What it means
لپتاپ (lâptâp) is a portable personal computer, borrowed directly from English into Persian. The word entered everyday speech in Iran during the early 2000s as personal computers became widely available. There is no native Persian replacement in common use: even formal contexts use لپتاپ. A related but broader term is کامپیوتر (kâmpyuter), which can refer to any computer, though in spoken Persian کامپیوتر often implies a desktop machine.
How to use it
- لپتاپم شارژ نداره. (lâptâpam shârzh nadâre.) “My laptop has no charge.”
- میتونم لپتاپت رو قرض بگیرم؟ (mitoonam lâptâpet ro qarz begiram?) “Can I borrow your laptop?”
- لپتاپم خراب شده. (lâptâpam kharâb shode.) “My laptop has broken down.”
- این لپتاپ خیلی سنگینه. (in lâptâp kheyli sangineh.) “This laptop is very heavy.”
Cultural note
In Iran, لپتاپ became a household word alongside the rapid spread of internet cafes in the early 2000s. University students depend on it heavily for assignments, and it is a standard piece of equipment referenced in rental listings and job postings. Because of import restrictions and currency fluctuations, laptops can be considerably more expensive in Iran than in neighboring countries, making a secondhand لپتاپ دست دوم (dast-e dovvom) a common purchase.