بدرقه

What it means

بدرقه (badraqe) is the farewell ceremony that walks a guest from the living room to the door, from the door to the car, and sometimes from the car back through a final round of hugs. It is not the goodbye itself; it is the choreography around it. Iranian households treat the act of seeing someone off as its own event, separate from the visit that preceded it.

Badraqe can be small (one host walks one guest to the gate) or huge (the entire extended family stands on the sidewalk waving until the car turns the corner). Either way the ritual gets observed.

Where the word comes from

بدرقه is pure Persian, from the older verb بدرقه کردن (badraqe-kardan), to escort. The root sense is accompaniment with intent: walking with someone for safety, blessing, or honor as they leave. The original use covered actual physical safety on the road (escorting a caravan part of the way) and survives now as the social ritual that still feels like a small protective gesture.

What the ritual looks like

The guest stands. The host says do not get up, but follows them anyway. Shoes get put on slowly, on purpose, to extend the goodbye. The host opens the door, then walks the guest to the car. Hugs at the curb. The host waves until the car is out of sight, or at minimum until it has pulled away. Driving off before the host stops waving is rude. Stopping waving before the car is gone is also rude.

Younger Iranians in apartment buildings have shrunk the ritual: walk to the elevator, hold the door open, wave once. Older Iranians and provincial households keep the full version.

Why it matters

The pair pishvaz (welcome on arrival) and badraqe (farewell on departure) bracket every Iranian visit. Skipping either signals that the relationship is in trouble. A host who does not do badraqe is a host who did not really want the guest, or who is angry, or who is unwell. The ritual is the message.

Examples

baba ta dame mashin baadraqe-mun kard.

Dad saw us off all the way to the car.

بابا تا دم ماشین بدرقه‌مون کرد.

badraqe-ye garmi bud, hame umadan birun.

It was a warm send-off, everyone came outside.

بدرقه‌ی گرمی بود، همه اومدن بیرون.

References

• Dehkhoda, بدرقه
• Vajehyab, بدرقه