What it means
شناگر (shenâgar) means “swimmer,” a person who swims. The word is pure Persian, formed from شنا (shenâ, “swimming, the act of swimming”) plus the agentive suffix -gar (also written -kar in some compounds), which means “one who does” or “one who works at.” The same suffix appears in کارگر (kârgar, worker) and آهنگر (âhangar, blacksmith). شناگر is the standard neutral term. A close word is شنا کننده (shenâ konandeh), a more verbal construction meaning “one who swims,” but شناگر is shorter and more common in sports contexts. The verb form is شنا کردن (shenâ kardan, “to swim”).
How to use it
- اون یه شناگر ملیِه. (un ye shenâgar-e melli-e.) “She is a national team swimmer.”
- شناگرها زود رفتن استخر. (shenâgarhâ zud raftan estakhr.) “The swimmers went to the pool early.”
- از بچگی شناگر ماهری بوده. (az bachegi shenâgar-e mâheri bude.) “He has been a skilled swimmer since childhood.”
- اون شناگره یا نه؟ (un shenâgar-e yâ na?) “Is he a swimmer or not?”
Cultural note
Swimming in Iran has a complicated public history. Mixed-gender public pools do not exist under Islamic Republic rules: pools and beach areas are sex-segregated, with separate sessions or separate facilities for men and women. Despite this, Iranian women have competed internationally in swimming, and female شناگر athletes trained in Iran have won medals at the Asian Para Games and World University Games. The Caspian Sea coast, with its relatively calm, shallow water, remains the most popular open swimming destination for Iranians, and learning to swim there is a childhood memory for many families from the north of the country.