پسرعمو

What it means

پسرعمو (pesar-amu) means “paternal uncle’s son,” your father’s brother’s son. It is a compound of پسر (pesar, “son, boy”) and عمو (amu, “father’s brother”). Literally: “uncle-son.” It is one of eight specific Persian words for cousin.

Persian’s eight cousin words

English has one word for cousin. Persian has eight. Each combination of (which parent’s sibling) × (sibling’s gender) × (cousin’s gender) gets a unique word:

• پسرعمو (pesar-amu) “paternal uncle’s son” (father’s brother’s son)
• دخترعمو (dokhtar-amu) “paternal uncle’s daughter” (father’s brother’s daughter)
• پسرعمه (pesar-amme) “paternal aunt’s son” (father’s sister’s son)
• دخترعمه (dokhtar-amme) “paternal aunt’s daughter” (father’s sister’s daughter)
• پسردایی (pesar-dâyi) “maternal uncle’s son” (mother’s brother’s son)
• دختردایی (dokhtar-dâyi) “maternal uncle’s daughter” (mother’s brother’s daughter)
• پسرخاله (pesar-khâle) “maternal aunt’s son” (mother’s sister’s son)
• دخترخاله (dokhtar-khâle) “maternal aunt’s daughter” (mother’s sister’s daughter)

If an Iranian says “my پسرعمو is getting married,” the listener immediately knows: this is a male cousin, specifically the son of the speaker’s father’s brother. None of the other seven cousin types apply. The information is precise.

Cultural note

پسرعمو is the cousin closest to the patrilineal core of the family. Father’s brothers (عمو) historically lived near each other or shared a household compound, which meant their children grew up alongside each other. In rural and traditional Iranian families, پسرعمو and the speaker often spent more daily time together than with friends from outside the family.

Cousin marriage is a real and culturally documented practice in Iran, especially in rural areas and among more traditional families. The most-discussed pairing is پسرعمو and دخترعمو (a man marrying his father’s brother’s daughter), often arranged within an extended family to keep property and social ties consolidated. Estimates of consanguineous marriage rates in Iran have historically run between 20 and 40 percent depending on region and decade, with higher rates in rural Khuzestan, Sistan-Baluchestan, and other areas where extended-family compounds remain the norm. The practice is declining in urban Iran but is not stigmatized in the way it is in much of the West. Stating it neutrally: cousin marriage exists in Iran, is legal, and is normalized inside many family networks.

Examples

• پسرعموم تو فرانسه زندگی می‌کنه (pesar-amum tu Faransé zendegi mikone) “My pesar-amu lives in France”
• با پسرعموم بزرگ شدم (bâ pesar-amum bozorg shodam) “I grew up with my pesar-amu”

Mnemonic

pesar-AMU → پسرعمو. Pesar (son) + amu (paternal uncle). Your dad’s brother’s boy.