What it means
آمبولانس (âmbulâns) means ambulance, the emergency vehicle that carries sick or injured people to a hospital or clinic. The word is borrowed directly from French ambulance, which itself comes from Latin ambulare, meaning to walk or move. Persian uses this French loanword without modification. A related phrase you will hear is ماشین اورژانس (mâshin-e ozhâns), which people also use informally to refer to the same vehicle.
How to use it
- آمبولانس خبر کردن (âmbulâns khabar kardan) “to call an ambulance”
- آمبولانس داره میاد (âmbulâns dâre miyâd) “the ambulance is coming”
- باید آمبولانس خبر کنیم (bâyad âmbulâns khabar konim) “we need to call an ambulance”
- آمبولانس دیر رسید (âmbulâns dir rasid) “the ambulance arrived late”
Cultural note
In Iran, emergency ambulance services operate under the number 115, which is the equivalent of 911 in the United States. The national emergency medical service is known as اورژانس ۱۱۵ (Ozhâns 115). In busy Tehran traffic, it is common for people to comment on how long an ambulance takes to reach its destination, and the topic comes up regularly in public conversation about urban infrastructure.