What it means
بردن (bordan) comes from Middle Persian burdan and Old Iranian *bar-, meaning to carry or bear. The same ancient root appears in the literary verb بار بردن (bâr bordan, to carry a load). In everyday Persian بردن means to take something or someone away from the current location, away from the speaker. Its directional partner is آوردن (âvardan), which means to bring something toward the speaker. Getting these two straight is one of the first real milestones for Persian learners. بردن also means to win in competition, as in بازی رو بردیم (bâzi ro bordim, we won the game).
How to use it
- کتابم رو بردی؟ (Ketâbam ro bordi?) “Did you take my book?”
- بچهها رو مدرسه ببر. (Bachehâ ro madrese bebar.) “Take the kids to school.”
- دیروز بازی رو بردیم. (Diruz bâzi ro bordim.) “We won the game yesterday.”
- این بسته رو برام ببر پیش علی. (In baste ro baram bebar pishe Ali.) “Take this package to Ali for me.”
Cultural note
In Persian the directional pair بردن and آوردن encodes the speaker’s position in space. Iranians are careful about which verb they choose: if you are at home and your child is going to school, you say بچه رو ببر (bebar, take the child), not بیار (biâr, bring). Mixing them up is one of the most common errors English speakers make because English uses “take” and “bring” in a similarly speaker-anchored way, but Persian applies the rule more strictly. In competitive contexts بردن extends naturally to winning, so you will hear it used for sports, arguments, and card games equally.