آماده

What it means

آماده (âmâde) means ready, prepared, or set. It is a pure Persian adjective that has been in continuous use from classical texts to modern colloquial speech without meaningful change in form or meaning. On its own it describes a state: someone or something is ready. It pairs with the two most common Persian light verbs to form compound verbs: آماده بودن (âmâde budan, to be ready) describes an ongoing state, and آماده کردن (âmâde kardan, to prepare or to get something ready) describes an action. A third compound, آماده شدن (âmâde shodan, to get ready, to become prepared), describes the change-of-state process. All three compounds are high-frequency in everyday speech. A synonym you will hear is حاضر (hâzer, ready), which is Arabic in origin and used in slightly more formal or military registers; in casual conversation آماده and حاضر are largely interchangeable, but آماده sounds a little warmer and more everyday.

How to use it

• آماده‌ای؟ بریم! (âmâde-i? Berim!) “Are you ready? Let’s go!”
• ناهار آماده‌ست (nâhâr âmâde-st) “Lunch is ready.”
• دارم آماده می‌شم (dâram âmâde misham) “I’m getting ready.”
• همه چیز رو آماده کردم (hame-chiz ro âmâde kardam) “I got everything ready.”

Cultural note

In Iranian household speech, «ناهار آماده‌ست» or «شام آماده‌ست» (dinner is ready) is one of the most familiar calls in the home, typically announced by whoever cooked. The phrase signals not just that food is on the table but that the table has been fully set and everyone should come now. Calling family members to eat in Iranian culture carries a mild social obligation to come promptly, so the announcement of آماده بودن carries a gentle urgency that goes beyond the literal meaning of the word.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab