What it means
جهاز (jahâz) means “dowry items,” the set of household goods, furniture, appliances, rugs, dishes, and bedding that a bride brings with her into a new marriage. The word comes from the Arabic root ج-ه-ز (j-h-z), meaning “to prepare, to equip,” the same root that gives جهز (jahaz) meaning “equipment” in modern Arabic. In Persian the word narrowed to mean the bride’s preparation specifically.
Cultural context
Traditionally the bride’s family supplies a complete household of items. The depth of the jahaz signals the family’s standing and how much they have invested in the daughter’s future home. A full jahaz can include refrigerator, washing machine, oven, complete dish sets (سرویس چینی, servis-e chini), multiple Persian rugs, bedroom furniture, dining table, sofas, curtains, kitchen appliances, linens, and decorative items. Wealthier families sometimes include a car, a piece of land, or jewelry. In rural and traditional families, neighbors and relatives gather to inspect the jahaz before it is loaded onto trucks and delivered to the new home, often a few days before the wedding.
Modern urban Iranian families negotiate this. Some couples agree to skip the jahaz entirely and split household costs as a couple. Others keep the tradition because the bride’s family wants her to walk into the marriage with standing and dignity. There are pragmatic reasons too: the jahaz legally remains the bride’s property after the wedding, which matters in the case of separation or divorce. In the Iranian legal system, the bride can remove every item that came with her if the marriage ends. Among the diaspora, the jahaz tradition has thinned, though the underlying expectation that the bride’s family contributes meaningfully to the new home often persists in symbolic form.
How to use it
- جهازش رو خریدن (jahâzesh ro kharidan) “They bought her jahaz”
- جهاز کامل آورد (jahâz-e kâmel âvord) “She brought a complete jahaz”
- هنوز دارن جهاز جمع میکنن (hanuz dâran jahâz jam’ mikonan) “They are still gathering the jahaz”
- پدرش جهازش رو داد (pedaresh jahâzesh ro dâd) “Her father gave her her jahaz”
- جهاز بران (jahâz-borân) “the procession when the jahaz is delivered”
Related expressions
مهریه (mehriye) is different: a sum the groom legally owes the bride, written into the marriage contract. شیربها (shirbahâ, literally “milk price”) is a payment the groom’s family traditionally gave the bride’s mother, less common today. سیسمونی (sismuni) is the baby version: the layette and gear prepared for a newborn, often by the new mother’s relatives. عروسی (arusi) is the wedding party. نامزدی (nâmzadi) is the engagement period during which the jahaz is gathered.
References
ZabanYar is a Persian app built for heritage learners, the people who can speak a little but want to read, write, and really get it. Free early access at launch.
Join the waitlist →