What it means
نیمروز (nimruz) means noon or midday, the point when half the day has passed. It is a pure Persian compound built from نیم (nim, “half”) and روز (ruz, “day”), both of Old Iranian origin. The word is direct and neutral in register, used in everyday speech and formal writing alike. A close synonym is ظهر (zohr), which comes from Arabic and is extremely common in spoken Persian. نیمروز leans slightly more formal or geographical, and it also survives as a regional place name in southeast Iran.
How to use it
- نیمروز میرسیم. (nimruz miresim.) “We’ll arrive at noon.”
- قرارمون نیمروزه. (qarârmun nimruze.) “Our appointment is at midday.”
- آفتاب نیمروز خیلی تند بود. (âftâb-e nimruz kheyli tond bud.) “The midday sun was very harsh.”
- نیمروز ناهار میخوریم. (nimruz nâhâr mikhorim.) “We eat lunch at noon.”
Cultural note
The midday break has long been central to Iranian daily life, with many households returning home for a hot lunch and a short rest during the hottest part of the day. The word نیمروز also appears as a historical and geographic term: Nimruz is a province in Afghanistan bordering Iran, reflecting the word’s deep roots in the broader Persian-speaking world. In modern colloquial Tehran speech, ظهر (zohr) is more commonly heard for noon, but نیمروز remains standard in literary and formal contexts.