What it means
ناتنی (nâtani) is an adjective meaning step- or half-, used to describe a family member who does not share the same two biological parents. It comes entirely from pure Persian: nâ- is the negating prefix, tan means body or flesh, and -i makes it an adjective. The phrase برادر ناتنی (barâdar-e nâtani) means half-brother or stepbrother, and خواهر ناتنی (khâhar-e nâtani) means half-sister or stepsister. Persian does not always distinguish half-siblings (one shared parent) from stepsiblings (no shared parent) in everyday speech, so ناتنی covers both. The opposite is تنی (tani), meaning full, biological, or of the same flesh.
How to use it
- یه برادر ناتنی دارم که تهران زندگی میکنه. (ye barâdar-e nâtani dâram ke Tehrân zendegi mi-kone.) “I have a half-brother who lives in Tehran.”
- خواهر ناتنیش از مادر دیگهایه. (khâhar-e nâtani-sh az mâdar-e dige-i-ye.) “His half-sister is from a different mother.”
- ما ناتنی هستیم ولی خیلی صمیمیم. (mâ nâtani hastim vali khyli samimi-m.) “We are half-siblings but very close.”
- بچههای ناتنی معمولاً با هم بزرگ نمیشن. (bache-hâ-ye nâtani ma’mulan bâ ham bozorg nemi-shan.) “Half-siblings usually do not grow up together.”
Cultural note
ناتنی appears in legal documents, inheritance law discussions, and family court proceedings in Iran, where the rights of half-siblings versus full siblings can differ under certain interpretations of inheritance rules. In everyday speech Iranians sometimes avoid the term to sidestep awkwardness, instead simply using the relative’s name or saying از بابای دیگه (az bâbâ-ye dige, from a different father). The word’s literal image of “not of the same body” gives it a clinical edge that can feel blunt in sensitive family contexts.