What it means
سازمان (sâzmân) is a modern Persian coinage built entirely from native roots: ساز (sâz) derives from ساختن (sâkhtan, to build or construct), and the suffix -مان (-mân) is the same structural suffix seen in ساختمان (sâkhtamân, building). The word means any organized body: a government agency, a company, a non-profit, or any structured institution. It is close in meaning to نهاد (nahâd, institution) and ارگان (ergân, body or organ), though سازمان is the most neutral and widely used of the three. You will see it in official names such as سازمان محیط زیست (the Environment Organization) or سازمان ملل (the United Nations).
How to use it
- این سازمان دولتیه. (in sâzmân dowlatiye.) “This is a government organization.”
- توی کدوم سازمان کار میکنی؟ (tu-ye kodum sâzmân kâr mi-koni?) “Which organization do you work at?”
- سازمان تازه تأسیس شده. (sâzmân tâzeh ta’sis shode.) “The organization was recently established.”
- با سازمان ملل همکاری داریم. (bâ sâzmân-e melal hamkâri dârim.) “We cooperate with the United Nations.”
Cultural note
Iran has a notably large number of state سازمان bodies, many with overlapping mandates, which is a frequent subject of public commentary about bureaucratic complexity. The word entered Persian vocabulary in the twentieth century as modernizing reformers needed a term for structured public institutions that did not carry the older connotations of دیوان (divân, royal court and administration). Today it is used freely across formal, journalistic, and conversational registers, making it one of the most versatile civic vocabulary words a Persian learner can acquire early.