امید

What it means

امید (omid) means hope, expectation of a good outcome. The adjective form omidvâr (hopeful) is used daily.

How to use it

• امیدوارم (omidvâram) “I hope so”
• به امید خدا (be omid-e khodâ) “with hope in God, God willing”
• امیدم را از دست دادم (omid-am râ az dast dâdam) “I lost hope”

Cultural note

Omid is one of the most popular Iranian boy and girl names (also Omidreza, Omid-Ali). The phrase be omid-e khodâ is the everyday closer for plans, hopes, and goodbyes, similar to inshallah but Persian-flavored. Older generations sign letters with this phrase.

Common pairings

• نومید (nâ-omid) “hopeless”
• روزنه امید (rowzane-ye omid) “a ray of hope”
• امید به آینده (omid be âyande) “hope for the future”

Etymology

Pure Persian, from Pahlavi ōmēd (hope, expectation). One of the words that survived the Arabic lexical influx mostly unchanged. Cognate with Old Iranian roots related to expecting and waiting.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab
• Wiktionary