What it means
داداش (dâdâsh) means “brother.” It is used for an actual older or younger brother, and just as often as a casual address to any male: a shopkeeper, a taxi driver, a friend’s friend. A2 vocabulary for daily Tehran life.
How to use it
- داداش، یه لحظه (dâdâsh, ye lahze) “Bro, one second”
- داداشم اومد (dâdâsham umad) “My brother arrived”
- ممنون داداش (mamnun dâdâsh) “Thanks bro”
Common pairings
- داداش گلم (dâdâsh-e golam) “my flower brother,” affectionate
- داداشی (dâdâshi) “little bro,” diminutive
- داداش بزرگ (dâdâsh bozorg) “big brother”
Register caution
Friendly but informal. Do not call your professor, your boss, or your father-in-law داداش. Among male friends, taxi drivers, and shopkeepers it is the default address. Women use it less to address strangers, more when speaking about an actual brother. In formal speech, switch to آقا (âghâ) or برادر (barâdar).
Cultural note
داداش is a child-speech variant of برادر (barâdar) that stuck into adulthood. South Tehran taxi culture made it ubiquitous as a unisex friendly address from drivers to passengers. The diminutive داداشی is common between actual siblings, especially from younger to older.
References
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