What it means
گاز دادن (gâz dâdan) means to press the accelerator or to speed up a vehicle. The first part, گاز (gâz), is a loanword borrowed into Persian from French “gaz,” referring to gas or fuel. It is paired with دادن (dâdan), the native Persian verb meaning “to give,” forming the colloquial compound “to give gas.” In everyday speech, Iranians also use گاز گرفتن (gâz gereftan, “to take gas”) with the same meaning. The opposite is ترمز کردن (tormoz kardan, to brake).
How to use it
- گاز بده وگرنه دیر میرسیم. (gâz bede vagarna dir miresim.) “Hit the gas or we’ll be late.”
- تو اتوبان خیلی گاز میداد. (to otobân kheyli gâz midâd.) “He was really stepping on the gas on the highway.”
- گاز نده، جلو چراغ قرمزه. (gâz nade, jelo cherâgh ghermeze.) “Don’t accelerate, the light ahead is red.”
- یه کم گاز بده، ماشینا دارن رد میشن. (ye kam gâz bede, mâshinâ dâran rad mishan.) “Give it a little gas, the cars are passing us.”
Cultural note
In Iranian driving culture, گاز دادن is one of the most frequently heard commands in any car. Tehran’s notoriously fast-paced traffic means drivers often urge each other with گاز بده (gâz bede, “step on it”) the moment a light turns green. The colloquial pairing of a French loanword with a native Persian verb is typical of how modern Persian absorbs technical vocabulary.