behtar hall mishe) “It’ll resolve better without interference.”

Cultural note

Family boundaries around دخالت are a perennial source of tension in Iranian households. Extended family involvement in decisions about marriage, career, and child-rearing is culturally normalized in many contexts, and yet the line between caring advice and unwanted دخالت is frequently negotiated, often loudly. The phrase «به کار من دخالت نکن» (be kâr-e man dakhalat nakon, don’t interfere in my business) is one of the most frequently heard rebukes in family arguments, reflecting a modern push for individual autonomy against traditional collective expectations.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab