59 Most Beautiful Persian Quotes on Love to Warm Your Soul
English is a language of precision. It is the language of commerce, air traffic control, and contracts. But when the day is done and the heart feels heavy-or light enough to float-we often find that English needs a little help. That is when we turn to Farsi.
There is a reason why Persian quotes on love have survived centuries of war, revolution, and cultural shifts. In the Persian worldview, love (or Eshgh) isn't just an emotion you feel; it is an element you exist within, like air or water. Whether it is the divine longing of Rumi or the earthly, sensual yearning of Forough Farrokhzad, these words do not just describe feelings-they resurrect them.
We have curated this collection not just as a list, but as a resource. Below, you will find the original Farsi script (so you can see the art), the phonetic pronunciation (so you can speak the music), and the English translation.
From the 13th-century taverns of Shiraz to the modern streets of Tehran, let’s explore the language where the heart resides.
Why Persian Love Poetry Hits Differently
In Western culture, we often separate romantic love from spiritual devotion. In Persian literature, those lines are beautifully blurred. When a poet like Hafez speaks of the "Beloved," he might be talking about a lover who just walked out the door, or he might be speaking to the Divine.
This ambiguity is intentional. It forces the reader to engage with the text, to pour their own longing into the vessel of the poem. The aesthetic of the language itself-often written in the flowing Nastaliq calligraphy-adds another layer of depth. It is visual art matching verbal mastery.
If you have appreciated the intensity of quotes about love in Russian, you will find a similar soulfulness here, but with a softer, warmer edge.
The Master of Divine Longing: Molana Rumi
Rumi is perhaps the most famous poet in the world, yet so often we only see watered-down translations. The real power of Rumi lies in his desperation-the idea that the soul is in exile, longing to return to its source through the vehicle of love.
1. Farsi: هر چیز که در جستن آنی، آنی Pronunciation: Har chiz ke dar jostan-e āni, āni. English: "Whatever you are looking for, you are that thing."
2. Farsi: ای که میپرسی نشان عشق چیست؟ عشق چیزی جز ظهور مهر نیست Pronunciation: Ey ke miporsi neshān-e eshgh chist? Eshgh chizi joz zohoor-e mehr nist. English: "O you who ask, what is the sign of love? Love is nothing but the manifestation of kindness."
3. Farsi: عشق آمد و خاکریزم را در هم کوبید Pronunciation: Eshgh āmad o khākrizam rā dar ham koobid. English: "Love came and shattered my defenses."
4. Farsi: عاشقی پیداست از زاری دل Pronunciation: Āsheghi peydāst az zāri-ye del. English: "Being in love is evident from the weeping of the heart."
5. Farsi: جان من و جان تو را هر دو به هم دوخت قضا Pronunciation: Jān-e man o jān-e to rā har do be ham dookht ghazā. English: "Fate has stitched your soul and my soul together."
6. Farsi: بی تو، بسر نمیشود Pronunciation: Bi to, be sar nemishavad. English: "Without you, existence is impossible." (Literally: Without you, it cannot be seen through to the end).
7. Farsi: تو جان جان جهانی Pronunciation: To jān-e jān-e jahāni. English: "You are the soul of the soul of the universe."
8. Farsi: در نگنجد عشق در گفت و شنید Pronunciation: Dar nagonjad eshgh dar goft o shenid. English: "Love cannot be contained in speaking and listening."
9. Farsi: خنک آن قماربازی که بباخت آن چه بودش Pronunciation: Khonak ān ghomārbāzi ke bebākht ān che boodash. English: "Blessed is the gambler who lost everything he had (for love)."
10. Farsi: نیست نشان زندگی تا نرسد نشان تو Pronunciation: Nist neshān-e zendegi tā naresad neshān-e to. English: "There is no sign of life until your sign arrives."
11. Farsi: خاموشم و در خروش Pronunciation: Khāmoosham o dar khoroosh. English: "I am silent, yet in turmoil."
12. Farsi: آفتاب آمد دلیل آفتاب Pronunciation: Āftāb āmad dalil-e āftāb. English: "The sun is the proof of the sun." (Meaning: Love needs no explanation; it is its own proof).
The Keeper of Secrets: Hafez
If Rumi is the fire, Hafez is the wine. His poetry deals with the intoxication of the present moment. He reminds us that life is fleeting, so we must love now. His work carries a wisdom that parallels the ancients found in 25 Greek quotes love, emphasizing the tragedy and beauty of human connection.
