What it means
حقوق (hoquq) comes from Arabic حُقُوق (huquq), the plural of حَقّ (haqq), meaning “right” or “due.” In everyday Persian it carries two distinct senses depending on context: in a workplace conversation it means salary or wages, while in a legal or civic conversation it means rights or entitlements. The double meaning is not a coincidence. Wages are, in this framing, simply what is rightfully owed to a worker. A close synonym for the salary sense is دستمزد (dastmozd), which is more specific to manual or hourly work.
How to use it
- حقوقم این ماه دیر شد. (hoquqam in mâh dir shod.) “My salary was late this month.”
- حقوق بشر باید رعایت بشه. (hoquq-e bashar bâyad re’âyat beshe.) “Human rights must be respected.”
- حقوقت چقدره؟ (hoquqat cheghadre?) “How much is your salary?”
- کارمندا دنبال افزایش حقوق هستن. (kârmandâ donbâl-e afzâyesh-e hoquq hastan.) “The employees are seeking a salary raise.”
Cultural note
In Iran, asking someone their حقوق directly is common among close friends and family but can feel intrusive in a formal setting. The government publishes a minimum حقوق each year, and negotiations over its annual increase are a recurring national conversation, especially before Nowruz. The word also appears in fixed expressions like حقوق بشر (human rights) and حقوق شهروندی (citizenship rights), where the legal meaning dominates.