What it means
فساد (fasâd) means “corruption”, “decay”, or “moral rot”. It is borrowed from Arabic فَسَاد (fasâd), from the root ف-س-د (f-s-d), conveying the idea of spoiling or going bad. In Persian, فساد is the dominant term for political and financial corruption, the kind discussed in news reports about bribery, embezzlement, and abuse of power. It can also describe moral or social decay in a more general sense. A related phrase is فساد اداری (fasâd-e edâri), which specifically means administrative or bureaucratic corruption, a term that appears constantly in reform discourse in Iran.
How to use it
- فساد مالی تو اون وزارتخونه زیاده. (fasâd-e mâli tu un vezâratkhune ziâde.) “There is a lot of financial corruption in that ministry.”
- باید با فساد مبارزه کرد. (bâyad bâ fasâd mobâreze kard.) “Corruption must be fought.”
- اون مقام به خاطر فساد دستگیر شد. (un maqâm be khâter-e fasâd dastgir shod.) “That official was arrested because of corruption.”
- فساد اداری مشکل بزرگیه. (fasâd-e edâri moshkel-e bozorgie.) “Administrative corruption is a big problem.”
Cultural note
فساد is one of the most charged words in contemporary Iranian public discourse. Anti-corruption campaigns, parliamentary debates, and protest slogans invoke it regularly. Iran ranks poorly on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, and the phrase مبارزه با فساد (fighting corruption) is a standard pledge of incoming officials. The Arabic root also gives the word weight in religious speech, where فساد فی الارض (corruption on earth) is a Quranic concept carrying the gravest moral condemnation.