What it means
رزرو (rezerv) is borrowed from French réserver (and its noun réserve), meaning a reservation or booking. It entered Persian through the adoption of modern hospitality and travel vocabulary in the twentieth century. The word is used freely in everyday speech for hotel bookings, restaurant reservations, flight tickets, and concert seats. The compound verb رزرو کردن (rezerv kardan), combining the loanword with the Persian auxiliary کردن, means “to book” or “to make a reservation.” A close synonym is پیشرزرو (pish-rezerv) for advance booking, and the verb بوک کردن (buk kardan), from English “book,” is also heard informally.
How to use it
- یه اتاق دونفره رزرو کردم. (Ye otâq-e do-nafre rezerv kardam.) “I booked a double room.”
- رزرو هتل از قبل لازمه؟ (Rezerv-e hotel az qabl lâzeme?) “Is it necessary to book the hotel in advance?”
- رزروم رو کنسل کردن. (Rezervam ro kansel kardan.) “They cancelled my reservation.”
- میتونم رزرو رستوران بدم؟ (Mitoonam rezerv-e resturân bedam?) “Can I make a restaurant reservation?”
Cultural note
In Iran, advance رزرو for popular hotels, especially in tourist cities such as Isfahan, Shiraz, and Mashhad during Nowruz (Persian New Year) or religious holidays, is strongly advised. Online booking platforms such as Jabama and Snapp Trip have made the word رزرو even more embedded in everyday digital vocabulary. Many smaller guesthouses still operate on phone-based reservations, and confirming your رزرو by phone the day before arrival is considered good practice.