خلاف

What it means

خلاف (khalâf) means violation, offense, or acting contrary to a rule or expectation. The word is borrowed from Arabic خِلاف (khilâf), from the root KH-L-F, which carries the sense of going behind, differing from, or opposing. In Persian it functions both as a noun and as a prepositional phrase: خلاف قانون (khalâf-e ghânun) means against the law, and خلاف کردن (khalâf kardan) means to break the rules or commit an infraction. In traffic contexts, جریمه خلاف (jarime-ye khalâf) is a traffic fine, and this is one of the most common everyday uses of the word. A related adjective is خلاف‌کار (khalâf-kâr), meaning someone who acts wrongly or a rule-breaker.

How to use it

• این کار خلاف قانونه. (in kâr khalâf-e ghânune.) “This action is against the law.”
• خلاف کردی، باید جریمه بدی. (khalâf kardi, bâyad jarime bedi.) “You broke the rules, you have to pay a fine.”
• جریمه خلافم رو پرداخت کردم. (jarime-ye khalâfam ro pardâkht kardam.) “I paid my traffic fine.”
• خلاف میل من بود ولی قبول کردم. (khalâf-e meyl-e man bud vali ghabul kardam.) “It was against my wishes but I agreed.”

Cultural note

In Tehran’s famously dense traffic, خلاف has a very concrete life. Cameras record infractions automatically, and Iranians receive SMS messages notifying them of a new جریمه خلاف before they even reach home. Checking and paying خلافی (khalâfi, one’s accumulated traffic fines) online became a common digital task as Iran’s e-government services expanded. Beyond traffic, خلاف carries a broader moral sense in everyday speech: calling something خلاف means it crosses a line, whether legal, social, or ethical.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab