What it means
هکتار (hektâr) means “hectare,” the metric unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres or about 2.47 acres. It came into Persian from French hectare as part of the metric system introduced in the twentieth century. It is the standard unit for measuring farmland and forest in Iran. When dealing with smaller plots, Iranians may also use متر مربع (metr-e morabba, square metre), while very large areas might be expressed in کیلومتر مربع (kilometre-ye morabba, square kilometre).
How to use it
- این مزرعه ده هکتاره. (in mazra’e dah hektâre.) “This farm is ten hectares.”
- دولت ۵۰۰ هکتار جنگل کاشت. (dowlat pânsad hektâr jangal kâsht.) “The government planted five hundred hectares of forest.”
- قیمت هر هکتار زمین اینجا چقدره؟ (qeymat-e har hektâr zamin injâ chaqadre?) “How much does one hectare of land cost here?”
- سیل ۲۰۰ هکتار از مزارع رو خراب کرد. (seyl davvist hektâr az mazâre’ ro kharâb kard.) “The flood destroyed two hundred hectares of farmland.”
Cultural note
Agriculture remains a significant part of Iran’s economy, and هکتار is the unit farmers, agronomists, and government planners use when reporting crop yields and land allocation. News reports about drought, which is a recurring challenge in Iran, regularly cite how many هکتار of farmland have been affected. The word is entirely standard and has no informal rival.