What it means
پلیس (polis) means police officer or, collectively, the police force. The word entered Persian from French “police”, which itself derives from Medieval Latin “politia” and ultimately from Greek. It is the standard, neutral term used in everyday conversation, news, and official contexts alike. When referring to the institution, Iranians often say نیروی انتظامی (niru-ye entezâmi), the official name of Iran’s law enforcement agency, but پلیس remains the common spoken word for both the officer and the organization.
How to use it
- پلیس اومد. (polis umad.) “The police came.”
- یه پلیس جلوی ماشینمو گرفت. (ye polis jolo-ye mâshinamo gereft.) “A police officer stopped my car.”
- باید به پلیس زنگ بزنیم. (bâyad be polis zang bezanim.) “We need to call the police.”
- اون پلیسه خیلی سختگیره. (un polise kheili sakht-gire.) “That police officer is very strict.”
Cultural note
In Iran, the national police force is formally called نیروی انتظامی جمهوری اسلامی ایران (NAJA), established in the early 1990s by merging three previously separate security bodies. In daily speech, most Iranians simply say پلیس regardless of which branch of law enforcement they mean. The word is so thoroughly integrated that speakers never perceive it as a foreign borrowing, and there is no widely used native Persian alternative for the individual officer.