What it means
مکتوب (maktub) comes directly from Arabic, where it is the passive participle of the verb کَتَبَ (kataba, “to write”), built on the root ک-ت-ب (k-t-b). Its literal meaning is “that which has been written,” and in Persian it functions as a formal or literary word for a written document, an official letter, or any written communication. In everyday spoken Persian, almost everyone says نامه (nâme) for letter or سند (sanad) for document. You encounter مکتوب in legal texts, official correspondence, classical poetry, and formal journalism. The word also survives in the phrase به مکتوب در آوردن (be maktub dar âvardan), meaning to put something in writing.
How to use it
- این مکتوب رو به اداره تحویل بده. (In maktub ro be edâre tahvil bede.) “Hand this written document over to the office.”
- توافق باید به صورت مکتوب باشه. (Tavâfoq bâyad be surat-e maktub bâshe.) “The agreement must be in written form.”
- مکتوبی از وزارت دریافت کردیم. (Maktubi az vezârat daryâft kardim.) “We received a written communication from the ministry.”
- دستورالعملها به شکل مکتوب ارائه شد. (Dasturola’mal-hâ be shekl-e maktub arâ’e shod.) “The instructions were presented in written form.”
Cultural note
مکتوب belongs to the register of classical Persian prose and formal administration. Iranian bureaucratic language draws heavily on Arabic-root vocabulary, and مکتوب is a clear example: you would see it in a formal ministerial letter or legal decree but almost never hear it in a coffee-shop conversation. In literary Persian, classical authors such as Sa’di used مکتوب in prose letters. Today the word also appears in expressions like تعهد مکتوب (ta’ahod-e maktub, written commitment), which is common in legal and business contexts.