What it means
باز (bâz) is a native Persian word with two main everyday senses. As an adverb it means “again,” functioning like a more informal, colloquial alternative to دوباره (dobâre). As an adjective it means “open,” the opposite of بسته (baste, “closed”). In casual speech باز is extremely common and can begin a sentence with a mildly frustrated or surprised tone: باز چی شد؟ (bâz chi shod?) meaning “What happened again?” or “Now what?” The word بازی (bâzi, “game” or “play”) shares the same root, while بازار (bâzâr, “market”) is a separate word with a different origin and is unrelated. The adverbial and adjectival uses of باز are entirely from old Iranian stock.
How to use it
- باز دیر کردی! (bâz dir kardi!) “You’re late again!”
- در باز است. (dar bâz ast.) “The door is open.”
- باز هم میخوای؟ (bâz ham mikhâi?) “Do you want some more?”
- باز شروع کرد به گریه کردن. (bâz shoru kard be gerye kardan.) “He started crying again.”
Cultural note
In colloquial Persian باز carries a subtle emotional charge that دوباره does not. When a speaker says باز at the start of a complaint or observation, it implies repetition with mild exasperation, the sense of “here we go again.” This makes it a staple of humor in Iranian comedy, sitcoms, and everyday banter. The word also appears in classical Persian poetry meaning “open” in a metaphorical sense, as poets wrote of the heart or the eye being باز to beauty or to the beloved. Its dual life as a plain colloquial adverb and as a classical poetic image gives it an unusually wide range for such a short word.