What it means
متن (matn) means text, body, or written content. It comes directly from the Arabic root م-ت-ن (m-t-n), which carries the original sense of the firm back or spine of something, and by extension the main substance of a written piece. In Persian it covers the full range from the body of a formal legal contract to the text of a WhatsApp message. You will also encounter متن to mean the main body of a letter as opposed to its header and footer. A close near-synonym is نوشته (neveshte, something written), but متن specifically implies a structured piece of writing rather than any random text.
How to use it
- متن قرارداد رو دقیق بخون. (matn-e qarârdâd ro daqiq bekhun.) “Read the body of the contract carefully.”
- متن نامه رو برام بفرست. (matn-e nâme ro barâm befrest.) “Send me the text of the letter.”
- توی متن سخنرانی اشتباه بود. (tuye matn-e sokhanrâni eshtebâh bud.) “There was a mistake in the text of the speech.”
- متن پیام واضح نبود. (matn-e payâm vâzeh nabud.) “The body of the message was not clear.”
Cultural note
In Iranian bureaucratic and legal culture, the phrase متن قرارداد (matn-e qarârdâd, the body of the contract) is something you are explicitly told to read before signing anything. Oral promises from an agent or landlord mean little; what is in the متن is what holds. In journalism, متن خبر (matn-e khabar) refers to the full body of a news story as opposed to the headline. The word also appears in the phrase متن باز (matn-e bâz, open text or open source) in technology discussions.