مالی

What it means

مالی (mâli) means financial, monetary, or fiscal. The base noun is مال (mâl), borrowed from Arabic مَال (mâl), meaning wealth, property, or possessions, from the Arabic root م-و-ل (m-w-l). Persian adds the standard adjectival suffix -ی (-i) to form مالی, meaning relating to money or financial matters. The word appears in a wide range of compounds and phrases: مشکل مالی (moshkel-e mâli, financial problem), کمک مالی (komak-e mâli, financial aid), وضع مالی (vaz’-e mâli, financial situation), سال مالی (sâl-e mâli, fiscal year). A close synonym for the adjective in formal writing is اقتصادی (eghtesâdi, economic), but مالی specifically refers to money and financial transactions rather than the broader economy.

How to use it

• الان یه مشکل مالی دارم. (alân ye moshkel-e mâli dâram.) “I have a financial problem right now.”
• وضع مالیشون خوبه. (vaz’-e mâlishun khube.) “Their financial situation is good.”
• برای کمک مالی درخواست داد. (barâye komak-e mâli darkhâst dâd.) “He applied for financial aid.”
• سال مالی جدید شروع شد. (sâl-e mâli-ye jadid shoru’ shod.) “The new fiscal year has begun.”

Cultural note

In Iranian daily life, مالی surfaces most often in conversations about household economics, university scholarships (بورسیه‌ی مالی), and bureaucratic paperwork. The phrase وضع مالی (financial situation or standing) is a socially sensitive topic: asking about someone’s وضع مالی directly can be considered intrusive, so Iranians often approach it indirectly. In formal and governmental contexts, مالی appears in institutional names and titles, for example وزارت امور اقتصادی و دارایی (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance), though مالی is the everyday shorthand.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab