What it means
اونقدر (unqadr) is the colloquial counterpart to the more formal آنقدر (anqadr). Both mean “that much,” “so much,” or “to such a degree.” Like cheqadr, it is a compound: اون (un), the spoken colloquial form of the demonstrative “that,” combined with قدر (qadr), the Arabic-origin word for “measure” or “amount.” The formal written form آنقدر appears in literature and newspapers, but in daily conversation you will almost always hear unqadr. It typically appears before an adjective or verb to intensify it, similar to English “so” in “it was so good.”
How to use it
- اونقدر خوشحالم که نمیتونم بخوابم. (unqadr khoshhalam ke nemitunam bekhabam.) “I am so happy that I cannot sleep.”
- اونقدر گریه کرد که خسته شد. (unqadr gerye kard ke khaste shod.) “She cried so much that she got tired.”
- اونقدرا هم بد نبود. (unqadra ham bad nabud.) “It was not all that bad.”
- اونقدر صبر کردیم که دیگه کلافه شدیم. (unqadr sabr kardim ke dige kolafe shodim.) “We waited so long that we got fed up.”
Cultural note
The form اونقدرا (unqadra), with a final unstressed vowel, is a particularly colloquial variant that Iranians use to soften or downplay a statement, roughly equivalent to English “not all that much.” This softening or understatement is a common social habit in Persian conversation, allowing speakers to avoid coming across as overly critical. Learners who know unqadr will immediately sound more natural than those who stick only to its formal written counterpart.