شوهر

What it means

شوهر (showhar) means “husband.” Pure Persian, A1 vocabulary, the everyday spoken word. More direct than the neutral همسر (hamsar, “spouse”). Used freely in colloquial speech, sometimes felt as too blunt for the most formal contexts.

How to use it

• شوهرش پزشک است (showharash pezeshk ast) “Her husband is a doctor”
• شوهر کرده (showhar karde) “She has gotten married”
• شوهرت کجاست؟ (showharet kojâst?) “Where is your husband?”

Common pairings

• شوهر کردن (showhar kardan) “(for a woman) to get married”
• شوهر دادن (showhar dâdan) “to marry off (a daughter)”
• شوهر سابق (showhar-e sâbeq) “ex-husband”
• شوهرخواهر (showhar-e khâhar) “sister’s husband, brother-in-law”

Etymology

From Middle Persian šōy plus the agent suffix -har, ultimately from Avestan xšaiia- (“ruler, master”), a reflection of older patriarchal kinship language. Modern usage has softened entirely; the word now simply marks the male spouse with no overtones of dominance.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab