What it means
گیتار (gitâr) is guitar in Persian, borrowed from French guitare. The word entered Persian from a European language, most likely French, during the late Qajar and Pahlavi era. The French term itself traces back through Spanish guitarra and ultimately to the Greek kithara, reflecting Iran’s cultural borrowing from Europe during that period. The گیتار is a six-string instrument played with the fingers or a pick and is used across pop, classical, and folk styles. In informal Iranian conversation it is often called simply گیتار without any further qualifier.
How to use it
- داری گیتار یاد میگیری؟ (dâri gitâr yâd migiri?) “Are you learning guitar?”
- اون گیتار میزنه و آواز میخونه. (un gitâr mizane va âvâz mikhune.) “He plays guitar and sings.”
- گیتارم رو جا گذاشتم. (gitâram ro jâ gozâshtam.) “I left my guitar behind.”
- گیتار کلاسیک با گیتار برقی خیلی فرق داره. (gitâr-e kelâsik bâ gitâr-e barqi kheyli farq dâre.) “Classical guitar is very different from electric guitar.”
Cultural note
The guitar became popular in Iran during the Pahlavi era when Western pop and film culture spread through Tehran’s cafes and clubs. After 1979, the instrument faced the same restrictions imposed on most public music, but it remained widely practiced in private homes and returned to public stages as restrictions shifted. Today it is one of the most commonly studied instruments in Iranian music schools, and Persian pop music produced both inside Iran and by the diaspora in Los Angeles makes heavy use of it.