دل

What it means

دل (del) means “heart”, but the Persian word carries far more meaning than the anatomical organ. It is the seat of emotion, courage, longing, intuition, and gut feeling. Persian poetry runs on دل. Iranian conversation runs on دل. Hundreds of idioms are built around it.

The senses

• The literal heart (anatomical)
• The seat of love and longing
• The seat of courage and will
• The center of intuition (gut feeling)
• The interior, core, middle of something

Common pairings and idioms

• دل به دل راه دارد (del be del râh dârad) “heart finds way to heart” (mutual feeling)
• دلم سوخت (delam sukht) “my heart burned” (felt deep sympathy)
• دل به دریا زدن (del be daryâ zadan) “to throw heart to sea” (take a risk)
• دل و جرئت داشتن (del-o jor’at dâshtan) “to have heart and courage”
• از ته دل (az tah-e del) “from the bottom of the heart”
• دل بستن (del bastan) “to bind one’s heart” (fall in love)
• دل کندن (del kandan) “to tear one’s heart away” (let go of attachment)

Cultural note

In Persian poetry, especially Hafez and Rumi, دل is the central organ of mystical and romantic experience. Saying کسی دلم را برد (someone took my heart) signals love. Saying دلم گرفت (my heart took, my heart shrank) signals melancholy. The whole emotional register of Persian conversation flows through this single word.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab