What it means
مایکروویو (mâykroveyv) means microwave or microwave oven. The word is a straight phonetic borrowing from English “microwave,” adapted to Persian script and pronunciation. It refers to the countertop appliance that heats food using electromagnetic radiation. There is no widely used Persian-origin alternative: مایکروویو is the word Iranians use, whether in casual conversation or on appliance labels. You may occasionally see the longer form مایکروویو فر (mâykroveyv-fer), specifying a combination microwave-oven unit.
How to use it
- غذا رو بذار توی مایکروویو (ghazâ ro bezâr tuye mâykroveyv) “Put the food in the microwave”
- مایکروویو خراب شده نمیتونم گرم کنم (mâykroveyv kharâb shode nemitunam garm konam) “The microwave is broken, I can’t heat it up”
- دو دقیقه توی مایکروویو گرمش کن (do daqiqe tuye mâykroveyv garmash kon) “Heat it up in the microwave for two minutes”
- این ظرف مناسب مایکروویو نیست (in zarf monâseb-e mâykroveyv nist) “This container is not microwave-safe”
Cultural note
The microwave became a standard Iranian kitchen appliance from the 1990s onward, alongside the spread of other imported home electronics. Because Iran’s domestic appliance industry grew under import restrictions, many Iranians developed strong brand awareness for specific foreign makes available through parallel import markets. The word مایکروویو entered Persian fully intact from English, reflecting how quickly consumer electronics vocabulary travels across languages without translation.