یاد

What it means

یاد (yâd) means memory, remembrance, or recollection. It is a pure Persian word with deep roots in Old and Middle Iranian, related to Avestan yadah and the shared sense of calling something to mind. In modern Persian یاد functions both as a standalone noun meaning memory or reminiscence, and as the first element in several high-frequency compound verbs. یاد گرفتن (yâd gereftan) means to learn, literally “to take into memory.” یاد دادن (yâd dâdan) means to teach, literally “to give into memory.” The colloquial form یادم میاد (yâdam miyâd) is the everyday way to say “I remember,” while یادم نمیاد (yâdam nemiyâd) means “I don’t remember” or “I can’t recall.”

How to use it

• یادم میاد اون روز (yâdam miyâd un ruz) “I remember that day.”
• فارسی یاد گرفتی؟ (fârsi yâd gerefti?) “Have you learned Persian?”
• بهم یاد بده (behem yâd bede) “Teach me.”
• به یاد مادرم افتادم (be yâd-e mâdaram oftâdam) “I was reminded of my mother.”

Cultural note

یاد and its compounds form the backbone of how Iranians talk about learning and memory in daily life. The phrase به یاد کسی بودن (be yâd-e kasi budan, to keep someone in one’s memory) is used both to say you are thinking of a living person and to commemorate someone who has passed away. Memorial phrases like یادش گرامی باد (yâd-ash gerâmi bâd, may his/her memory be honoured) appear on condolence posts and at anniversary ceremonies, making یاد a word that bridges learning vocabulary and the deeper terrain of love and loss in Persian.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab