What it means
تفریق (tafriq) is the Persian word for “subtraction,” the arithmetic operation of taking one number away from another. It is borrowed directly from Arabic, derived from the root f-r-q meaning to separate or distinguish. The same root gives Persian words like فرق (farq, difference) and تفاوت (tafâvot, distinction). In formal written Persian تفریق is the standard mathematical term, while in casual speech Iranians often say منها کردن (menhâ kardan, to minus something), using the Arabic word for minus. The result of a subtraction is called تفاضل (tafâzel) in formal contexts or simply نتیجه (natije, result) in everyday use.
How to use it
- بچه داره تفریق یاد میگیره. (Bache dâre tafriq yâd migire.) “The child is learning subtraction.”
- تفریق سه از ده میشه هفت. (Tafriq-e se az dah mishe haft.) “Ten minus three is seven.”
- توی این مسئله باید تفریق بزنی. (Tu-ye in mas’ale bâyad tafriq bezani.) “In this problem you need to subtract.”
- جمع و تفریق رو بلدم ولی ضرب سخته. (Jam’ o tafriq ro baladam vali zarb sakhteh.) “I know addition and subtraction but multiplication is hard.”
Cultural note
The four basic arithmetic operations, جمع (jam’, addition), تفریق (tafriq, subtraction), ضرب (zarb, multiplication), and تقسیم (taqsim, division) are all Arabic loanwords in Persian, reflecting the major role Arab and Persian scholars played in formalizing mathematics during the Islamic Golden Age. Iranian students encounter these terms from the first years of primary school, and the word تفریق appears throughout the national curriculum. In everyday spoken Persian, younger Iranians often blend the formal term with the colloquial verb form منها کردن, which itself borrows the Arabic preposition منها (menhâ, from it).