Intermediate course · Intermediate lesson 8
Persian has a surprisingly small number of simple verbs. Instead, it builds most of its everyday actions by pairing a noun or adjective with a short, common verb such as kardan (to do) or zadan (to hit). These Persian compound verbs are everywhere: you have already used kâr kardan, negah dâshtan, zang zadan and gom kardan.
This lesson explains how compound verbs behave and gives you more than thirty of the most useful ones, grouped by their verb. Learn them as single units, the way you would learn “take off” or “give up” in English.
How compound verbs work
Grammar note: Only the verb part changes. All the prefixes and endings go on it, and the first part stays the same: کار می‌کنم kâr mikonam (I work), کار نمی‌کنم kâr nemikonam (I don’t work), کار کردم kâr kardam (I worked). In the subjunctive and the imperative, compound verbs usually drop be-: bâyad kâr konam, sabr konid.
An object with ro comes before the whole compound: چراغ رو خاموش کن cherâgh ro khâmush kon (turn the light off). A short object ending such as -esh (it) attaches to the first part: روشنش کن roshanesh kon (turn it on). And many compounds need a preposition for the person involved: به سارا زنگ زدم be Sârâ zang zadam (I rang Sara), با علی حرف زدم bâ Ali harf zadam (I talked to Ali).
With kardan (to do, make)
The biggest group. Kardan compounds are usually actions that someone does to something.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| کار کردن | kâr kardan | to work; (of a machine) to function |
| باز کردن | bâz kardan | to open (something) |
| روشن کردن | rowshan kardan | to turn on, light |
| خاموش کردن | khâmush kardan | to turn off |
| کمک کردن | komak kardan | to help |
| صبر کردن | sabr kardan | to wait |
| گم کردن | gom kardan | to lose |
| پیدا کردن | peydâ kardan | to find |
| عوض کردن | avaz kardan | to change |
| فکر کردن | fekr kardan | to think |
| زندگی کردن | zendegi kardan | to live |
| حساب کردن | hesâb kardan | to pay (the bill), settle up |
| شروع کردن | shoru’ kardan | to begin |
| سعی کردن | sa’y kardan | to try |
Two you will hear daily: فکر می‌کنم fekr mikonam (I think), and in restaurants من حساب می‌کنم man hesâb mikonam (I’ll get this).
With shodan (to become)
Many kardan verbs have a shodan partner for things that happen by themselves or are done to the subject. Compare درو باز کردم daro bâz kardam (I opened the door) with مغازه ساعت نه باز می‌شه maghâze sâ’at-e noh bâz mishe (the shop opens at nine).
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| باز شدن | bâz shodan | to open (by itself) |
| بسته شدن | baste shodan | to close (by itself) |
| تموم شدن | tamum shodan (written: tamâm shodan) | to finish, run out |
| خسته شدن | khaste shodan | to get tired |
| گم شدن | gom shodan | to get lost |
| پیاده شدن | piâde shodan | to get out (of a vehicle) |
| سوار شدن | savâr shodan | to get on, get in |
| متوجه شدن | motevajjeh shodan | to understand, notice |
| مزاحم شدن | mozâhem shodan | to bother, disturb |
You know some of these already: key bâz mishe?, piâde misham and motevajjeh nashodam. Now you can see how they are built.
With zadan (to hit)
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| زنگ زدن | zang zadan | to ring, phone |
| حرف زدن | harf zadan | to talk, speak |
| قدم زدن | ghadam zadan | to go for a walk, stroll |
| حدس زدن | hads zadan | to guess |
| سر زدن | sar zadan | to drop in on (someone) |
With dâdan (to give)
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| سفارش دادن | sefâresh dâdan | to order |
| گوش دادن | gush dâdan | to listen |
| نشون دادن | neshun dâdan (written: neshân dâdan) | to show |
| جواب دادن | javâb dâdan | to answer |
| تخفیف دادن | takhfif dâdan | to give a discount |
With gereftan (to take)
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| یاد گرفتن | yâd gereftan | to learn |
| تصمیم گرفتن | tasmim gereftan | to decide |
| عکس گرفتن | aks gereftan | to take a photo |
| دوش گرفتن | dush gereftan | to have a shower |
| تاکسی گرفتن | tâksi gereftan | to get a taxi |
With dâshtan (to have)
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| دوست داشتن | dust dâshtan | to like, love |
| نگه داشتن | negah dâshtan | to stop (a car); to keep |
| برداشتن | bardâshtan | to pick up, take |
| احتیاج داشتن | ehtiâj dâshtan | to need |
Where dâshtan keeps its meaning of “have”, its compounds follow the rule for dâshtan itself: no mi- in the present. So it is دوست دارم dust dâram (I like), دوست ندارم dust nadâram (I don’t like) and ehtiâj dâram (I need), never dust midâram. Two common exceptions do take mi-: نگه می‌دارم negah midâram (I stop; I keep), and bardâshtan, where bar is a prefix: برمی‌دارم barmidâram (I take).
Dialogue: no hot water
Kate’s water heater has stopped working. She rings her building manager, Mr Jalali.
Kate: الو، سلام آقای جلالی. ببخشید مزاحم شدم.
Alo, salâm âghâ-ye Jalâli. Bebakhshid mozâhem shodam.
Hello, Mr Jalali. Sorry to bother you.
Âghâ-ye Jalâli: سلام، خواهش می‌کنم. بفرمایید.
Salâm, khâhesh mikonam. Befarmâid.
Hello, not at all. Go ahead.
Kate: آبگرمکن کار نمی‌کنه. از دیشب آب گرم نداریم.
Âbgarmkon kâr nemikone. Az dishab âb-e garm nadârim.
The water heater isn’t working. We haven’t had hot water since last night.
Âghâ-ye Jalâli: خاموش شده؟
Khâmush shode?
Has it gone out?
Kate: فکر می‌کنم. سعی کردم روشنش کنم، ولی نشد.
Fekr mikonam. Sa’y kardam roshanesh konam, vali nashod.
I think so. I tried to light it, but it didn’t work.
Âghâ-ye Jalâli: باشه، یه ساعت دیگه یه تعمیرکار می‌فرستم.
Bâshe, ye sâ’at-e dige ye ta’mirkâr miferestam.
OK, I’ll send a repairman in an hour.
Kate: خیلی ممنون. من تا ساعت پنج خونه‌م.
Kheyli mamnun. Man tâ sâ’at-e panj khunam.
Thanks very much. I’m at home until five.
Âghâ-ye Jalâli: اگه دیر شد، بهتون زنگ می‌زنم.
Age dir shod, behetun zang mizanam.
If he’s running late, I’ll ring you.
Kate: دستتون درد نکنه.
Dastetun dard nakone.
Thank you so much.
New words: الو alo (hello, on the phone), آبگرمکن âbgarmkon (water heater), نشد nashod (it didn’t work out), تعمیرکار ta’mirkâr (repairman), می‌فرستم miferestam (I’ll send) and اگه age (if; written: agar). Count the compound verbs: there are ten in nine lines, from mozâhem shodam to dard nakone.
Tehran tip: Most Tehran apartment blocks have a مدیر ساختمان modir-e sâkhtemân (building manager), often a resident, who organises repairs and collects the monthly service charge. Bebakhshid mozâhem shodam is the standard polite opening whenever you ring someone with a request.
Practise
- Say “I work in Tehran” and “I don’t work on Fridays”.
- Ask a taxi driver to turn the radio off, politely (râdio).
- Choose kardan or shodan: (a) Maghâze sâ’at-e dah baste … (b) Kelidamo gom … (I lost my key).
- Say “I’m learning Persian”.
- Say “I like Persian music” (musighi-ye Irâni).
- Tell your friend “I’ll ring you tomorrow”.
- Why is dust midâram wrong?
- At a restaurant, insist that you’ll pay.
Show answers
- تهران کار می‌کنم Tehrân kâr mikonam; جمعه‌ها کار نمی‌کنم Jom’ehâ kâr nemikonam.
- می‌شه رادیو رو خاموش کنید؟ Mishe râdio ro khâmush konid?
- (a) baste mishe, the shop closes by itself. (b) gom kardam, I lost it.
- فارسی یاد می‌گیرم Fârsi yâd migiram.
- موسیقی ایرانی رو دوست دارم Musighi-ye Irâni ro dust dâram.
- فردا بهت زنگ می‌زنم Fardâ behet zang mizanam.
- Dust dâshtan, like dâshtan itself, takes no mi- in the present: dust dâram.
- من حساب می‌کنم Man hesâb mikonam.
Flashcards
Test yourself
Summary
- Compound verbs pair a noun or adjective with a light verb such as kardan, shodan, zadan, dâdan, gereftan or dâshtan.
- Only the verb part takes prefixes and endings: kâr nemikonam; the subjunctive and imperative usually drop be-.
- kardan does something to something; its shodan partner happens by itself: bâz kardan / bâz shodan.
- Most dâshtan compounds take no mi-: dust dâram (but negah midâram).
- Learn each compound as a single word, with any preposition it needs.