What it means
دادن (dâdan) comes from Old Iranian *dâ-, to give, a root that also produced the name of the ancient Persian legal concept داد (dâd, justice or given right). The same Proto-Indo-European base underlies Latin dare and English donate, making دادن one of the clearest links between Persian and European languages. In practice دادن means to give in the broadest sense: to hand something over, to deliver, to issue, and to allow. As a light verb it forms compound expressions like درس دادن (dars dâdan, to teach), امتحان دادن (emtehân dâdan, to take an exam from the student’s side), and اجازه دادن (ejâze dâdan, to give permission).
How to use it
- کتابت رو بهم بده. (Ketâbat ro beham bede.) “Give me your book.”
- مادرم بهم پول داد. (Mâdaram beham pul dâd.) “My mom gave me money.”
- داری درس میدی یا بازی میکنی؟ (Dâri dars midi yâ bâzi mikoni?) “Are you teaching or playing around?”
- اجازه دادن نمیخوان. (Ejâze dâdan nemikhan.) “They don’t want to give permission.”
Cultural note
دادن carries cultural weight in Persian beyond its grammatical function. داد (dâd) as a standalone noun means justice or one’s rightful due, a concept deeply embedded in Iranian legal and poetic tradition. Poets from Ferdowsi onward invoked دادن in the sense of rendering justice. In modern colloquial Persian دادن has also shifted to cover giving in contexts that English would describe differently: you دادن an exam (take it as a student), دادن a lesson (teach it), or دادن a speech (deliver it). Learning which direction دادن and گرفتن point in each compound is a key A1 milestone.