What it means
تندمزاج (tond-mezâj) means hot-tempered or quick-tempered. It is a compound adjective built from two words with different roots: تند (tond, sharp, fast, intense) is pure Persian, while مزاج (mezâj, temperament, disposition) is borrowed from Arabic مزاج (mizâj), itself from the root relating to mixing or blending, reflecting the classical humoral theory of personality. Together they describe a person whose temperament is sharp and quick, that is, someone who flares up easily. Related words include تندخو (tondkhu, hot-tempered, from خو, disposition) and زودرنج (zudrenj, easily offended, touchy), which is a close synonym focusing on being hurt quickly rather than on explosive anger.
How to use it
- بابام خیلی تندمزاجه، سعی کن باهاش بحث نکنی. (bâbâm kheyli tond-mezâj-e, sa’i kon bâhâsh bahs nakoni.) “My dad is very hot-tempered, try not to argue with him.”
- با آدمهای تندمزاج باید با احتیاط حرف زد. (bâ âdam-hâ-ye tond-mezâj bâyad bâ ehtiyât harf zad.) “You have to speak carefully with hot-tempered people.”
- میدونم تندمزاجم، دارم روی خودم کار میکنم. (midoonam tond-mezâjam, dâram ruy-e khodam kâr mi-konam.) “I know I am quick-tempered, I am working on myself.”
- رئیس تندمزاجی داره که با کوچیکترین اشتباه عصبانی میشه. (ra’is-e tond-mezâji dâre ke bâ kuchiktarin eshtebâh asabâni mishe.) “She has a hot-tempered boss who gets angry at the smallest mistake.”
Cultural note
The classical concept of مزاج (temperament) in Persian culture descends from Galenic and Islamic medical philosophy, which classified human dispositions into four humors. Words like تندمزاج, سردمزاج (sard-mezâj, cold-tempered, reserved), and خوشمزاج (khosh-mezâj, good-natured) preserve that framework as living vocabulary long after the medical theory behind it fell away. In everyday Iranian conversation, describing someone as تندمزاج is a candid but not necessarily cruel assessment, more of a personality observation than an insult, though the word does carry a mild warning that the person in question requires careful handling.