Persian commonly weakens an exact numerical commitment with حدود “around” or تقریبا “approximately.” Both normally precede the quantity, but they have different grammar: noun-like حدود takes an audible ezâfe before its numerical complement, while adverb تقریبا does not.
Compare حدودِ پنجاه نفر hodud-e panjâh nafar with تقریبا پنجاه نفر taqriban panjâh nafar. Their estimates may overlap, but the first presents a region around a number and the second comments on the precision of the stated value.
Two forms, two structures
| Form | Structure | Typical contribution | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| حدود | حدودِ + quantity | a range around the named center | neutral and formal |
| تقریبا | adverb + quantity | reduced precision or near completion | neutral across speech and writing |
| نزدیک به | preposition + quantity | proximity to a salient value | neutral/formal comparison |
| یه چیزی حدود | discourse hedge + حدودِ | rough remembered estimate | informal, regional: Tehran |
حدود دویست نفر برای نمایشگاه ثبتنام کردهاند.
hodud-e devist nafar barâ-ye namâyeshgâh sabt-nâm karde-and.
Around two hundred people have registered for the exhibition. (neutral standard)
تقریبا دویست نفر تا ظهر وارد سالن شدند.
taqriban devist nafar tâ zohr vâred-e sâlon shodand.
Approximately two hundred people entered the hall by noon. (neutral report)
The two sentences need not differ numerically. The distinction is how the speaker frames uncertainty: حدود supplies a neighborhood; تقریبا labels the figure as a rounded or imperfectly exact statement.
حدود takes ezâfe
In its approximating use, حدود is followed by an ezâfe-linked quantity: حدودِ سه ساعت، حدودِ ۵ کیلومتر، حدودِ یک میلیون تومان. The ezâfe is absent from ordinary spelling because حدود ends in a consonant, but it must be present in careful pronunciation and romanization.
پیادهروی تا آبشار حدود دو ساعت طول میکشد.
piyâde-ravi tâ âbshâr hodud-e do sâ'at tul mi-keshad.
The walk to the waterfall takes about two hours. (neutral standard)
هزینهی اولیه حدود ۸ میلیون تومان برآورد شد.
hazine-ye avvaliyye hodud-e hasht milyun tumân bar-âvard shod.
The initial cost was estimated at around eight million tomans. (formal estimate)
حدود can also mean literal or administrative “boundaries,” as in حدود شهر. Syntax alone does not distinguish the meanings because both can carry ezâfe; the complement and discourse do. A numeral or measure strongly favors approximation.
تقریبا is an adverb
تقریبا stands immediately before the expression whose precision it weakens. It takes no ezâfe. Before a number, it means “approximately”; before همه or a completion predicate, it often means “almost.”
تقریبا ۶۰ درصد سفارشها تا امروز ارسال شده است.
taqriban shast darsad-e sefâresh-hâ tâ emruz ersâl shode ast.
Approximately 60 percent of the orders have been dispatched by today. (formal-neutral; aggregate agreement)
کار تقریبا تمام شده، اما گزارش نهایی هنوز آماده نیست.
kâr taqriban tamâm shode, ammâ gozâresh-e nehâyi hanuz âmâde nist.
The work is almost finished, but the final report is not ready yet. (neutral standard; nonnumerical scope)
The spelling in unpointed Iranian prose is تقریبا under this guide’s house convention. Its established pronunciation ends in -an: taqriban. This is a lexicalized adverb, not productive Arabic case grammar applied to Persian sentences.
Placement reveals scope
Keep the approximator adjacent to the quantity or state being approximated. تقریبا سه ساعت کار کرد estimates duration. سه ساعت کار کرد و تقریبا تمامش کرد instead approximates completion of the task.
تعمیرکار تقریبا سه ساعت روی موتور کار کرد.
ta'mirkâr taqriban se sâ'at ru-ye motor kâr kard.
The mechanic worked on the engine for approximately three hours. (duration estimate)
تعمیرکار سه ساعت کار کرد و تقریبا تعمیر را به پایان رساند.
ta'mirkâr se sâ'at kâr kard va taqriban ta'mir râ be pâyân rasând.
The mechanic worked for three hours and almost completed the repair. (completion estimate)
Clock time makes the same distinction visible. حدود ساعت سه means “around three o’clock”; حدود سه ساعت means “about three hours.” Approximation does not erase the clock-time versus duration word order.
Approximate centers and explicit ranges
حدود ۴۰ نفر gives a center with fuzzy edges. بین ۳۰ تا ۴۰ نفر supplies two stated endpoints. Combining them as حدود ۳۰ تا ۴۰ نفر is possible when even the endpoints are rough, but it is less precise than either a single estimate or a clean bounded range.
برای شام حدود دوازده نفر مهمان داریم.
barâ-ye shâm hodud-e davâzdah nafar mehmân dârim.
