What it means
همیشگی (hamishegi) is a Persian adjective and noun formed from همیشه (hamishe), meaning “always,” plus the native suffix -gi, which turns adverbs and adjectives into nouns or descriptors of quality. The full word means “permanent,” “habitual,” or “the usual thing.” It is entirely native Persian with no Arabic or other loanword component. You can use it as a straight adjective (کارِ همیشگی, the usual job) or as a standalone noun meaning “the usual” or “something permanent.” A close contrast is موقت (movaqqat), which is Arabic in origin and means “temporary.”
How to use it
- این کارِ همیشگیِ اونه. (in kâr-e hamishegi-ye une.) “That’s his usual thing / he always does this.”
- بذار بریم جای همیشگی. (bezâr berim jâ-ye hamishegi.) “Let’s go to our usual place.”
- مشکلِ همیشگیِ ماست. (moshkel-e hamishegi-ye mâste.) “It’s our permanent problem.”
- اون آدمِ همیشگیِ خودشه. (oun âdam-e hamishegi-ye khodesheh.) “He’s the same person he always is.”
Cultural note
Iranians often use همیشگی with a tone of fond resignation, the way one might say “same as always” in English. Phrases like “جای همیشگی” (our usual spot) carry warmth, invoking the reliability of a neighborhood tea house, a family table at a restaurant, or a bench in a park where friends have met for years. The word also appears in more serious contexts, such as “مشکلِ همیشگی” (the perpetual problem), to describe structural issues that never seem to change.