What it means
تحریم (tahrim) means a ban, prohibition, or set of sanctions. It comes from Arabic, built on the trilateral root ح-ر-م, the same root that gives Persian حرام (harâm, forbidden) and حرم (haram, sacred sanctuary). In everyday speech it most often refers to international economic sanctions, though it can also describe a personal or religious prohibition. A close related word is ممنوعیت (mamnu’iyyat), which is a more general legal prohibition, while تحریم carries the additional weight of a collective or political act of exclusion.
How to use it
- تحریمهای اقتصادی ایران را سخت تحت تاثیر گذاشته. (tahrim-hâye eqtesâdi Irân râ sakht taht-e ta’sir gozâshte.) “The economic sanctions have affected Iran harshly.”
- دولت دستور تحریم آن شرکت را صادر کرد. (dowlat dastur-e tahrim-e ân sherkat râ sâder kard.) “The government issued an order banning that company.”
- بعضی کشورها تحریمها را لغو کردند. (ba’zi keshvarhâ tahrim-hâ râ laghv kardand.) “Some countries lifted the sanctions.”
- تحریم کالاهای خارجی بحث داغی بود. (tahrim-e kâlâhâye khâreji bahs-e dâghi bud.) “The ban on foreign goods was a heated debate.”
Cultural note
تحریم is one of the most politically charged words in contemporary Iranian public life. Decades of international sanctions against Iran have made this word ubiquitous in news broadcasts, economic discussions, and everyday conversation. Iranians distinguish between تحریمهای یکجانبه (unilateral sanctions) and تحریمهای چندجانبه (multilateral sanctions), and the word carries a lived economic weight that speakers of other languages may not immediately feel.