What it means
مهریه (mehrieh) is the bride-price, contractually owed by the groom. Written into the aqd (marriage contract), payable on demand. Often counted in gold coins (sekke).
How to use it
- مهریهاش چقدره؟ (mehrieh-ash cheghadr-e?) “How much is her mehrieh?”
- مهریهام را میخواهم (mehrieh-am râ mikhâham) “I want my mehrieh”
- صد سکه مهریه (sad sekke mehrieh) “a 100-gold-coin mehrieh”
Cultural depth
The mehrieh is the bride’s financial security. She can demand it at any moment, including the wedding night (a famous joke). Unpaid mehrieh is one of the top causes of marital conflict in Iranian family courts. Inflation pushed amounts into thousands of coins; a 2013 law capped enforceable mehrieh at 110 sekke to reduce debtor-prison cases.
Register notes
Neutral, frequent in family law and gossip. Negotiating the mehrieh is a major moment in pre-wedding talks between families.
Etymology
From Arabic root m-h-r (مهر), meaning bride-price. The same root in mahr (the Quranic term). Persian adopted the form mehrieh with the abstract -iyye suffix, paralleling jahizieh.
References
ZabanYar is a Persian app built for heritage learners, the people who can speak a little but want to read, write, and really get it. Free early access at launch.
Join the waitlist →