پیغام

What it means

پیغام (peygham) means message, a communication passed from one person to another. The word is pure Persian, related to پیام (payâm), which carries the same meaning and is more common in formal and written registers. پیغام is the colloquial and spoken form, the one you hear in everyday conversation. A close synonym is پیام (payâm), which is preferred in formal writing, news contexts, and the name of the messaging app پیام‌رسان. In everyday speech, پیغام گذاشتن (peygham gozâshtan) means to leave a message, as on a phone or with a person, پیغام دادن (peygham dâdan) means to send a message, and پیغام گرفتن (peygham gereftan) means to receive or take a message.

How to use it

• یه پیغام گذاشتم براش (ye peygham gozâshtam barâsh) “I left a message for him/her.”
• پیغامی داری؟ (peyghammi dâri?) “Do you have a message? / Is there a message?”
• پیغامتو گرفتم (peyghamet-o gereftam) “I got your message.”
• بهش پیغام بده که زنگ بزنه (behesh peygham bede ke zang bezane) “Send him/her a message to call.”

Cultural note

Before smartphones, پیغام گذاشتن meant leaving a verbal message with whoever answered the phone, a skill Iranian families practiced constantly because it was common to call a household and reach a parent or sibling who then had to remember and relay the message accurately. The phrase «پیغام رساندن» (peygham resândan, delivering a message) was also used figuratively for conveying condolences or greetings between families, a socially important act. Today the word has adapted naturally to digital messaging: Iranians say «یه پیغام بده» to mean send a text or voice note on WhatsApp just as easily as they mean a spoken relay.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab