What it means
کاغذبازی (kâghaz-bâzi) is a compound noun built from کاغذ (kâghaz, paper) and بازی (bâzi, playing or game). کاغذ was borrowed into Persian from Sogdian (𐼸𐼰𐼲𐼹𐼰, kʾɣδʾ), which in turn likely borrowed from Old Chinese 紙. Persian then passed the word to Turkic and Mongolian languages, not the other way around. بازی is a native Persian word from the root bâkhtan. The whole compound means the game of paper, that is, bureaucratic runaround, red tape, or pointless form-filling. It is colloquial and carries open frustration or mockery. A near synonym is پیچوخم اداری (pich-o-kham-e edâri, bureaucratic twists and turns), but kâghaz-bâzi is sharper and more sarcastic.
How to use it
- از این همه کاغذبازی خسته شدم. (Az in hame kâghaz-bâzi khaste shodam.) “I am exhausted from all this red tape.”
- بدون کاغذبازی نمیشه یه پرونده باز کرد. (Bedun-e kâghaz-bâzi nemishe ye parvande bâz kard.) “You can’t open a file without all this paper-shuffling.”
- این دولت قول داد کاغذبازی رو کم کنه. (In dowlat qol dâd kâghaz-bâzi ro kam kone.) “This government promised to reduce the red tape.”
- کاغذبازی وقت و انرژی آدم رو میگیره. (Kâghaz-bâzi vaqt o enerži-ye âdam ro migiré.) “Red tape takes up your time and energy.”
Cultural note
کاغذبازی is one of those Persian words that lands like a knowing groan. Every Iranian who has dealt with government offices, banks, or the courts recognizes the experience it describes instantly. The -bâzi suffix (as in دروغبازی, charlatanism, or عشقبازی, lovemaking) turns the noun کاغذ into an activity, suggesting that the paper-handling is performative or playful rather than purposeful. The word is used across generations and social classes, though it tends to appear in speech rather than formal writing.