DARS

Dars is a term used in several languages of the Middle East, South Asia, and Central Asia to denote a unit of instruction, a class, or the content of a lesson. The word originates from the Arabic noun درس, which means lesson or study. In Arabic grammar and education, dars refers to a single instructional unit, and its plural is durūs. The concept is widely used in religious and secular education alike.

In Turkish, the word ders means a lesson or class and is a basic term in everyday schooling. It appears in common phrases such as ders saati (class time) and dershane (a tutoring center), reflecting its central role in formal and supplementary education. The Turkish term is cognate with the Arabic origin and is used across modern educational contexts.

In Urdu, Persian, and related South Asian languages, dars (درس) also denotes a lesson or instructional session. It is common in schools and in religious education, and appears in compound forms such as dars-e-nizami, the well-known Islamic studies curriculum used in parts of South Asia. The usage underscores the shared educational heritage across languages that borrow from Arabic.

Historically, dars appears in religious discourse to signify formal instruction within madrasas or study circles, as well as in literary works to refer to a defined lesson or teaching contained in a text. While the term has adapted to different educational systems, its core meaning—an instructional unit or lesson—remains consistent across languages.

Etymology and cross-linguistic note: the word comes from Arabic, with regional adaptations in Turkish, Urdu, Persian, and related languages, maintaining a stable association with teaching and learning.