غیرت (gheyrat) means “honor, protective zeal, jealous protection of family.” Arabic loanword, B1 vocabulary, charged with the cultural code of male protectiveness over kin. Both a cherished virtue and a source of contemporary critique in Iranian society.
How to use it
مرد با غیرت (mard-e bâ-gheyrat) “a man of honor, protective”
غیرتت کجاست؟ (gheyratet kojâst?) “Where is your honor?” (a challenge)
بیغیرت (bi-gheyrat) “without honor, dishonored” (a strong insult)
Common pairings
غیرتی (gheyrati) “protective; jealous in defense”
غیرتی شدن (gheyrati shodan) “to become protectively jealous”
ناموس (nâmus) “honor, family women” (often paired with gheyrat)
مردانگی (mardânegi) “manliness, integrity”
Cultural note
From Arabic غيرة (ghayra, “jealousy, zealous protection”), root غ ی ر. غیرت traditionally describes a man’s duty to protect his family’s reputation, especially the women. Modern Iranian discourse is divided: traditional voices celebrate it as the bedrock of family honor; younger and progressive voices critique it as patriarchal control disguised as virtue. The phrase بیغیرت remains a sharp insult in colloquial Persian.
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From Arabic غيرة (ghayra, "jealousy, zealous protection"), root غ ی ر. غیرت traditionally describes a man's duty to protect his family's reputation, especially the women. Modern Iranian discourse is divided: traditional voices celebrate it as the bedrock of family honor; younger and progressive voices critique it as patriarchal control disguised as virtue. The phrase بیغیرت remains a sharp insult in colloquial Persian.
Persianغیرتborrowed from Arabic; semantic charge of male protective honor is largely Persian-cultural
Regional notes
Gheyrat is most strongly enforced in southern Iran (Khuzestan, Fars), among more traditional Tehran families, and in rural areas across the country. It carries lighter, more ironic weight in cosmopolitan Tehran upper-class settings, especially among educated women who openly critique the gendered double standard it sets. In Azerbaijani-speaking northwestern Iran, the equivalent concept (qeyrat in Azeri) is tied closely to community reputation and is often invoked in older generations more than younger. Diaspora communities tend to soften gheyrat language in mixed company while still feeling its pull in family contexts.
