What it means
آوردن (âvardan) comes from Middle Persian âwardan and Old Iranian â-bar-, literally to carry toward. The prefix â- signals movement toward the speaker, in direct contrast to بردن (bordan), which signals movement away. In spoken Persian the infinitive is contracted in conjugation: میاری (miyâri, you bring), آوردم (âvordam, I brought). A related literary form is فراهم آوردن (farâham âvardan), meaning to prepare or provide, which appears in formal writing. The imperative بیار (biâr) is the everyday command form you will hear constantly in homes and restaurants.
How to use it
- یه لیوان آب بیار. (Ye livân âb biâr.) “Bring a glass of water.”
- چی آوردی برام؟ (Chi âvordi baram?) “What did you bring me?”
- فردا مدارکت رو بیار. (Fardâ madâreket ro biâr.) “Bring your documents tomorrow.”
- این رو از کجا آوردی؟ (Ino az kojâ âvordi?) “Where did you bring this from?”
Cultural note
In Iranian hospitality culture آوردن sits at the center of the host-guest relationship. Hosts are expected to continuously bring food, tea, and sweets to guests, and phrases like چیزی بیارم برات (chizi biâram barat, shall I bring you something) are standard hospitality rituals rather than optional offers. Refusing the first offer is also customary, so the cycle of bringing and declining repeats. For learners it is worth memorizing the contracted imperative بیار (biâr) separately, because it looks and sounds quite different from the infinitive آوردن.