رحم

What it means

رحم (rahm) means mercy, compassion, or pity. The word comes from Arabic رَحْمَة (rahma) or its shortened form رَحْم (rahm), derived from the root ر-ح-م (r-h-m), the same root that gives Arabic الرَّحْمٰن (al-rahmân, the All-Merciful) and الرَّحِيم (al-rahim, the Most Compassionate), both attributes of God cited at the opening of every chapter of the Quran. In Persian رحم refers to the human quality of taking pity on someone or sparing them from harm. The verb compound رحم کردن (rahm kardan) means to show mercy or to take pity. The negated adjective بی‌رحم (bi-rahm) means merciless, cruel, or pitiless and is frequently used both literally of a person who acts without compassion and figuratively of circumstances, weather, or fate.

How to use it

• بهش رحم کن (behesh rahm kon) “Have mercy on him / Show him some pity.”
• اون آدم بی‌رحمیه (un âdam-e bi-rahmi-ye) “That person is merciless.”
• هیچ رحمی نداشت (hich rahmi nadâsht) “He had no mercy at all.”
• به حال بچه‌ها رحم کرد (be hâl-e bache-hâ rahm kard) “She took pity on the children.”

Cultural note

The root ر-ح-م is among the most spiritually loaded in Persian and Arabic. Every formal letter, speech, or piece of writing in the Islamic tradition conventionally opens with بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم (in the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful). This means رحم and its derivatives carry deep religious resonance in Iranian culture even when the word appears in entirely secular contexts. Telling someone بی‌رحمی (you are being merciless) is a genuine emotional accusation, not a mild complaint.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab