What it means
صبور (sabur) means patient or long-suffering. The word comes from Arabic, built on the root ص-ب-ر (s-b-r), the same root that gives us صبر (sabr, patience). The Arabic fa’ul pattern makes صبور an intensive form, meaning someone who is deeply and consistently patient, not just momentarily tolerant. In Persian it is used as an adjective to describe people who endure hardship, waiting, or difficulty without complaint. The opposite is بیصبر (bisabr, impatient) or عجول (ajul, hasty).
How to use it
- خیلی صبور باش، نتیجه میگیری. (kheyli sabur bâsh, natije migiri.) “Be very patient, you will get results.”
- مادرم زن صبوریه. (mâdaram zan-e saburie.) “My mother is a patient woman.”
- باید صبور بود تو این کار. (bâyad sabur bud tu in kâr.) “You have to be patient in this work.”
- اون خیلی صبورتر از منه وقتی کارا طول میکشه. (un kheyli saburtar az mane vaghti kârâ tul mikeshe.) “She is much more patient than me when things take time.”
Cultural note
Patience, صبر, holds a central place in Persian Islamic and literary tradition. In Sufi poetry, صبر is not mere passivity but an active spiritual discipline: the ability to endure and trust the process of life without forcing outcomes. Sa’di’s Golestan and Rumi’s Masnavi both return repeatedly to the virtue of صبر as a mark of wisdom and inner strength. In everyday life, telling someone صبور باش (be patient) is both practical advice and a kind of moral encouragement, carrying the weight of this deep cultural tradition.