What it means
رأی (ra’y) is an Arabic loanword that in Persian covers two main meanings: a vote in an election or decision, and an opinion or ruling (as in a court verdict). In civic and political contexts it means the act of voting or the vote itself. In legal settings it means the verdict or judgment of a court. The Arabic origin is the root ر-أ-ی, meaning to see or to hold an opinion. A close related term is نظر (nazar), which also means opinion but never carries the formal voting or legal-verdict sense.
How to use it
- رأی من به این پیشنهاد مثبت است. (Ra’y-e man be in pishnahâd mosbat ast.) “My vote on this proposal is yes.”
- دادگاه رأی خود را اعلام کرد. (Dâdgâh ra’y-e khod râ e’lâm kard.) “The court announced its ruling.”
- شمارش آرا تا فردا طول میکشد. (Shomâresh-e ârâ tâ fardâ tul mi-kashad.) “Counting the votes will take until tomorrow.”
- رأی اکثریت تصویب شد. (Ra’y-e aksariyyat tasvib shod.) “The majority vote was approved.”
Cultural note
In Iran, رأی دادن (casting a vote) in presidential and parliamentary elections is a regular feature of political life, though the Guardian Council vets all candidates before they may stand. The word رأی appears constantly in Iranian news coverage of both elections and court proceedings. In classical Persian literature and Islamic jurisprudence, رأی carried the meaning of personal scholarly opinion or legal reasoning, a sense still active in theological and legal writing today.