What it means
حامله (hâmele) means pregnant, and it comes from Arabic, derived from the root ح-م-ل (h-m-l), meaning to carry or bear a load. It is among the most common everyday words for pregnancy in spoken Persian across Iran, Afghanistan, and the diaspora. A close alternative is باردار (bârdâr), which is pure Persian and equally neutral in register. Both are widely used. حامله tends to appear slightly more in casual speech, while باردار appears frequently in written and medical contexts, though the boundary is soft. When describing someone, you say او حاملهست (u hâmele-st), meaning she is pregnant.
How to use it
- مادرم وقتی حامله بود خیلی خوشحال بود. (mâdaram vaghti hâmele bud kheyli khoshhâl bud.) “My mother was very happy when she was pregnant.”
- دکتر گفت حاملهام. (doktor goft hâmele-am.) “The doctor said I am pregnant.”
- حامله بودن توی گرما سخته. (hâmele budan tu-ye garmâ sakhte.) “Being pregnant in the heat is hard.”
- دوستم سه ماهه حاملهست. (dustam se mâhe hâmele-st.) “My friend is three months pregnant.”
Cultural note
Announcing a pregnancy in Iranian culture often follows a traditional caution: many families prefer not to share the news widely in the first trimester, partly from superstition around the evil eye (چشمزخم, cheshm-zakhm) and partly from practical caution. The word حامله is used freely within the family, but public announcements tend to wait until the pregnancy is more secure. In Afghanistan and among Afghan Persian (Dari) speakers, حامله is also the dominant term.