What it means
محاسب (mohâseb) means auditor, accountant, or reckoner. It comes from the Arabic root ح-س-ب (hasaba, to count or reckon) via the Form III verb حَاسَبَ (hâsaba, to reckon with, to call to account), and محاسب is the Form III active participle مُفَاعِل, giving the sense of one who actively counts or accounts. In Persian professional and legal contexts, محاسب often refers specifically to an auditor reviewing financial records for accuracy and compliance, distinct from a regular bookkeeper. The more common everyday word for accountant is حسابدار (hesâb-dâr), which is a mixed Persian-Arabic compound; محاسب carries a more formal, official weight and appears mainly in written documents, government titles, and legal proceedings.
How to use it
- محاسب شرکت حسابها رو بررسی کرد. (mohâseb-e sherkat hesâb-hâ ro barrasi kard.) “The company’s auditor reviewed the accounts.”
- باید با محاسب مشورت کنیم. (bâyad bâ mohâseb mashverat konim.) “We need to consult the auditor.”
- دیوان محاسبات گزارش داد. (divân-e mohâsebât gozâresh dâd.) “The Court of Audit submitted a report.”
- اون قبلاً محاسب دولتی بوده. (un qablan mohâseb-e dolati bude.) “He was previously a government auditor.”
Cultural note
دیوان محاسبات کشور (Divân-e Mohâsebât-e Keshvar), literally the Court of Accounts of the Country, is Iran’s supreme audit institution, equivalent to a national auditor-general’s office. It reports to the parliament rather than the executive branch and oversees public expenditure across government ministries. The high formality of the word محاسب reflects its institutional role: in everyday speech, Iranians almost always say حسابدار for their local accountant and reserve محاسب for official or legal language.