What it means
دونده (davandeh) means “runner,” a person who runs. It is a pure Persian agent noun built from the verb دویدن (davidan, “to run”) plus the active-participle suffix -andeh, which turns a verb into “one who does that action.” The same pattern gives you خواننده (khânandeh, singer) and نویسنده (nevisandeh, writer). دونده covers every kind of runner: a marathon athlete, a sprinter at a school sports day, or simply someone jogging through the park. In sports commentary the word is formal enough to appear in headlines; in casual speech Iranians say آدمی که میدوه (âdami ke midave, “a person who runs”) just as often.
How to use it
- اون یه دوندهی حرفهایِه. (un ye davandeh-ye harf-e’i-e.) “He is a professional runner.”
- دوندههای ماراتن امروز مسابقه دارن. (davandehâ-ye mârâton emruz mosâbeqe dâran.) “The marathon runners have a race today.”
- از بچگی دونده بودم. (az bachegi davandeh budam.) “I have been a runner since childhood.”
- دوندهی خوبی هستی! (davandeh-ye khubi hasti!) “You are a good runner!”
Cultural note
Long-distance running has grown steadily in Iran, with city marathons held in Tehran and Isfahan attracting thousands of participants. Iran has produced competitive middle-distance and cross-country runners at the Asian Games. The word دونده also appears in figurative speech: a دونده in the bazaar context historically meant an errand runner or messenger, someone paid to carry packages or documents across a city on foot. That older occupational sense has faded, but it hints at the word’s everyday practicality well before competitive athletics arrived.