What it means
خواننده (khânande) is the everyday Persian word for a singer. It is a native Persian agent noun formed from the verb خواندن (khândan), which carries two meanings: “to sing” and “to read.” Context tells you which sense is active. As a singer, a khânande is the central figure in Persian classical and pop music alike. A close related word is آوازخوان (âvâzkhân), which specifically means a classical vocalist and carries a more formal, elevated register.
How to use it
- اون خواننده خیلی معروفیه. (on khânande kheili ma’rufie.) “That singer is very famous.”
- خواننده مورد علاقهات کیه؟ (khânande-ye mored-e alâghe-at kie?) “Who is your favorite singer?”
- اون خواننده توی مراسم عروسی خوند. (on khânande tu-ye marâsem arussi khund.) “That singer performed at the wedding ceremony.”
- میخوام خواننده بشم. (mikhâm khânande besham.) “I want to become a singer.”
Cultural note
Persian classical music places the vocalist at the center of any performance. Legendary singers such as Mohammad-Reza Shajarian shaped the national definition of what a khânande can be, blending poetry by Hafez and Rumi with traditional modal structures called dastgâh. In contemporary Iranian pop, the word khânande is equally standard for any solo artist, male or female. Note that the same word also means “reader” in literary contexts, as in readers of a book, so a sentence like کتابخوان (ketâbkhân) extends the same root into a different domain.