طلبکار

What it means

طلبکار (talabkâr) is built from طلب (talab), meaning claim or demand, and the suffix کار (kâr), meaning doer or one who does. In its literal financial sense, a talabkâr is a creditor, someone who is owed money. But in colloquial Persian the word has taken on a much more common figurative life: it describes a person who behaves with an aggrieved sense of entitlement, acting as though others owe them something when they do not. The warning طلبکاری نکن (talabkâri nakon), don’t act like you’re owed something, is one of the most frequently heard applications of this word in everyday speech. طلبکار بودن (talabkâr budan) in context can mean either to be a creditor or to be acting entitled, and Iranians distinguish the two by tone and situation.

How to use it

• طلبکاری نکن (talabkâri nakon) “Don’t act like you’re owed something.”
• طلبکارشم (talabkâr-esham) “I am his creditor / he owes me.”
• چرا انقدر طلبکاری؟ (cherâ inghadr talabkâri?) “Why are you acting so entitled?”
• اون طلبکار اومد (un talabkâr umad) “The creditor came.”

Cultural note

The figurative sense of طلبکار is alive in Iranian workplaces, families, and friendships. Someone who complains constantly that they are not being appreciated, who acts aggrieved without apparent cause, or who behaves as though the world owes them a favour earns this label. The word carries a mild but real social reproach, طلبکاری نکن is not a gentle suggestion but a pointed reminder that one’s entitlement is not earned or recognised by the other party.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab