پدرزن

What it means

پدرزن (pedar-zan) is the Persian word for “father-in-law” specifically when the speaker is the husband. It is a compound of پدر (pedar, “father”) and زن (zan, “wife, woman”). Literally: “wife’s father.” A husband uses this word for his wife’s father. A wife uses a different word for her husband’s father (پدرشوهر, pedar-shohar).

The four-way split

Persian’s in-law system uses the linking spouse’s gender to mark the relationship:

• پدرزن (pedar-zan) “wife’s father” (used by the husband)
• مادرزن (mâdar-zan) “wife’s mother” (used by the husband)
• پدرشوهر (pedar-shohar) “husband’s father” (used by the wife)
• مادرشوهر (mâdar-shohar) “husband’s mother” (used by the wife)

An Iranian husband saying “my پدرزن called me” is referring to his wife’s dad. The wife in that household, if she wanted to talk about her own father, would just say بابا (bâbâ) or پدرم (pedaram). She would never call her own father پدرزن.

Cultural note

In traditional Iranian family arrangements, the پدرزن occupies a particular position: he is the man whose daughter has been “given” in marriage (the verb is دادن, dâdan, in the older formulation), and he retains a kind of standing as the authority her birth-family looks to. The son-in-law (داماد, dâmâd) is expected to show specific deference, especially in front of his wife’s siblings and extended family.

The پدرزن also typically plays a role in the wedding economy. In many regional traditions, the bride’s father supplies the جهیزیه (jahizie), the household goods the bride brings into the marriage (carpets, kitchenware, sometimes furniture). This was historically a significant financial obligation and is still observed in much of Iran, though the contents and the cost vary widely by class and region.

The relationship is often less freighted than مادرزن in everyday life. The پدرزن tends to be a more peripheral presence, called on for advice, family decisions, and formal occasions, but not the daily contact that wives often have with their مادرشوهر.

Examples

• پدرزنم استاد دانشگاهه (pedar-zanam ostâd-e dâneshgâhe) “My father-in-law is a university professor”
• با پدرزنم رفتیم سفر (bâ pedar-zanam raftim safar) “I went on a trip with my father-in-law”

Mnemonic

pedar-ZAN → پدرزن. Pedar (father) + zan (wife). Father-of-the-wife. The husband’s word for him.