What it means
سرمایه (sarmâye) is composed of سر (sar, head or principal) and مایه (mâye, substance, essence, or means), both native Persian. The word refers to capital in the financial sense: money, assets, or resources put to productive use. It also carries a broader meaning in Persian literature, where سرمایه can refer to any fundamental resource or endowment, including knowledge or virtue. A common contrast is پسانداز (pas-andâz, savings), which sits idle, while سرمایه is money put to work.
How to use it
- سرمایهام رو از دست دادم. (sarmâye-am ro az dast dâdam.) “I lost my capital.”
- این پروژه سرمایه زیادی میخواد. (in prozheh sarmâye-ye ziâdi mikhâd.) “This project requires a lot of capital.”
- سرمایه انسانی از همه چیز مهمتره. (sarmâye-ye ensâni az hame chiz mohemtare.) “Human capital is more important than anything.”
- بدون سرمایه نمیشه کار کرد. (bedun-e sarmâye nemishe kâr kard.) “You cannot work without capital.”
Cultural note
سرمایه appears not only in business and economics but throughout classical Persian poetry and prose, where it often means one’s essential store of life, virtue, or wisdom. In modern Iranian economics, the word is used in official documents for capital formation, foreign investment law, and corporate finance. The distinction between سرمایه (productive capital) and ثروت (servat, wealth held as an asset) is real in formal writing, though in casual speech the two are sometimes used interchangeably.