What it means
تقلبی (taqallobi) means fake, counterfeit, or fraudulent. It comes from the Arabic root تَقَلُّب (taqallub), which carries the sense of turning over, shifting, or duplicity. In Persian it attaches to any noun to mean the imitation or fraudulent version: a تقلبی product is a knockoff, a تقلبی document is a forgery, and a تقلبی exam is one with cheating. The word is colloquial in register and very common in spoken Tehran Persian. A related formal word is مجعول (maj’ul), meaning forged, but تقلبی is far more common in everyday speech.
How to use it
- این گوشی تقلبیه، اصلیش نیست. (in gushi taqallobiye, aslish nist.) “This phone is a fake, it is not genuine.”
- مراقب جنسهای تقلبی تو بازار باش. (morâqeb-e jens-hâ-ye taqallobi tu bâzâr bâsh.) “Watch out for counterfeit goods in the market.”
- مدرکش تقلبی از آب دراومد. (madrakesh taqallobi az âb darumad.) “His credential turned out to be forged.”
- تو امتحان تقلب کرد. (tu emtehân taqallob kard.) “He cheated in the exam.”
Cultural note
Counterfeit goods are a well-known reality in Iranian markets, and تقلبی is a word shoppers use routinely when assessing purchases, especially for electronics, cosmetics, and branded clothing. The prevalence of knockoff products has increased in periods of heavy sanctions, when genuine imported goods become scarce or unaffordable. Beyond commerce, تقلبی enters the language of everyday skepticism: a suspicious story, a dubious credential, or an insincere apology can all be called تقلبی in casual Tehran speech.