What it means
کاسب (kâseb) means shopkeeper or tradesman, someone who runs a small shop or earns a living through everyday trade. It comes from the Arabic root ك-س-ب, meaning to earn or to acquire. In colloquial Persian, kâseb is the natural word for a neighborhood shopkeeper, a market stall holder, or anyone making a modest living through retail trade. It sits below تاجر (merchant) on the social and commercial scale: a tâjer deals in volume and wholesale, while a kâseb serves local customers day to day. The phrase کاسبکار (kâsebkâr) is a near-synonym used in some regions.
How to use it
- اون یه کاسب سادهست. (oon ye kâseb-e sâde-st.) “He is a simple shopkeeper.”
- کاسبا این روزا اوضاعشون خوب نیست. (kâsebâ in ruzâ owzâ’eshun khub nist.) “Shopkeepers are not doing well these days.”
- بابام کاسبه، یه مغازه داره. (bâbâm kâsebe, ye maghâze dâre.) “My dad is a tradesman, he has a shop.”
- کاسب خوب مشتری رو حفظ میکنه. (kâseb-e khub moshtari ro hefz mikone.) “A good shopkeeper keeps his customers.”
Cultural note
کاسب occupies an affectionate place in everyday Iranian speech. The term evokes the neighborhood shop (مغازه) that sells everything from bread to hardware, and the kâseb is often a trusted figure in local community life. During economic hardship, the phrase کاسبا ضرر کردن (kâsebâ zarar kardan, shopkeepers took losses) appears frequently in news and conversation as a barometer of economic stress. Unlike the more prestigious تاجر, kâseb carries a humble, hard-working connotation that is generally positive in tone.