What it means
تحقیقات (tahghighât) is the plural form of تحقیق (tahghigh), meaning investigation, inquiry, or research. The word comes from the Arabic root ح-ق-ق (h-q-q), meaning truth, reality, or verification, and the form tahghigh means the act of establishing truth through inquiry. In Persian, تحقیقات is used across three main domains: legal and police investigation (تحقیقات پلیس, tahghighât-e polis), judicial inquiry (تحقیقات قضایی, tahghighât-e qazâyi), and academic research (تحقیقات علمی, tahghighât-e elmi). The singular تحقیق is also used but the plural is the more common form in formal speech and writing. A related compound verb is تحقیق کردن (tahghigh kardan, to investigate or to research).
How to use it
- تحقیقات پلیس هنوز ادامه داره. (Tahghighât-e polis hanuz edâme dâre.) “The police investigation is still ongoing.”
- نتایج تحقیقات هفته آینده اعلام میشه. (Natâyej-e tahghighât hafte-ye âyande elâm mishe.) “The results of the investigation will be announced next week.”
- برای این پرونده تحقیقات جداگانهای انجام دادن. (Barâ-ye in parvande tahghighât-e jodâgâne-yi anjâm dâdan.) “Separate investigations were conducted for this case.”
- اون تحقیقات رو خودش سرپرستی کرد. (Un tahghighât ro khodesh sarparasti kard.) “He supervised the investigation himself.”
Cultural note
In the Iranian judicial system, تحقیقات refers to a distinct pre-trial phase in which the investigating magistrate (بازپرس, bâzpors) gathers evidence, questions suspects, and builds the case file before any trial begins. This investigative phase is separate from the trial itself and carries significant procedural importance. The word also appears in Iranian journalism and academia, where تحقیقات علمی (scientific research) and تحقیق میدانی (field research) are standard terms. The root concept of haqq, meaning truth or right, gives the word an implicit claim to rigour and accuracy.