نگران

What it means

نگران (negarân) means “worried” or “anxious.” It usually pairs with budan (to be) or shodan (to become). Negarân-am means “I am worried.”

How to use it

• نگرانتم (negarânetam) “I am worried about you”
• نگران نباش (negarân nabâsh) “don’t worry”
• مادرم خیلی نگران شد (mâdaram kheyli negarân shod) “My mother got really worried”

Position in sentence and paradigm comparisons

• Predicate adjective with budan: من نگرانم (man negarân-am) “I am worried”
• With the preposition az: نگران از آینده (negarân az âyande) “worried about the future”
• Compare with دلواپس (delvâpas), a softer worry that comes from the heart, more poetic and used for loved ones at a distance
• Compare with مضطرب (moztareb), a clinical anxious, closer to “agitated”

Cultural note

Negarân nabâsh is the verbal hug of Iranian phone calls. Mothers say it twice in a row before hanging up, even if you only went to buy bread. It is half reassurance, half ritual.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab