What it means
پرونده (parvande) is the everyday Persian word for a file or dossier, a collection of documents belonging to one person, case, or matter. Its root connects to the old Persian idea of wrapping or folding, so a پرونده is literally “that which is rolled up together.” You will hear it in courts (پرونده قضایی, parvande-ye ghazâyi, a legal case file), in hospitals (پرونده پزشکی, parvande-ye pezeshki, a medical record), and in government offices where almost everything a citizen touches is filed inside one. A close synonym used in literary or formal writing is سابقه (sâbeghe), meaning record or history, though سابقه focuses on the track record rather than the physical file.
How to use it
- پروندهام رو بده دستم. (parvande-am ro bede dastem.) “Give me my file.”
- پروندهاش هنوز رو میزه. (parvande-ash hanuze ru mize.) “His file is still on the desk.”
- پرونده قضاییش بسته شد. (parvande-ye ghazâyish baste shod.) “His legal case was closed.”
- یه پرونده جدید باز کردن. (ye parvande-ye jadid bâz kardan.) “They opened a new case file.”
Cultural note
In Iran, the پرونده is not just paperwork: it is a kind of institutional identity. Every citizen has a پرونده in their school, their workplace, the military, and often the judiciary. The phrase پروندهات سنگینه (parvande-at sangine, “your file is heavy”) is a real warning, meaning you have a documented history of problems with authorities. During political trials, what goes into a پرونده can determine years of someone’s life, which is why the word carries a weight well beyond its bureaucratic surface meaning.