What it means
قسط (qest) means an installment: one payment in a series that together make up the full amount owed. The word came into Persian from Arabic qisṭ, which originally meant a portion or share allotted to someone. In everyday Persian, qest refers specifically to the regular payment you make when you buy something on credit, take out a loan, or pay rent in structured parts. A close related phrase is qesti kharidan (buying in installments), which is how most large household purchases work in Iran.
How to use it
- قستم عقب افتاده. (qestam aqab oftâde.) “My installment is late.”
- ماشینو قستی خریدم. (mâshino qesti kharidam.) “I bought the car in installments.”
- هر ماه چقدر قست میدی؟ (har mâh cheghadr qest midi?) “How much do you pay per installment each month?”
- یه قست دیگه مونده. (ye qest dige munde.) “One more installment is left.”
Cultural note
Installment buying is deeply embedded in Iranian consumer culture, particularly for appliances, cars, and housing. Banks and credit cooperatives (sanduq-e gharz-ol-hasane) offer interest-free or low-interest loans to members, and repayment in qest is the norm. The term also appears in Islamic finance contexts, since structuring payments as installments can be used to avoid conventional interest, which is prohibited under Islamic law.