غصه

What it means

غصه (ghosse) means “sorrow,” “grief,” or “heavy worry.” It describes a weight on the chest, a sadness that lingers. Lighter than تَقدیر-level grief but heavier than ordinary غم.

How to use it

• غصه نخور (ghosse nakhor) “don’t worry, don’t be sad”
• غصه‌ی بچه‌هاش رو می‌خوره (ghosse-ye bachche-hâsh-o mikhore) “she frets over her kids”
• دلم پر از غصه‌ست (delam por az ghosse-st) “my heart is full of sorrow”

Common pairings

• غصه خوردن (ghosse khordan) literally “to eat sorrow,” meaning “to fret, to worry oneself sick”
• غم و غصه (gham-o-ghosse) “grief and sorrow” (set phrase)
• غصه‌دار (ghossedâr) “sorrowful, downcast”

Cultural note

غصه نخور is one of the most common phrases in Persian, said by mothers, friends, taxi drivers, anyone consoling anyone. The verb غصه خوردن (“to eat sorrow”) frames worry as something physically consumed, in line with the Persian tendency to locate emotion in the body and the heart.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab