What it means
بالا آوردن (bâlâ âvordan) is the casual, everyday way Persian speakers say “to throw up” or “to vomit.” It is a native Persian compound verb built from بالا (bâlâ, “up”) and آوردن (âvordan, “to bring”), so it literally means “to bring up.” Both parts go back to Middle Persian, so the verb is fully Persian in origin. It is the relaxed, spoken counterpart to the more clinical word استفراغ کردن (estefrâgh kardan), which is the formal or medical term for vomiting and comes from Arabic. In daily conversation, almost everyone reaches for بالا آوردن instead.
How to use it
- حالم بده، فکر کنم دارم بالا میارم. (hâlam bade, fekr konam dâram bâlâ miyâram.) “I feel awful, I think I’m about to throw up.”
- بچه تو ماشین بالا آورد. (bachche tu mâshin bâlâ âvord.) “The kid threw up in the car.”
- اینقدر چرب بود که بالا آوردم. (inghadr charb bud ke bâlâ âvordam.) “It was so greasy that I threw up.”
- اگه حالت تهوع داری برو دستشویی بالا بیار. (age hâlat-e tahavvo dâri boro dastshui bâlâ biyâr.) “If you feel nauseous, go to the bathroom and throw up.”
Cultural note
Persian draws a clear line between registers here. In a doctor’s office or on a form you will see استفراغ (estefrâgh), but at home, with friends, or talking about a sick child, people say بالا آوردن. There is also the very blunt and somewhat crude word عُق زدن (ogh zadan), which leans toward gagging or retching and sounds rougher. For polite everyday speech, بالا آوردن hits the sweet spot: clear, common, and not vulgar.