What it means
کروموزوم (koromozom) means chromosome, the thread-like structure inside a cell nucleus that carries genetic information in the form of DNA. The word comes from Greek through European scientific terminology: khroma meaning color and soma meaning body, named because chromosomes were visible as colored strands under early microscopes. Persian adopted it as a direct phonetic loanword, as it did with most modern scientific terminology. Human cells typically contain 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs.
How to use it
- انسان ۴۶ کروموزوم داره. (ensân 46 koromozom dâre.) “Humans have 46 chromosomes.”
- کروموزومها اطلاعات ژنتیکی رو حمل میکنن. (koromozom-hâ ettelâ’ât-e zhenetiki ro haml mi-konan.) “Chromosomes carry genetic information.”
- جنسیت با کروموزومهای X و Y تعیین میشه. (jensiyyat bâ koromozom-hâye X va Y ta’yin mi-she.) “Sex is determined by X and Y chromosomes.”
- این بیماری ناشی از نقص در کروموزوم ۲۱ه. (in bimâri nâshi az naqs dar koromozom-e 21-e.) “This condition results from a defect in chromosome 21.”
Cultural note
Modern biology and genetics entered Persian academic and school curricula primarily in the twentieth century, and with them came a wave of Greek-origin scientific loanwords like کروموزوم, ژن (zhen, gene), and سلول (salul, cell). Iran today has an active university research culture in genetics and molecular biology, and these terms appear routinely in Persian-language science textbooks and media. The Tehran-based Royan Institute is internationally recognized for stem-cell and reproductive genetics research, and publications from such institutions have helped standardize how these loanwords are written and pronounced in Persian.