بوس

What it means

بوس (bus) is the everyday Persian word for a kiss, light and casual. It is native Persian, not a loanword, and it is what people actually say in daily speech, unlike the more formal verb بوسیدن (busidan), which sounds literary or written. The everyday spoken form of the verb is the compound بوس کردن (bus kardan), to kiss.

How to use it

• بوس بده (bus bede) “give me a kiss”
• یه بوس از گونه‌اش کرد (ye bus az gunash kard) “she gave him a kiss on the cheek”
• بچه رو بوس کرد (bache ro bus kard) “she kissed the child”
• بیا بوسم کن (biâ busam kon) “come kiss me”

Cultural note

Cheek kisses, usually two or three, alternating sides, are a standard greeting between friends and family of the same gender in Iran, separate from the romantic sense of بوس. Public displays of romantic affection are far less common than in many Western countries, so a romantic بوس is usually kept to private or family settings. The word shows up constantly in Persian pop love songs, while the more elevated بوسه (buse) belongs to classical poetry.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab