غم

What it means

غم (gham) means “sadness, grief, sorrow, melancholy.” Arabic loanword fully naturalized in Persian. B1 vocabulary, with deep poetic weight. Distinct from mere sadness, غم suggests a heavier, lingering grief, often unspoken and dignified.

How to use it

• غم نخور (gham nakhor) “Do not grieve”
• غم بزرگی است (gham-e bozorgi ast) “It is a great sorrow”
• پر از غم (por az gham) “full of sorrow”

Common pairings

• غم خوردن (gham khordan) “to grieve, mourn (literally to eat sorrow)”
• غمگین (ghamgin) “sad, sorrowful”
• غم‌انگیز (gham-angiz) “tragic, sorrowful”
• هم‌غم (ham-gham) “co-mourner, fellow griever”
• شادی و غم (shâdi-vo-gham) “joy and sorrow”

Cultural note

غم is the central emotion of Persian classical poetry, especially the غزل (ghazal) form. The mystic tradition treats غم as a teacher: “the wound is the place where the light enters.” The phrase غمت نباشد (ghamet nabâshad, “may you have no sorrow”) is a gentle, intimate Iranian blessing. غم خوردن (literally “to eat sorrow”) is a uniquely Persian metaphor for grieving inwardly.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Wiktionary