What it means
اتهام (etteham) means an accusation, a criminal charge, or a formal allegation. It is borrowed from Arabic, from the root و-ه-م (w-h-m), giving the Form VIII verb اتَّهَمَ (ittahama, to accuse or suspect). The key verb in Persian is اتهام زدن (etteham zadan), meaning to level an accusation at someone. A close synonym is ادعا (edda’â, claim or allegation), though etteham carries the sharper sense of a formal criminal charge. In news reporting and courtroom language, etteham is the standard word. In spoken Farsi you might also hear گناه گذاشتن روی کسی (gonâh gozâshtan ru-ye kasi), a more colloquial way of saying “to pin blame on someone,” but for the formal charge itself, etteham is the term.
How to use it
- اتهام قتل بهش زدن. (etteham-e qatl behesh zadan.) “They charged him with murder.”
- اتهامات علیهش اثبات نشد. (ettehâmât aleyhash esbât nashod.) “The charges against her were not proven.”
- وکیل گفت موکلم این اتهام رو رد میکنه. (vakil goft movakkelam in etteham ro radd mikone.) “The lawyer said his client rejects this accusation.”
- اتهام بیاساس بود و دادگاه پرونده رو بست. (etteham bi-asâs bud o dâdgâh parvande ro bast.) “The allegation was groundless and the court closed the case.”
Cultural note
In Iranian media coverage of high-profile trials, the phrase اتهامات وارده (ettehâmât-e vârede, the charges brought) is formulaic and appears in almost every court report. The plural اتهامات (ettehâmât) is heavily used because defendants are often charged with multiple counts simultaneously. One important distinction for learners: in Iranian legal culture, the term اتهام applies from the moment charges are filed, not just after a verdict. A person can carry the اتهام while the case is still ongoing, which is why the presumption-of-innocence principle is sometimes framed around how early the label is attached.