What it means
ازدواج کردن (ezdevâj kardan) means to get married. The noun ازدواج (ezdevâj) comes from the Arabic root ز-و-ج (z-w-j), which relates to pairing or coupling. Arabic azwâj (pairs) and zawâj (marriage) share this root. In Persian the noun has been in use for centuries and is fully embedded in the language, combined here with the light verb کردن (kardan, to do). A pure Persian alternative that exists but is used much less in everyday speech is زناشویی کردن (zanâshuyi kardan). In colloquial Tehran speech, people sometimes shorten the full phrase and say simply ازدواج کرد (ezdevâj kard, he or she got married) without any further construction needed.
How to use it
- تابستون پیش ازدواج کردن. (tâbestune pish ezdevâj kardan.) “They got married last summer.”
- هنوز ازدواج نکردم. (hanuz ezdevâj nakárdam.) “I have not gotten married yet.”
- میخوای ازدواج کنی؟ (mikhâi ezdevâj koni?) “Do you want to get married?”
- اون با یه مهندس ازدواج کرده. (oon bâ ye mohandes ezdevâj karde.) “She is married to an engineer.”
Cultural note
Marriage in Iran is a major social institution and ازدواج کردن carries considerable weight beyond the legal act. Traditional Iranian weddings, called عروسی (arusi), can involve multiple ceremonies across several days and are considered one of the most important events a family organizes. The question کِی ازدواج میکنی (key ezdevâj mikoni, when are you getting married) is asked freely of unmarried adults by relatives and can be a source of pressure, especially for women in their mid-twenties and beyond. The legal marriage age and social expectations around marriage have been points of ongoing public debate in Iran.