What it means
توضیح (towzih) is the Persian word for an explanation. It names the thing you give when someone asks why, how, or what something means. The noun pairs constantly with the verb دادن (dadan, to give) to form توضیح دادن (towzih-dadan, to explain), which is the everyday verb for explaining anything.
توضیح stands at the full-exposition end of the explanation spectrum. At the other end is اشاره (eshare, allusion, hint, passing reference). To give a توضیح is to lay something out so the listener understands; to make an اشاره is to mention it briefly and move on. The two words are not synonyms and the difference matters in writing.
Towzih vs eshare
If a politician توضیح میده (towzih mide) about a policy, they are explaining the policy in some depth, taking questions, laying out reasoning. If they فقط اشاره میکنن (faqat eshare mikonan, only allude to it), they are mentioning it in passing without going into substance. Journalists and political readers parse this distinction sharply. A statement that contains “بدون توضیح” (bedun-e towzih, without explanation) is doing more work than one labeled “همراه با توضیحات کامل” (hamrah ba towzihat-e kamel, with full explanation).
How to use it
towzih-e shoma kafi nist.
Your explanation is not sufficient.
توضیح شما کافی نیست.
bedun-e hich towzihi az otaq biroon raft.
He left the room without any explanation.
بدون هیچ توضیحی از اتاق بیرون رفت.
be towzih-e bishtari ehtiyaj darim.
We need a more detailed explanation.
به توضیح بیشتری احتیاج داریم.
Where it comes from
Towzih is Arabic-origin, the form II verbal noun of وضح (wazaha, to be clear) on the root w-z-h (و ض ح). The form II تَفعِيل pattern is causative-intensive: “making something clear.” Persian inherited the noun in the medieval period along with most of its formal abstract vocabulary, and it has held the central spot for “explanation” ever since. The plural توضیحات (towzihat) follows the Arabic feminine sound plural and is used heavily in formal contexts (instruction manuals, official statements, footnotes).
In our voice
توضیح is one of those Arabic-origin abstract nouns that Persian completely absorbed: no Iranian thinks of it as a loan, and no Pure Persian Movement alternative has taken root. It is just the word for explanation. Learn it early, use it freely, and pay attention to the contrast with اشاره when you read political and journalistic prose.
References
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