13. Farsi: اگر آن ترک شیرازی به دست آرد دل ما را Pronunciation: Agar ān tork-e Shirāzi be dast ārad del-e mā rā. English: "If that beauty of Shiraz would take my heart in hand…" (The start of his most famous poem on offering everything for love).
14. Farsi: اوقات خوش آن بود که با دوست به سر رفت Pronunciation: Oghāt-e khosh ān bood ke bā doost be sar raft. English: "The happy times were those spent with the Beloved."
15. Farsi: در بیابان گر به شوق کعبه خواهی زد قدم Pronunciation: Dar biyābān gar be shogh-e Ka'be khāhi zad ghadam. English: "If you step into the desert with the longing for the sanctuary, do not fear the thorns."
16. Farsi: هرگز نمیرد آن که دلش زنده شد به عشق Pronunciation: Hargez namirad ān ke delash zende shod be eshgh. English: "He whose heart has been brought to life by love shall never die."
17. Farsi: زلف بر باد مده تا ندهی بر بادم Pronunciation: Zolf bar bād madeh tā nadahi bar bādam. English: "Do not cast your hair to the wind, lest you cast me to the wind."
18. Farsi: میان عاشق و معشوق هیچ حائل نیست Pronunciation: Miyān-e āshegh o mashoogh hich hā'el nist. English: "There is no barrier between the lover and the Beloved."
19. Farsi: گفتم غم تو دارم، گفتا غمت سر آید Pronunciation: Goftam gham-e to dāram, goftā ghamat sar āyad. English: "I said, 'I have sorrow because of you.' He said, 'Your sorrow will end.'"
20. Farsi: مرا عهدیست با جانان Pronunciation: Marā ahdist bā jānān. English: "I have a covenant with the Beloved."
The Poet of Human Connection: Saadi
Saadi creates a bridge between the mystical and the practical. He is the poet of ethics, travel, and the reality of human relationships.
21. Farsi: بنی آدم اعضای یکدیگرند Pronunciation: Bani ādam a'zā-ye yekdigarand. English: "Human beings are members of a whole." (On the oneness of humanity).
22. Farsi: عشق بازی کار بازی نیست Pronunciation: Eshgh bāzi kār-e bāzi nist. English: "Playing with love is not a game for children."
23. Farsi: هر که دلارام دید از دلش آرام رفت Pronunciation: Har ke delārām did az delash ārām raft. English: "Whoever sees the Beloved loses peace from their heart."
24. Farsi: دیدار تو حل مشکلات است Pronunciation: Didār-e to hall-e moshkelāt ast. English: "Seeing you is the solution to all problems."
25. Farsi: سرمست ز عشق Pronunciation: Sarmast ze eshgh. English: "Intoxicated by love."
26. Farsi: دوست آن باشد که گیرد دست دوست Pronunciation: Doost ān bāshad ke girad dast-e doost. English: "A friend is one who takes the hand of a friend in times of distress."
27. Farsi: گر برود جان ما در طلب وصل دوست Pronunciation: Gar beravad jān-e mā dar talab-e vasl-e doost. English: "If our lives are lost in the pursuit of the Beloved's union, it is worth it."
28. Farsi: سلسله موی دوست حلقه دام بلاست Pronunciation: Selsele-ye mooy-e doost halghe-ye dām-e balāst. English: "The chain of the Beloved's hair is the trap of sweet calamity."
Modern Voices: Love in the 20th Century
Persian poetry did not end in the Middle Ages. Modern poets like Forough Farrokhzad and Ahmad Shamlou brought a raw, rebellious honesty to Persian quotes on love, moving away from abstract mysticism toward tangible, human passion.
Forough Farrokhzad: The Rebel Heart
29. Farsi: من از نهایت شب حرف میزنم Pronunciation: Man az nahāyat-e shab harf mizanam. English: "I speak from the deep end of the night."
30. Farsi: دوستت دارم، و این تنها حرف من است Pronunciation: Doostat dāram, va in tanhā harf-e man ast. English: "I love you, and this is my only statement."
31. Farsi: دستهایم را در باغچه میکارم Pronunciation: Dasthāyam rā dar bāghche mikāram. English: "I will plant my hands in the garden, I know I will grow." (On rebirth through love).
32. Farsi: پرواز را به خاطر بسپار، پرنده مردنیست Pronunciation: Parvāz rā be khāter bespār, parande mordani-st. English: "Remember the flight; the bird is mortal."
