What it means
نرخ (narkh) means rate, price, or tariff. It is a native Persian word with roots in Classical Persian, where it referred to the market price or official rate set for goods. Today it appears in contexts ranging from exchange rates (نرخ ارز) to interest rates (نرخ بهره) and inflation rates (نرخ تورم). A close synonym is قیمت (gheymat), meaning price, though نرخ tends to be used for official or standardized rates rather than the price of a single item.
How to use it
- نرخ دلار امروز چنده؟ (narkh-e dolâr emruz chande?) “What is the dollar rate today?”
- نرخ بهره بانک بالا رفت. (narkh-e bahre-ye bânk bâlâ raft.) “The bank’s interest rate went up.”
- نرخ تورم داره زیاد میشه. (narkh-e tavarrom dâre ziâd mishe.) “The inflation rate is rising.”
- نرخ رسمی با نرخ بازار فرق داره. (narkh-e rasmi bâ narkh-e bâzâr fargh dâre.) “The official rate differs from the market rate.”
Cultural note
نرخ is one of the most frequently heard words in Iranian economic news. Because Iran has maintained both an official rate and a free-market rate for foreign currency for many years, Iranians commonly distinguish between نرخ رسمی (the official rate) and نرخ آزاد or نرخ بازار (the open-market rate). The gap between these two rates has at times been dramatic, making نرخ a politically charged word in everyday conversation.