What it means
سرمایهگذاری (sarmâye-gozâri) is a verbal noun derived from the compound verb سرمایه گذاشتن (sarmâye gozâshtan), meaning to place or commit capital. All components are native Persian: سرمایه (capital) and گذاشتن (to place, to put). The word covers investment in the financial sense: putting money into a business, property, bonds, or any asset expected to grow. A key contrast is پسانداز (pas-andâz, saving), which keeps money aside, while سرمایهگذاری means actively deploying it for a return.
How to use it
- سرمایهگذاری در مسکن امنه. (sarmâye-gozâri dar maskan amne.) “Investment in real estate is safe.”
- ریسک سرمایهگذاری رو در نظر بگیر. (risk-e sarmâye-gozâri ro dar nazar begir.) “Consider the risk of the investment.”
- شرکت خارجی اومده سرمایهگذاری کنه. (sherkat-e khâreji umade sarmâye-gozâri kone.) “A foreign company has come to invest.”
- بهترین سرمایهگذاری روی خودته. (behtarin sarmâye-gozâri ruy khodeteh.) “The best investment is in yourself.”
Cultural note
In Iran, real estate has historically been seen as the safest form of سرمایهگذاری because property tends to hold value through periods of inflation. This preference for مسکن (maskan, housing) over stocks or bonds is a documented pattern in Iranian household financial behavior. In official language, سرمایهگذاری خارجی (foreign investment) is a politically sensitive term tied to debates about economic independence and international sanctions.