33. Farsi: آفتاب میشود Pronunciation: Āftāb mishavad. English: "It will become sunny." (A promise of hope).
Ahmad Shamlou: Love as Sanctuary
34. Farsi: آیدا، فسخ عزیمت جاودانه بود Pronunciation: Aidā, faskh-e azimat-e jāvedāne bood. English: "Aida, you were the cancellation of my eternal departure." (Written for his wife, Aida).
35. Farsi: دهانت را میبویند مبادا که گفته باشی دوستت دارم Pronunciation: Dahānat rā mibooyand mabādā ke gofte bāshi doostat dāram. English: "They smell your breath, lest you have said: I love you."
36. Farsi: کوهها با هماند و تنهایند Pronunciation: Kooh-hā bā hamand o tanhāyand. English: "Mountains are together, and yet they are alone."
37. Farsi: زیباترین معمای جهان Pronunciation: Zibātarin mo'ammā-ye jahān. English: "The most beautiful riddle in the world."
Short & Sweet: Persian Phrases for Tattoos
Sometimes less is more. If you are looking for Nastaliq inspiration for a tattoo or a bio, these short phrases carry massive weight. Their connection to the natural world echoes the simplicity found in Hawaiian quotes about love.
38. Farsi: جان و دل Pronunciation: Jān o del English: "Soul and heart."
39. Farsi: همنفس Pronunciation: Ham-nafas English: "Breath companion" (Soulmate).
40. Farsi: عشق ابدی Pronunciation: Eshgh-e abadi English: "Eternal love."
41. Farsi: نور چشمانم Pronunciation: Noor-e cheshmānam English: "Light of my eyes."
42. Farsi: آرامش جان Pronunciation: Ārāmesh-e jān English: "Peace of the soul."
43. Farsi: دیوانه تو Pronunciation: Divāne-ye to English: "Crazy for you."
44. Farsi: با من بمان Pronunciation: Bā man bemān English: "Stay with me."
45. Farsi: یکی بود یکی نبود Pronunciation: Yeki bood yeki nabood English: "One was there, one was not." (The classic start to Persian fairy tales-implying a story just beginning).
Universal Echoes: The Architecture of Resilience
While the Persians mastered the poetry of the soul, the spirit of resilience is universal. The following quotes are not Persian in origin, but they mirror the Sufi mindset-the idea that love and suffering are intertwined, and that breaking is often a precursor to becoming whole.
On Finding Strength in the Broken Places
46. "The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places." - Ernest Hemingway
47. "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer." - Albert Camus
48. "It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." - Sir Edmund Hillary
49. "Do not survive the world. Survive what the world tries to do to you." - Shane Koyczan
50. "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." - E.E. Cummings
51. "I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become." - Carl Jung
On the Quiet Power of Attention
52. "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." - Alan Watts
53. "May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears." - Nelson Mandela
54. "Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." - Mary Oliver
55. "Everything is a once-in-a-lifetime experience." - James Altucher
56. "The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatical experience." - Emily Dickinson
57. "To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God." - Timothy Keller
58. "We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend." - Robert Louis Stevenson
59. "Carry each other's dreams. Sometimes they are too heavy to carry alone." - Unknown
Common Questions About Persian Love Quotes
Q: Why do so many Persian quotes mention wine and intoxication? A: In Persian mysticism (Sufism), "wine" is often a metaphor for divine love, and "intoxication" represents the state of being overwhelmed by spiritual ecstasy. It is rarely about literal alcohol; it is about losing your ego in the presence of the Beloved.
Q: Is there a difference between "Farsi" and "Persian"? A: Generally, they refer to the same language. "Persian" is the English name for the language, while "Farsi" is the native name (how Iranians refer to it). When searching for Persian quotes on love, you can use the terms interchangeably.
Q: How do I say "I love you" in Farsi? A: The most common phrase is Doostat Dāram (Informal) or Doostat Dāram (Formal). For a more passionate declaration, you might say Asheghetam (I am in love with you).
Q: Are these quotes suitable for wedding vows? A: Absolutely. Quotes from Rumi (like #5) or Saadi (like #21) are incredibly popular in weddings because they focus on unity, destiny, and the spiritual bond between two people, rather than just romantic infatuation.
Conclusion: Carrying the Fire
Whether it is the 13th-century wisdom of Rumi or the modern resilience of Camus, the message remains constant: stay open. Love is not a passive act; it is a brave decision to let the "soul stand ajar."
We hope these Persian quotes on love have given you the words you needed, whether for a tattoo, a letter, or simply to understand your own heart a little better.
Which quote resonated with you the most? Let us know in the comments below.
