نگاه

What it means

نگاه (negâh) is a pure Persian noun meaning a look, a glance, or a sustained gaze depending on context. On its own it names the act of looking; paired with کردن it becomes the light verb construction نگاه کردن (negâh kardan, to look), which is one of the most common verbs in everyday Persian. The word also carries a secondary meaning close to viewpoint or perspective in more abstract uses: از نگاه من (az negâh-e man, from my point of view). A synonym نگاه نکن (negâh nakon, don’t look) is one of the first negative commands children hear. There is a slightly more literary synonym دیدن (didan, to see), but negâh is specifically about the directed act of looking rather than the general experience of sight.

How to use it

• یه نگاه بنداز (ye negâh bendâz) “Take a look. / Have a glance.”
• به من نگاه کن (be man negâh kon) “Look at me.”
• نگاهش قشنگه (negâhash ghashange) “His/her gaze is beautiful.”
• یه نگاه دیگه بنداز (ye negâh-e dige bendâz) “Take another look.”

Cultural note

نگاه is one of the workhorses of Persian speech precisely because light verb constructions built on nouns are the engine of Persian vocabulary. Instead of learning a single verb for “to look,” Iranians combine the noun نگاه with the general verb کردن, a pattern repeated with dozens of action nouns. This means that once you know negâh, you also immediately have the verb نگاه کردن and the command نگاه کن. The word also appears in poetic and literary Persian with a weight of longing or intensity that the bare English gloss does not capture, making it a favourite in song lyrics and poetry.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab