عادت

What it means

عادت (âdat) means habit, custom, or ingrained routine. The word is Arabic in origin, from the root ع-و-د (a-w-d) meaning to return or to repeat, and the noun form captures the idea of something one returns to again and again. In Persian it is fully naturalized and appears across all registers. The two most common constructions are عادت داشتن (âdat dâshtan), meaning to habitually do something or to be used to something, and عادت کردن (âdat kardan), meaning to get used to something or to form a habit. A person can also ترک عادت کردن (tark-e âdat kardan), meaning to break a habit, which is considered notoriously difficult, hence the well-known proverb ترک عادت موجب مرض است (tark-e âdat mujeb-e maraz ast, breaking a habit causes illness).

How to use it

• عادت دارم صبح زود بیدار بشم (âdat dâram sobh zud bidâr besham) “I’m in the habit of waking up early.”
• بهش عادت می‌کنی (behesh âdat mikoni) “You’ll get used to it.”
• این یه عادت بده (in ye âdat-e bade) “This is a bad habit.”
• عادت کردم بهش (âdat kardam behesh) “I’ve gotten used to it.”

Cultural note

The proverb ترک عادت موجب مرض است (tark-e âdat mujeb-e maraz ast, “breaking a habit causes illness”) is one of the most frequently quoted Persian sayings in everyday conversation. Iranians use it both seriously and humorously, often as a gentle self-justification for continuing a comfortable routine rather than changing it. The saying reflects a culturally relaxed attitude toward habit and a gentle skepticism about the virtues of disruption for its own sake.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab