What it means
دوربین (dur-bin) is a compound of دور (dur, far) and بین (bin, seeing, from دیدن, didan). As an adjective it means far-sighted, whether in the ophthalmological sense (able to see distant objects clearly) or the figurative sense (able to plan and think ahead). As a noun it is the standard, everyday word for both binoculars and camera in Persian. The noun meaning is so dominant in daily speech that if you say دوربین in conversation, listeners will assume you mean the device, not the quality. The adjective meaning comes through clearly in formal or figurative contexts. Its antonym as an adjective is نزدیکبین (nazdik-bin, short-sighted).
How to use it
- دوربینت رو بیار، میخوایم پرندهها رو ببینیم. (durbinet ro biâr, mikhâim parandehâ ro bebinim.) “Bring your binoculars, we want to watch the birds.”
- عکاس دوربینش رو روی سهپایه گذاشت. (akkâs durbinash ro ruye se-pâye gozâsht.) “The photographer placed his camera on the tripod.”
- رهبری دوربین به آینده نگاه میکنه. (rahbari-ye durbin be âyande negâh mi-kone.) “Far-sighted leadership looks toward the future.”
- اون آدم خیلی دوربینه، مشکلات رو قبل از همه میبینه. (un âdam kheyli durbin-e, moshkelât ro qabl az hame mi-bine.) “That person is very far-sighted, they see problems before everyone else.”
Cultural note
دوربین as the word for camera entered Persian organically from the same compounding logic that gave it the binoculars sense: an instrument that lets you see far. Today دوربین عکاسی (durbin-e akkâsi, photography camera) and دوربین فیلمبرداری (durbin-e filmbardâri, video camera) are the standard formal terms, while دوربین alone covers both. In figurative political and intellectual writing, دوربین and its companion noun دوربینی (durbini, far-sightedness) appear alongside آیندهنگری (âyande-negari, foresightedness) as markers of visionary leadership, in contrast to the short-sightedness the word نزدیکبینی describes.