آری

What it means

آری (âri) means yes. It is a pure Persian word and the older, more literary counterpart to the everyday بله (bale). In modern spoken Persian, بله is the default word for yes in most situations, while آری appears in formal writing, classical poetry, and staged or ceremonial speech. It survives intact in fixed expressions: آری گفتن (âri goftan, to say yes, to agree) and آری یا نه (âri yâ na, yes or no). Because of its literary weight, âri can carry a tone of solemnity or deliberate elegance when used in ordinary conversation, which is why speakers choose it consciously rather than by habit. It is not archaic or incomprehensible, just elevated.

How to use it

• آری، قبول می‌کنم. (âri, ghabul mikonam.) “Yes, I accept.”
• آری یا نه، جواب بده. (âri yâ na, javâb bede.) “Yes or no, give an answer.”
• اون آری گفت و رفت. (un âri goft o raft.) “He said yes and left.”
• آری، این همون کتابیه که دنبالش بودم. (âri, in hamun ketâbiye ke donbâlesh budam.) “Yes, this is exactly the book I was looking for.”

Cultural note

Persian poetry from Hafez to Rumi to Forough Farrokhzad uses آری as the emphatic affirmative of the lyric voice, the moment when the speaker fully consents to fate, love, or truth. Its appearance in a poem signals openness and surrender rather than mere agreement. Because generations of Iranians grew up hearing âri in verses recited at home and school, the word carries a literary resonance even for people who never consciously studied poetry. Using âri in the middle of an ordinary conversation is not wrong, but it is noticed.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab