What it means
تختهنرد (takhte-nard) is backgammon, a two-player board game played with dice and counters. The name is made up of two native Persian words: تخته (takhte), meaning board or plank, and نرد (nard), an ancient Persian word referring to this specific game and its counters. Archaeological evidence places the game’s origin in what is now Iran, making it one of the rare cases where Persian gave its name to the world rather than borrowing one. In everyday speech Iranians often shorten the name to simply نرد (nard).
How to use it
- یه دور تختهنرد بازی میکنیم؟ (ye dawr takhte-nard bâzi mikonim?) “Shall we play a round of backgammon?”
- بابام هر شب با دوستاش تختهنرد بازی میکنه. (bâbâm har shab bâ dustâsh takhte-nard bâzi mikone.) “My dad plays backgammon with his friends every evening.”
- تختهنرد از ایران اومده. (takhte-nard az Irân umade.) “Backgammon came from Iran.”
- تاس بنداز، نوبت توئه. (tâs bendâz, nowbat tuye.) “Roll the dice, it’s your turn.”
Cultural note
Backgammon is believed to have originated in Persia roughly 5,000 years ago, with a game board discovered at the Burnt City (Shahr-e Sukhteh) in Sistan dating to around 3000 BCE. The game spread westward through the Arab world and into Europe during the medieval period. In Iran today, takhte-nard is a fixture of tea houses, family gatherings, and long evenings with friends. It carries no age or class barrier and remains one of the most widely played games in the country.