What it means
سیگاری (sigâri) means a smoker, or something related to cigarettes. As an adjective it describes a person who smokes habitually, and as a noun it names that person directly. The root word سیگار (sigâr) is a European loanword that entered Persian from French cigare, likely through Russian and Ottoman Turkish. The suffix ـی is a native Persian adjectival and nominal suffix. A close synonym in formal medical contexts is معتاد به سیگار (mo’tâd be sigâr), meaning someone addicted to cigarettes, though سیگاری is far more common in everyday speech.
How to use it
- اون سیگاریه و هر روز یه پاکت میکشه. (oon sigâri-ye va har ruz ye pâkat mi-kashe) “He is a smoker and goes through a pack every day.”
- همسرش میخواد سیگاری نباشه. (hamsar-ash mikhâd sigâri nabâshe) “His wife wants him not to be a smoker.”
- دکتر بهم گفت که باید سیگاری بودنم رو کنار بذارم. (doktor beham goft ke bâyad sigâri budan-am ro kenâr bezâram) “The doctor told me I need to stop being a smoker.”
- تو خانوادهشون هیچکس سیگاری نیست. (tu khânevâde-shun hichkas sigâri nist) “No one in their family is a smoker.”
Cultural note
Smoking has historically been common in Iran across all social classes, with cigarette culture visible in coffee houses and public spaces for generations. In recent decades, public health campaigns and higher tobacco taxes have gradually shifted attitudes, especially among younger urban Iranians. The word سیگاری carries a mild social stigma in educated or health-conscious circles today.