بدون

What it means

بدون (bedun) is a preposition meaning without. It is borrowed from Arabic بِدُون (bidun), itself built from the prefix بِ (bi, with or in) and دون (dun), which in Arabic means less than or below. The compound conveys the absence of something. In Persian, بدون is the standard neutral word for without at all registers and in both written and spoken language. It appears in two main constructions. First, before a noun: بدون اجازه (bedun-e ejâze, without permission). Second, before a full clause using بدون اینکه (bedun-e inke, without doing), which takes a subjunctive verb. The phrase بدون شک (bedun-e shakk, without doubt) is particularly common and functions as a fixed adverbial expression meaning undoubtedly or definitely.

How to use it

• بدون اجازه نرو. (bedun-e ejâze naro.) “Do not go without permission.”
• بدون شک بهترین راهه. (bedun-e shakk behtarin râhe.) “Without doubt it is the best way.”
• بدون اینکه چیزی بگه رفت. (bedun-e inke chizi bege raft.) “She left without saying anything.”
• نمیتونم بدون قهوه صبحم رو شروع کنم. (nemitunam bedun-e ghahve sobham ro shoru konam.) “I cannot start my morning without coffee.”

Cultural note

The phrase بدون شک has become a conversational intensifier in Iranian speech, functioning much like certainly or absolutely in English. Speakers use it to signal conviction or to add weight to a statement, and it appears frequently in both everyday conversation and written opinion. The construction بدون اینکه is worth practicing because it is one of the most natural ways to describe someone doing something without doing something else, a structure that appears constantly in storytelling and description. Mastering it opens up a large range of Persian sentence patterns.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab