What it means
پشیمان (pashimân) means regretful or repentant. It is a native Persian adjective with roots in Middle Persian pašēmān, and the presence of پ (p), a sound that does not exist in Arabic, confirms its Persian origin. The word describes the feeling of wishing you had done something differently, whether over a small mistake or a serious wrong. A close related noun is پشیمانی (pashimâni), regret or repentance.
How to use it
- از کارم خیلی پشیمونم. (az kâram kheyli pashimunam) “I really regret what I did.”
- بعداً پشیمون میشی. (ba’dan pashimoon mishy) “You’ll regret it later.”
- پشیمون نیستم که رفتم. (pashimoon nistam ke raftam) “I don’t regret that I went.”
- گفت که پشیمونه و معذرتخواهی کرد. (goft ke pashimoone o ma’zerat-khâhi kard) “He said he was sorry and apologized.”
Cultural note
Expressing پشیمانی (pashimâni) openly is considered a sign of honesty and moral seriousness in Persian culture. There is no stigma in admitting regret, and doing so can actually restore trust in a relationship. The word appears in everyday conversation, in literature, and in religious speech, where it often shades into the concept of توبه (tobe), repentance, without being identical to it.