رضایت

What it means

رضایت (rezâyat) means satisfaction, contentment, or consent. The word comes from Arabic رِضَا (reza), from the root ر-ض-ي (r-z-y), meaning to be pleased, content, or to acquiesce. In Persian the Form II verbal noun رضایت carries both senses: an inner feeling of being satisfied and a formal or legal act of giving consent or withdrawing a complaint. The verb phrase رضایت داشتن (rezâyat dâshtan) covers the first sense: to be satisfied or content with a situation. رضایت دادن (rezâyat dâdan) carries the second, more formal meaning: to give consent, or in legal contexts, to forgive or drop a criminal complaint against someone, a procedure with real weight in Iranian legal practice. The name رضا (Rezâ) and the Shia Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Reza draw from the same Arabic root.

How to use it

• رضایت داری از کارش؟ (rezâyat dâri az kâr-ash?) “Are you satisfied with his work?”
• رضایت مشتری مهمه (rezâyat-e moshtari mohemme) “Customer satisfaction is important.”
• شاکی رضایت داد (shâki rezâyat dâd) “The complainant gave consent / dropped the complaint.”
• من رضایتی ندارم (man rezâyati nadâram) “I am not satisfied / I do not consent.”

Cultural note

In Iranian legal culture, رضایت دادن has a specific and serious meaning. Under Iran’s qisas (retributive justice) system for certain crimes, the victim’s family can grant رضایت to spare a convicted person from a physical sentence. This makes رضایت not just a word for personal contentment but a term with genuine power over life outcomes, and news coverage of court cases often hinges on whether رضایت was given. In everyday use the word is entirely ordinary, but this legal register adds a layer of gravity to it that speakers are generally aware of.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab