What it means
اوزون (ozun) is ozone, a molecule made of three oxygen atoms (O3) that forms a layer in the upper atmosphere and absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The word came into Persian through French “ozone,” which itself derives from the Greek verb ozein, meaning to smell, a reference to the sharp smell the gas produces. Persian speakers use اوزون almost exclusively in scientific and environmental contexts. A common phrase is لایه اوزون (lâye-ye ozun), meaning the ozone layer.
How to use it
- لایه اوزون از زمین در برابر اشعه ماوراء بنفش محافظت میکنه. (Lâye-ye ozun az zamin dar barâbar-e esh’e-ye mâvarâ-ye banafsh mohâfezat mikone.) “The ozone layer protects Earth from ultraviolet rays.”
- سوراخ لایه اوزون یه مشکل زیستمحیطی جدیه. (Surâkh-e lâye-ye ozun ye moshkel-e zist-mohiti-ye jeddie.) “The hole in the ozone layer is a serious environmental problem.”
- مواد شیمیایی خاصی لایه اوزون رو تخریب میکنن. (Mavâd-e shimiyâyi-ye khâsi lâye-ye ozun ro takhrib mikonan.) “Certain chemicals destroy the ozone layer.”
- غلظت اوزون در این منطقه اندازهگیری شد. (Ghalzat-e ozun dar in mantaqe andâze-giri shod.) “Ozone concentration in this area was measured.”
Cultural note
Awareness of ozone depletion became a topic in Iranian education and media from the 1990s onward, following international agreements such as the Montreal Protocol, which Iran joined. Environmental organizations in Iran use لایه اوزون regularly in campaigns about climate change and air quality. The word اوزون is one of many scientific terms that entered Persian through French during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a period when French was the main European language of educated Iranians and scientific translation.