What it means
کارگر (kârgar) means “worker” or “laborer,” typically someone who does manual or physical work. It is a native Persian compound: کار (kâr, “work”) combined with the agentive suffix گر (gar, meaning “one who does”), a highly productive suffix in Persian that also appears in words like آهنگر (âhangar, blacksmith) and زرگر (zargar, goldsmith). کارگر most often refers to a blue-collar or manual worker, in contrast to کارمند (kârmand, office employee or white-collar worker). The distinction matters in everyday speech: calling someone a کارمند rather than a کارگر signals a different social and professional context.
How to use it
- اون کارگر ساختمانیه. (un kârgare sâkhtemâni-e.) “He is a construction worker.”
- کارگرا امروز اعتصاب کردن. (kârgarhâ emruz e’tesâb kardan.) “The workers went on strike today.”
- حقوق کارگرا باید بیشتر بشه. (hoghughe kârgarhâ bâyad bishtar beshe.) “Workers’ wages should increase.”
- تو کارخونه پنجاه تا کارگر داریم. (tu kârkhune panjâh tâ kârgar dârim.) “We have fifty workers at the factory.”
Cultural note
The first day of May, known as روز کارگر (ruze kârgar, Labor Day or Workers’ Day), is an official public holiday in Iran and is observed with speeches, gatherings, and labor union activities. The word کارگر carries political weight in Iranian society, associated with labor rights movements that have been active since the early twentieth century. The distinction between کارگر (manual laborer) and کارمند (office employee) reflects real social stratification in Iranian workplaces, including differences in pay scales, protections under labor law, and social status.