We have around twelve guests for dinner. (neutral conversation; approximate center)
ظرفیت هر گروه بین ۱۲ تا ۱۵ نفر است.
zarfiyyat-e har goruh beyn-e davâzdah tâ pânzdah nafar ast.
Each group has a capacity of between twelve and fifteen people. (formal; stated range)
ممکن است حدود ۳۰ تا ۴۰ دقیقه در صف بمانید.
momken ast hodud-e si tâ chehel daqiqe dar saf be-mânid.
You may remain in line for roughly thirty to forty minutes. (public-service notice; rough range)
In technical prose, decide whether you mean a point estimate, a confidence interval, or merely an everyday range. حدود does not by itself provide statistical bounds.
Counted nouns and agreement remain intact
Approximation changes commitment to the number, not the internal grammar of the numeral phrase. A directly counted noun remains singular: حدود بیست صندلی, not صندلیها. Human subjects normally take plural verbs; a quantity of inanimate material commonly takes singular agreement.
حدود سی پژوهشگر در نشست حضور داشتند.
hodud-e si pazhuheshgar dar neshast hozur dâshtand.
Around thirty researchers attended the meeting. (formal-neutral; human plural agreement)
تقریبا چهار لیتر آب در مخزن باقی مانده است.
taqriban chahâr litr âb dar makhzan bâqi mânde ast.
Approximately four liters of water remain in the tank. (neutral; measured aggregate with singular agreement)
The dedicated Numbers with Nouns page explains the singular counted form and meaning-based agreement in detail.
Informal remembered estimates
Everyday Tehran speech often expands حدود with a hedge: یه چیزی حدود صد تومن “something like a hundred tomans.” This is useful when recalling rather than measuring, but inappropriate in a formal report.
— کرایه چقدر شد؟ — یه چیزی حدود دویست هزار تومن.
— kerâye cheqadar shod? — ye chizi hodud-e devist hezâr toman.
— How much was the fare? — Something like two hundred thousand tomans. (informal, regional: Tehran)
The standard counterpart is حدود دویست هزار تومان شد. Preserve the distinction between colloquial تومن and written-standard تومان.
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting ezâfe in the reading of حدود
❌ حدود سه کیلومتر
hodud se kilometr
Incorrect careful reading — approximating حدود takes ezâfe before the quantity.
✅ تا روستا حدود سه کیلومتر راه است.
tâ rustâ hodud-e se kilometr râh ast.
It is about three kilometers to the village.
2. Adding ezâfe after تقریبا
❌ تقریبا پنج دقیقه
taqriban-e panj daqiqe
Incorrect — adverb تقریبا does not host ezâfe before the quantity.
✅ اتوبوس تقریبا پنج دقیقهی دیگر میرسد.
otobus taqriban panj daqiqe-ye digar mi-rasad.
The bus will arrive in approximately five minutes.
3. Putting حدود after its number phrase
❌ دویست نفر حدود ثبتنام کردند.
Incorrect scope order — حدود precedes and links to the quantity it estimates.
✅ حدود دویست نفر در دورهی تازه ثبتنام کردند.
hodud-e devist nafar dar dowre-ye tâze sabt-nâm kardand.
Around two hundred people registered for the new course.
4. Pluralizing the directly approximated noun
❌ حدود چهل صفحهها را خواندم.
Incorrect direct count — approximation does not license a plural suffix after the numeral.
✅ دیشب حدود چهل صفحه از رمان را خواندم.
dishab hodud-e chehel safhe az român râ khândam.
Last night I read about forty pages of the novel.
5. Treating حدود as an exact statistical interval
⚠️ حدود پنجاه یعنی دقیقا از چهل و نه تا پنجاه و یک.
hodud-e panjâh ya'ni daqiqan az chehel-o-noh tâ panjâh-o-yek.
Grammatical sentence expressing the wrong rule — حدود supplies a context-dependent estimate, not fixed mathematical endpoints.
✅ اگر بازهی دقیق مهم است، حد پایین و بالا را جداگانه بنویسید.
agar bâze-ye daqiq mohem ast, hadd-e pâyin va bâlâ râ jodâgâne be-nevisid.
If the exact interval matters, write the lower and upper bounds separately.
Key Takeaways
- حدود takes an audible ezâfe; adverb تقریبا does not.
- Put either form immediately before the value or state whose precision it weakens.
- Distinguish a fuzzy center from a stated interval with lower and upper endpoints.
- Keep the counted noun singular and choose agreement from the referent, not the approximator.
- Reserve یه چیزی حدود ... تومن for informal Tehran conversation; use standard forms in reports.
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- Approximate and Vague QuantifiersB2 — Place حدود, تقریبا, نزدیک به, and چندین accurately while controlling their scope over Persian numbers and noun phrases.
- Quantifier and Numeral SyntaxA2 — Build Persian quantified noun phrases with prenominal numbers, singular counted nouns, optional counting words, partitives, and meaning-based agreement.