What it means
رأی دادن (ra’y dâdan) is the standard Persian verb meaning “to vote.” It is a compound verb formed from two distinct origins: رأی (ra’y), an Arabic loanword meaning vote or opinion, combined with دادن (dâdan), the native Persian verb meaning to give. This Arabic-plus-Persian construction is extremely common in Persian, where a borrowed noun is paired with a light verb like دادن, کردن, or شدن to create a new verb. The compound literally means “to give a vote.” In everyday and formal speech it covers voting in elections, casting a ballot, and also voting in a committee or council.
How to use it
- امروز رأی دادم. (Emruz ra’y dâdam.) “I voted today.”
- همه شهروندان حق دارند رأی بدهند. (Hame-ye shahrvandân haqq dârand ra’y bedahand.) “All citizens have the right to vote.”
- به کدام نامزد رأی دادی؟ (Be kodâm nâmzad ra’y dâdi?) “Which candidate did you vote for?”
- هیئت مدیره به پیشنهاد رأی داد. (Hey’at-e modire be pishnahâd ra’y dâd.) “The board voted on the proposal.”
Cultural note
رأی دادن is the phrase Iranians use when discussing elections, and election days are widely called روز رأیگیری (ruz-e ra’y-giri), the day of vote-collecting. Participation rates in Iranian elections are politically significant: high turnout is often cited by the government as a sign of legitimacy, while calls to boycott have been a recurring form of civic protest. The phrase appears in both formal news reporting and everyday conversation without variation.