What it means
ماده (mâdde), written with a tashdid on the d in careful Arabic script, means “matter,” “substance,” or “material.” It is an Arabic loanword from مادّة (mâddah), rooted in the Arabic root م-د-د conveying the sense of extension or supply. In physics it refers to anything that has mass and takes up space. In everyday Persian it also means a clause in a legal document or a subject on a list, so context matters. A useful contrast: جسم (jesm) often overlaps with ماده but tends to emphasize physical body or object rather than the concept of matter in general.
How to use it
- ماده میتونه به شکل جامد، مایع یا گاز باشه. (Mâdde mitune be shekl-e jâmed, mâye’ ya gaz bashe.) “Matter can be solid, liquid, or gas.”
- این مادهی شیمیایی خطرناکه، دست نزن. (In mâdde-ye shimiyayi khatarnâke, dast nazan.) “This chemical substance is dangerous, don’t touch it.”
- مادهی اول قرارداد رو بخون. (Mâdde-ye avval-e qarârdâd ro bokhun.) “Read the first clause of the contract.”
- مادهی تاریک هنوز خیلی ناشناختهست. (Mâdde-ye târik hanuz kheyli nâshenâkhte’st.) “Dark matter is still largely unknown.”
Cultural note
Arabic loanwords make up a very large portion of formal and scientific Persian vocabulary, reflecting centuries of Islamic scholarship conducted in Arabic. ماده (mâdde) in the sense of “matter” became standard in Persian physics and chemistry texts during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The identical spelling ماده pronounced mâde (without the doubled d) means “female” in Persian and is a native Persian word, a pair that trips up learners reading without vowel marks. In Persian-medium science education, teachers typically clarify the stress and the geminate consonant to prevent confusion.