مادرزن

What it means

مادرزن (mâdar-zan) is the Persian word for “mother-in-law” specifically when the speaker is the husband. It is a compound of مادر (mâdar, “mother”) and زن (zan, “wife, woman”). Literally: “wife’s mother.” A husband uses this word for his wife’s mother. A wife uses a different word for her husband’s mother (مادرشوهر, mâdar-shohar).

Direction of marriage matters

Persian builds in-law words from the spouse’s gender: if the linking spouse is the husband (شوهر), the in-law words use -شوهر. If the linking spouse is the wife (زن), the in-law words use -زن. The four possibilities:

• مادرزن (mâdar-zan) “wife’s mother” (used by the husband)
• پدرزن (pedar-zan) “wife’s father” (used by the husband)
• مادرشوهر (mâdar-shohar) “husband’s mother” (used by the wife)
• پدرشوهر (pedar-shohar) “husband’s father” (used by the wife)

An Iranian husband who says “I’m having dinner at my مادرزن’s house” is talking about his wife’s mom. If his wife wanted to say the same thing about her own mother, she would just say مامان (mâmân, “mom”). She would not say مادرزن; that word is not hers to use about her own mother.

Cultural note

The مادرزن relationship in Iranian culture is generally seen as warmer and less politically charged than مادرشوهر. There is a stock saying: داماد پسر است (dâmâd pesar ast), “the son-in-law is a son,” meaning the wife’s family is expected to fold the husband into the family as another son. The husband, in turn, is expected to show specific respect to his مادرزن: giving her gifts at Nowruz, calling regularly, helping with practical matters when needed.

The lower-friction reputation does not mean the relationship is automatically smooth. Iranian comedy still mines plenty of material from the over-involved مادرزن who interferes with her daughter’s marriage, gives unsolicited advice to her son-in-law, or treats the daughter as still primarily her daughter rather than someone’s wife. The stereotype just has less cultural weight than the مادرشوهر version.

Examples

• مادرزنم آش پخته (mâdar-zanam âsh pokhte) “My mother-in-law made âsh”
• با مادرزنم میرم خرید (bâ mâdar-zanam miram kharid) “I’m going shopping with my mother-in-law”

Mnemonic

madar-ZAN → مادرزن. Mâdar (mother) + zan (wife). Mother-of-the-wife. The husband’s word.