What it means
بره (barre) means lamb, a young sheep. It is a pure Persian word with roots in Middle Persian. The term refers specifically to a young sheep, as opposed to the adult گوسفند (gusfand, sheep) or the adult male قوچ (ghuch, ram). In everyday speech بره is one of the most familiar animal words in Persian, appearing in everything from children’s songs to proverbs to butcher shop vocabulary. A close contextual contrast is بزغاله (bozghale), which is the young of a goat rather than a sheep.
How to use it
- یه بره کوچیک دنبال مامانش میدوید. (ye barre-ye kuchik donbal-e mamanash midovid.) “A little lamb was running after its mother.”
- برههای تازهبهدنیااومده خیلی ناز هستن. (barre-haye taze-be-donya-umade khili naz hestan.) “Newborn lambs are very cute.”
- گوشت بره نرمتر از گوشت گوسفنده. (gusht-e barre narm-tar az gusht-e gusfande.) “Lamb meat is more tender than mutton.”
- بره رو برای عید ذبح کردن. (barre ro baraye eid zabh kardan.) “They slaughtered the lamb for the holiday.”
Cultural note
بره holds a central place in Iranian pastoral culture and religious life. The slaughter of a lamb is a central act of Eid al-Adha (عید قربان, eid-e ghorban), and families who can afford it sacrifice one in commemoration of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son. In Persian poetry and classical literature, the lamb often represents innocence and vulnerability. The phrase مثل بره (mesl-e barre), meaning like a lamb, describes someone who is quiet, obedient, and gentle without resistance.