What it means
لرز (larz) is the Persian word for the chills or shivering, that involuntary trembling of the body you get when you have a fever or when you are very cold. It comes from the native Persian verb لرزیدن (larzidan), meaning to tremble or to shiver, so لرز is the sensation itself. People often pair it with تب (tab), fever, in the common phrase تب و لرز (tab-o larz), fever and chills. A close everyday cousin is لرزش (larzesh), which leans more toward a shake or vibration rather than the cold, sickly shivering of larz.
How to use it
- تب و لرز دارم. (tab-o larz daram.) “I have a fever and chills.”
- یهو لرز کردم. (yeho larz kardam.) “I suddenly got the chills.”
- از سرما لرزم گرفت. (az sarma larz-am gereft.) “I got the shivers from the cold.”
- از تب کل بدنم میلرزید. (az tab kol-e badanam mi-larzid.) “My whole body was shivering from the fever.”
Cultural note
In everyday Persian, تب و لرز (tab-o larz) is the standard way people describe coming down with the flu or a cold, and you will hear it constantly at home and at the doctor. When someone says لرزم گرفت (larz-am gereft), it can mean a physical chill from cold or sickness, but it is also used to describe a shudder from fear or a strong unpleasant feeling. The verb لرزیدن stays very much alive in daily speech, so larz feels natural and immediately understood by any Persian speaker.