What it means
امتیاز (emtiâz) means score, points, or a rating, and can also mean a privilege or a concession. The word is Arabic, built on the root م-ی-ز (m-y-z), meaning to distinguish or to set apart, and it belongs to form VIII (ifti’âl), which adds the sense of drawing a distinction for oneself. Persian speakers adopted it and extended its meaning into sports contexts, where امتیاز refers to the points a team or player earns. In a broader sense it can mean any kind of special advantage or privilege, so context matters. A close companion word in sport is گل (gol, goal), which is how a football team actually earns its امتیاز.
How to use it
- تیم چند تا امتیاز داره؟ (tim chand ta emtiaz dareh?) “How many points does the team have?”
- با این گل سه امتیاز گرفتیم. (ba in gol se emtiaz gereftim.) “With this goal we got three points.”
- امتیاز بازی چنده؟ (emtiaz-e bazi chandeh?) “What is the score of the game?”
- امتیاز دادن به این فیلم سخته. (emtiaz dadan be in film sakhteh.) “Giving a rating to this film is hard.”
Cultural note
In Iranian football, امتیاز is the currency of the league table. A win earns three امتیاز, a draw earns one, and a loss earns none, the same as in most international leagues. The word also appears in everyday life well outside sport: school grades, app store ratings, and even diplomatic concessions in history are all called امتیاز. The infamous Reuter Concession of 1872 and the Tobacco Concession of 1890, which both sparked major public protests in Iran, were formally known as امتیازات (emtiâzât), the plural form.