Ghazal 311 of Hafez (6 couplets), in the original Persian as on Ganjoor, with a transliteration, a plain English translation, the meanings of key words and the traditional fâl-e Hâfez reading.
Read it word by wordTake your own fâl
COUPLET 1
عاشقِ رویِ جوانی خوشِ نوخاسته‌اموز خدا دولتِ این غم به دعا خواسته‌ام
âshegh-e ru-ye javâni khosh-e nowkhâste-am / v-az khodâ dowlat-e in gham be do'â khâste-am
I am in love with the face of a lovely youth just come of age, and I have begged God in prayer for the good fortune of this sorrow.
COUPLET 2
عاشق و رِند و نظربازم و می‌گویم فاشتا بدانی که به چندین هنر آراسته‌ام
âshegh o rend o nazarbâzam o miguyam fâsh / tâ bedâni ke be chandin honar ârâste-am
I am a lover, a free spirit and a gazer at beauty, and I say it openly, so you may know how many talents adorn me.
COUPLET 3
شَرمَم از خرقهٔ آلودهٔ خود می‌آیدکه بر او وصله به صد شُعبده پیراسته‌ام
sharmam az kherghe-ye âlude-ye khod miâyad / ke bar u vasle be sad sho'bade pirâste-am
I am ashamed of my stained cloak, which I have patched and dressed up with a hundred tricks.
COUPLET 4
خوش بسوز از غَمَش ای شمع که اینک من نیزهم بدین کار کمربسته و برخاسته‌ام
khosh besuz az ghamash ey sham' ke inak man niz / ham bedin kâr kamar baste o barkhâste-am
Burn well with grief for the beloved, candle, for look, I too have girded myself and risen for this same work.
COUPLET 5
با چُنین حیرتم از دست بِشُد صرفهٔ کاردر غم افزوده‌ام آنچ از دل و جان کاسته‌ام
bâ chenin heyratam az dast beshod sarfe-ye kâr / dar gham afzude-am ânch az del o jân kâste-am
In such bewilderment I lost all sense of gain: whatever I took away from heart and soul, I have added to grief.
COUPLET 6
همچو حافظ به خرابات رَوَم جامه قبابو که در بَر کَشَد آن دلبرِ نوخاسته‌ام
hamcho Hâfez be kharâbât ravam jâme ghabâ / bu ke dar bar keshad ân delbar-e nowkhâste-am
Like Hafez I will go to the tavern with my garment torn open, hoping that young heart-stealer of mine will take me in an embrace.
What this fâl tells you
This fal is an honest confession: you know who you are and do not want to hide it behind a patched cloak. Tradition reads it as encouragement to drop pretense and pursue what your heart has chosen. Speak openly, give yourself fully to the task, like a candle that burns well, and warmth will come back to you.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: -e-am ("I have" / "I am"). qâfiye: -âst (nowkhâst, khâst, ârâst, pirâst, barkhâst, kâst).
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| âshegh | lover dictionary | |
| ru-ye | face of (ezafe) (چهره) dictionary | |
| javâni | youth; youthful dictionary | |
| khosh | lovely, pleasant dictionary | |
| وز | v-az | and from (= va az) (و از) |
| khodâ | God; khodâ râ = for God's sake dictionary | |
| dowlat | good fortune (classical sense) (اقبال) dictionary | |
| in | this dictionary | |
| gham | sorrow, grief dictionary | |
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| do'â | prayer, blessing dictionary | |
| khâste-am | I have asked for dictionary | |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| rend | free spirit, rogue who scorns hypocrisy dictionary | |
| می‌گویم | miguyam | I say, I talk dictionary |
| فاش | fâsh | open, revealed, public dictionary |
| tâ | to, until; so that dictionary | |
| bedâni | you know, understand dictionary | |
| چندین | chandin | so many dictionary |
| هنر | honar | skill, art dictionary |
| ârâste-am | I am adorned dictionary | |
| sharmam | my shame (sharmam miâyad = I am ashamed) dictionary | |
| kherghe | dervish's cloak, Sufi robe dictionary | |
| âlude | stained, polluted dictionary | |
| khod | own dictionary | |
| می‌آید | miâyad | comes dictionary |
| bar | on, upon dictionary | |
| u | him / her (Persian does not mark gender) dictionary | |
| وصله | vasle | patch dictionary |
| sad | hundred dictionary | |
| sho'bade | conjuring trick dictionary | |
| پیراسته‌ام | pirâste-am | I have trimmed, dressed up dictionary |
| besuz | burn! dictionary | |
| ghamash | its sorrow, his/her grief dictionary | |
| ey | O (vocative) dictionary | |
| sham' | candle dictionary | |
| inak | now, here I am (اکنون) dictionary | |
| من | man | I, me dictionary |
| نیز | niz | also dictionary |
| هم | ham | also, too dictionary |
| bedin | with this, in this (= be in) (با این) | |
| کار | kâr | work; affair, matter dictionary |
| barkhâste-am | I have risen dictionary | |
| bâ | with dictionary | |
| چنین | chenin | such, so dictionary |
| heyratam | my bewilderment dictionary | |
| dast | hand dictionary | |
| beshod | went; az dast shodan = to be lost (رفت) dictionary | |
| sarfe | advantage, profit dictionary | |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| afzude-am | I have added dictionary | |
| ânch | what, whatever (= ân che) (آنچه) | |
| del | heart dictionary | |
| jân | life, soul dictionary | |
| کاسته‌ام | kâste-am | I have taken away, reduced dictionary |
| همچو | hamcho | like (مثل) |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| ravam | I go dictionary | |
| jâme-ye | garment of (لباس) dictionary | |
| قبا | ghabâ | open robe; jâme ghabâ kardan = to tear one's garment open (in ecstasy) dictionary |
| bu | may it be; bu ke = in the hope that (باشد که) dictionary | |
| کشد | keshad | draws; dar bar keshidan = to embrace dictionary |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| delbar | heart-stealer, the beloved dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 311. Transliteration, translation, glosses and reading: Learn Persian Online.
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