What it means
گذاشتن (gozâshtan) means “to put,” “to place,” or “to let.” It is a foundational pure Persian verb whose present stem is گذار (gozâr). The three core senses are closely related: placing an object somewhere (بذارش رو میز, put it on the table), allowing something to happen (بذار بره, let him go), and, in some constructions, leaving something behind. Its colloquial contracted form بذار (bezâr) is one of the most frequent single words in everyday spoken Persian. A near synonym for the permissive sense is اجازه دادن (ejâze dâdan, to give permission), which is more formal.
How to use it
- کیفتو بذار اینجا. (Kifato bezâr injâ.) “Put your bag here.”
- بذار فکر کنم. (Bezâr fekr konam.) “Let me think.”
- غذا رو رو گاز گذاشتم. (Ghazâ ro ru gâz gozâshtam.) “I put the food on the stove.”
- نذاشتن بریم. (Nazâshtan berim.) “They didn’t let us go.”
Cultural note
The contracted spoken form بذار (bezâr) is so common that it functions almost as a discourse particle in Persian conversation, often softening requests or introducing suggestions. The phrase بذار ببینیم (bezâr bebinim, let’s see) is used constantly to signal a pause for consideration or a moment of reflection. Because گذاشتن covers both physical placement and granting of permission, mastering it early unlocks a large portion of everyday Persian interaction. The verb also appears in many set phrases, such as گذاشت و رفت (gozâsht-o raft, he left it and walked away), used figuratively to mean someone abandoned a situation.