معذرت

What it means

معذرت (ma’zerat) means apology, excuse, or the act of asking pardon. The word is borrowed from Arabic مَعْذِرَة (ma’dhira), a noun of the Arabic root ع-ذ-ر (‘a-dh-r) meaning to offer an excuse or a reason for falling short. In Persian it is used both as a standalone noun and as the base of two heavily used expressions: معذرت خواستن (ma’zerat khâstan), the standard compound verb meaning to apologise, and معذرت می‌خوام (ma’zerat mikhâm), the most common way to say sorry or excuse me in everyday speech. The more colloquial ببخشید (bebakhshid) covers similar ground but is lighter in register. معذرت carries slightly more weight: it acknowledges wrongdoing or intrusion more formally. بدون معذرت (bedune ma’zerat) means without apology and is used to describe someone who acts shamelessly.

How to use it

• معذرت می‌خوام، دیر کردم. (ma’zerat mikhâm, dir kardam.) “I’m sorry, I’m late.”
• معذرت خواست ولی دیگه قبول نکردم. (ma’zerat khâst vali dige ghabul nakardam.) “He apologised but I didn’t accept it this time.”
• معذرت، یه سوال داشتم. (ma’zerat, ye soval dashtam.) “Excuse me, I had a question.”
• بدون معذرت رفت، انگار که اتفاقی نیفتاده. (bedune ma’zerat raft, engâr ke ettefaghi nayoftâde.) “He left without apology, as if nothing had happened.”

Cultural note

In Iranian social etiquette, معذرت خواستن carries real interpersonal weight. A sincere apology is expected to be verbal and direct, and simply saying ببخشید in a serious situation can come across as too breezy. In more formal or emotionally charged contexts, معذرت می‌خوام is the phrase that signals genuine regret. At the same time, ta’arof culture means معذرت also functions as a softener before requests or when entering someone’s space, blurring the line between apology and courtesy in everyday use.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab