Legal instruments, administrative letters, and older scholarly prose contain Arabic-derived expressions that behave like Persian prepositional phrases. Three especially useful reading items are فیمابین fi-mâ-beyn-e “between/among,” منحیث men-heys-e “in the capacity of; with respect to,” and حسب hasb-e “according to; as required by.” They are Persian vocabulary of Arabic origin, not switches into productive Arabic grammar.
That final point matters. In an Iranian Persian sentence, these forms take Persian-style phrase structure and Persianized pronunciation. A complement is commonly linked by ezâfe: حسبِ دستور hasb-e dastur. Learners should not invent Arabic case vowels, tanwin, or agreement. Register is equally important: a phrase may be grammatically well formed yet be needlessly legalistic in an ordinary email.
Form, function, and plain alternatives
| Expression | Principal use | Typical domain | Plain modern alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| فیمابینِ X و Y | between X and Y | contracts, older legal prose | میانِ X و Y، بینِ X و Y |
| منحیثِ X | in the capacity of X | older legal or scholarly prose | بهعنوانِ X |
| منحیثِ X | with respect to X | technical classification | از نظرِ X، از حیثِ X |
| حسبِ X | according to/as requested by X | orders, requests, regulations | طبقِ X، بر اساسِ X |
| حسبِ مورد | as applicable; depending on the case | regulations | بسته به مورد |
These replacements are meaning-sensitive. بهعنوان replaces a role reading of منحیث, whereas از نظر replaces a dimension or criterion reading. طبق is appropriate for an instruction; بر اساس often sounds better for evidence or a stated basis.
فیمابین: formal “between”
فیمابین introduces the parties or entities between which a relation holds. It is strongly (formal/legal) and often occurs with طرفین “the two parties.” In current plain-language editing, میان or بین is normally shorter and clearer.
این قرارداد فیمابین شرکت بهار و شرکت سپهر منعقد میشود.
in qarârdâd fi-mâ-beyn-e sherkat-e bahâr-o sherkat-e sepehr mon'aqed mi-shavad.
This contract is concluded between Bahar Company and Sepehr Company. (formal/legal)
این توافق میان دو شرکت امضا میشود.
in tavâfoq miyân-e do sherkat emzâ mi-shavad.
This agreement will be signed between the two companies. (plain formal Persian)
The frequent فیمابین طرفین is conventional legal drafting, but it is semantically heavy: both فیمابین and طرفین contribute a “between the two sides” idea. Editing it to میان دو طرف generally loses nothing.
اختلاف فیمابین طرفین از طریق داوری حلوفصل خواهد شد.
ekhtelâf-e fi-mâ-beyn-e tarafeyn az tariq-e dâvari hall-o-fasl khâhad shod.
The dispute between the parties will be settled through arbitration. (formal/legal)
Notice that اختلاف carries ezâfe before the following learned phrase, and فیمابین carries another before طرفین. Dense chains of invisible -e are one reason such prose is difficult to read aloud.
منحیث: capacity versus dimension
منحیث has two related analyses. Before a role noun, it means “as, in the capacity of”: منحیثِ نماینده. Before an abstract criterion, it means “with respect to, considered in terms of”: منحیثِ آثار حقوقی. Both are (formal, dated/learned) in contemporary Iranian Persian.
این شخص منحیث نمایندهی قانونی شرکت حق امضا دارد.
in shakhs men-heys-e namâyande-ye qânuni-ye sherkat haqq-e emzâ dârad.
This person has signing authority in the capacity of the company's legal representative. (formal, dated legal style)
این شخص بهعنوان نمایندهی قانونی شرکت حق امضا دارد.
in shakhs be-onvân-e namâyande-ye qânuni-ye sherkat haqq-e emzâ dârad.
This person has signing authority as the company's legal representative. (modern formal-neutral)
موضوع منحیث آثار حقوقی نیازمند بررسی دقیق است.
mowzu' men-heys-e âsâr-e hoquqi niyâzmand-e barrasi-ye daqiq ast.
The matter requires close examination with respect to its legal effects. (formal, learned)
موضوع از نظر آثار حقوقی نیازمند بررسی دقیق است.
mowzu' az nazar-e âsâr-e hoquqi niyâzmand-e barrasi-ye daqiq ast.
The matter requires close examination in terms of its legal effects. (plain formal Persian)
English as is broader than منحیث. It can also mean “because” or introduce a comparison; those readings require other Persian constructions. Use منحیث only when the relevant role or dimension is genuinely intended.
حسب: an instruction, request, or governing basis
حسب is commonest before institutional nouns such as دستور، درخواست، مقررات، مورد. It presents that complement as the authority, request, or circumstance governing the action. It is (bureaucratic/formal) rather than archaic: readers still encounter it in current correspondence and regulations.
مدارک حسب درخواست متقاضی بازگردانده میشود.
madârek hasb-e darkhâst-e moteqâzi bâz-gardânde mi-shavad.
The documents will be returned at the applicant's request. (bureaucratic/formal)
نسخهی اصلاحشده طبق درخواست شما ارسال شد.
noskhe-ye eslâh-shode tebq-e darkhâst-e shomâ ersâl shod.
The revised copy was sent as you requested. (plain professional Persian)
هزینهها حسب مورد از بودجهی جاری پرداخت میشود.
hazine-hâ hasb-e mowred az budje-ye jâri pardâkht mi-shavad.
The expenses will be paid from the current budget as applicable. (regulatory/formal)
حسب مورد is sufficiently formulaic that many readers process it as a unit. Even there, the pronunciation retains hasb-e. For the more transparent modern choice between طبق and بر اساس, see بر اساس and طبق.
Orthography and pronunciation are Persian
Follow the guide's editorial spelling فیمابین and منحیث, with a zero-width non-joiner between the lexical parts. Write Persian ی, never Arabic ي. Ordinary target text does not show short-vowel marks; the reading supplies fi-mâ-beyn-e, men-heys-e, hasb-e.
Do not “restore” Arabic endings while reading. Persian has no productive nominative, accusative, or genitive case endings and does not demand an Arabic -u or -a on these forms. Likewise, no tanwin belongs on an invented Persian adverb here. Learned speakers may articulate consonants carefully, but that is a register choice within Persian pronunciation, not Arabic inflection. The Arabic loan pronunciation page treats this distinction in detail.
حسب دستور مدیر، جلسه ساعت هشت آغاز میشود.
hasb-e dastur-e modir, jalase sâ'at-e hasht âghâz mi-shavad.
According to the director's instruction, the meeting begins at eight. (formal/bureaucratic)
Plain-language editing
A useful editor preserves legal precision but removes prestige vocabulary that adds none. فیمابین موجر و مستأجر can become میان موجر و مستأجر; منحیث نماینده can become بهعنوان نماینده; حسب درخواست can often become طبق درخواست. In a quotation, statute title, or fixed institutional template, preserve the original and gloss it rather than silently modernizing it.
در نامه نوشتهاند «حسب مورد»؛ یعنی هر جا این حکم کاربرد داشته باشد.
dar nâme neveshte-and ‘hasb-e mowred’; ya'ni har jâ in hokm kârbord dâshte bâshad.
The letter says حسب مورد; that means wherever this provision applies. (modern explanatory prose)
Common Mistakes
1. Importing an Arabic case ending
❌ حسب دستور، پرونده بسته شد.
hasbu dastur, parvande baste shod
Incorrect Persian reading — حسب is linked to دستور by Persian ezâfe, not Arabic -u.
✅ حسب دستور اداره، پرونده بایگانی شد.
hasb-e dastur-e edâre, parvande bâyegâni shod.
By order of the office, the file was archived. (formal/bureaucratic)
2. Adding a second “from” after فیمابین
❌ اختلاف فیمابین از دو شرکت حل شد.
Incorrect — فیمابین already introduces the entities; از is not part of this construction.
✅ اختلاف میان دو شرکت حل شد.
ekhtelâf-e miyân-e do sherkat hall shod.
The dispute between the two companies was resolved. (plain formal Persian)
3. Omitting ezâfe after منحیث
❌ او منحیث نماینده سخن گفت.
u men-heys namâyande sokhan goft
Incorrect reading — منحیث carries ezâfe before the role noun.
✅ او منحیث نمایندهی انجمن سخن گفت.
u men-heys-e namâyande-ye anjoman sokhan goft.
He spoke in his capacity as the association's representative. (formal, dated/learned)
4. Using منحیث for every English “as”
❌ منحیث باران میبارید، خانه ماندیم.
Incorrect — English causal ‘as’ does not express role or dimension and cannot be translated with منحیث.
✅ چون باران میبارید، خانه ماندیم.
chun bârân mi-bârid, khâne mândim.
As it was raining, we stayed home. (neutral standard)
Key Takeaways
- فیمابین marks a relation between parties; plain میان/بین usually communicates it better.
- منحیث marks a role or dimension; replace it with بهعنوان or از نظر according to meaning.
- حسب presents a request, instruction, rule, or case as the governing basis.
- Read Persian ezâfe after all three; do not add Arabic case vowels or tanwin.
- Preserve learned wording in quotations and binding templates, but prefer transparent equivalents in new public-facing prose.
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