What it means
اسکرین شات زدن (screenshot-zadan) means to take a screenshot, to capture what is on the screen as an image. Iranians screenshot DMs, chat conversations, Instagram stories, prices on shopping apps, error messages, anything they want to keep or send to a friend. The verb is universal across smartphones, laptops, tablets.
The Pure Persian Movement option is نماگرفت (namāgereft, a screen-grab, native Persian compound) or تصویربرداری از صفحه (tasvir-bardāri az safhe, image-capture of screen, formal). Neither has any traction in spoken Persian. People say اسکرین شات بگیر or اسکرین شات بزن without hesitation.
Compound verb structure
Screenshot-zadan uses زدن (zadan) rather than کردن because the action is a single instantaneous press, like ringing a bell or striking a match. Persian’s aspectual sorting puts gesture-shaped, one-instant actions under zadan: زنگ زدن (to ring), شلیک زدن (to fire a shot), اسکرین شات زدن (to take a screenshot).
- Present: من اسکرین شات میزنم (man screenshot mizanam)
- Past: من اسکرین شات زدم (man screenshot zadam)
- Imperative: اسکرین شات بزن (screenshot bezan), اسکرین شات نزن (screenshot nazan)
- Negation: اسکرین شات نزدم (screenshot nazadam)
An alternative compound اسکرین شات گرفتن (screenshot-gereftan, to take a screenshot) exists in parallel and is also widely used. Both are correct; زدن feels slightly more casual.
How to use it
az pieāmesh screenshot zadam, mikhāhi bebini?
I screenshotted his message, want to see?
از پیامش اسکرین شات زدم، میخواهی ببینی؟
screenshot bezan, ghimato bāyad neshun-e Reza bedam.
Take a screenshot, I need to show Reza the price.
اسکرین شات بزن، قیمتو باید نشون رضا بدم.
az chat-emun screenshot nazan, kheyli zesht-e.
Don’t screenshot our chat, that’s really inappropriate.
از چتمون اسکرین شات نزن، خیلی زشته.
The social code around it
Iranian Gen Z has developed a fairly clear etiquette around screenshots: screenshotting public posts is fine, screenshotting a DM and forwarding it is a betrayal worth ending a friendship over, screenshotting a story and showing it to the person it was about is a passive aggression strong enough to provoke a fight. The verb is neutral. The action is loaded.
Where it comes from
Screenshot is English, naturalized through smartphone interfaces from the early 2010s. زدن is native Persian, from Middle Persian zatan, indicating short impactful action. The pairing is the standard Persian internet-verb formula, and the choice of زدن over کردن reflects Persian’s preserved aspectual instinct.
References
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