What it means
نظر دادن (nazar dādan) means to give an opinion, to weigh in, to share your view on something. It is the verb form of نظر (nazar, opinion) plus the light verb دادن (dādan, to give). Iranians use it constantly: in meetings, after a film, around a meal, in family arguments. The phrase covers everything from a casual take to a formal critique.
The verb is neutral in register. You can use it with your closest friend or in a boardroom. The weight comes from how you frame the opinion, not from the verb itself.
Compound verb structure
Light verb construction: noun نظر (nazar) + verb دادن (dādan, to give). Persian builds thousands of verbs this way, pairing an Arabic or Persian noun with a small set of native light verbs (دادن, کردن, زدن, گرفتن, شدن, بودن). The noun stays fixed; the light verb takes all the tense, person, and mood marking.
Present: نظر میدهم (nazar mideham, I give an opinion), spoken نظر میدم (nazar midam). Past: نظر دادم (nazar dādam, I gave an opinion). Subjunctive: نظر بدهم (nazar bedaham), spoken نظر بدم (nazar bedam). Negation goes on the light verb: نظر نمیدم (nazar nemidam, I do not give an opinion).
How to use it
The thing you are giving an opinion about is marked with درباره (darbāre, about) or روی (ru, on). The person you are giving it to takes the preposition به (be, to).
lotfan darbāre-ye in tarh nazar bedid.
Please give your opinion on this proposal.
لطفاً درباره این طرح نظر بدید.
man tarjih midam nazar nadam.
I prefer not to give an opinion.
من ترجیح میدم نظر ندم.
hame be man nazar dādand vali tasmim bā khodam bud.
Everyone gave me their opinion but the decision was mine.
همه به من نظر دادند ولی تصمیم با خودم بود.
In our voice
Iranians give opinions readily, sometimes uninvited. The verb is so common because the culture is. Learning نظر دادن is learning how to participate; refusing to give one (with نظر نمیدم or نظری ندارم, nazari nadāram, I have no opinion) is a real move, often a polite way to step out of a charged conversation.
References
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