What it means
بعد از (ba’d az) is the everyday Persian phrase for “after” or “following.” Like its counterpart قبل از (qabl az, “before”), it is a mixed-origin compound: بعد (ba’d) comes from Arabic بعد, meaning “after” or “distant from,” while از (az) is the native Persian preposition meaning “from.” Together they are the standard way to place one event after another in time or sequence. You will also hear بعداً (ba’dan), meaning “later” or “afterward,” as a standalone adverb from the same Arabic root.
How to use it
- بعد از ظهر میآم. (ba’d az zohr miyâm.) “I’ll come in the afternoon.”
- بعد از اینکه خوندم میگم. (ba’d az in ke khundam migam.) “I’ll let you know after I read it.”
- بعد از کار میریم بیرون. (ba’d az kâr mirim birun.) “We’ll go out after work.”
- بعد از تعطیلات دوباره شروع میکنیم. (ba’d az ta’tilât dobâre shoru mikonim.) “We’ll start again after the holidays.”
Cultural note
بعد از ظهر (ba’d az zohr), literally “after midday,” is the standard Persian term for afternoon and appears on schedules, invitations, and in daily speech constantly. The word ظهر (zohr) means noon and also refers to the midday prayer in Islamic tradition, so this common time expression carries a subtle cultural layer. Learners should memorize بعد از ظهر early, as it appears in nearly every scheduling conversation.