Common Persian verbs to learn first

A handful of verbs do most of the work in everyday Persian. Learn these first and you can build real sentences fast.

Some verbs come up constantly: raftan رفتن (to go), oomadan اومدن (to come), khordan خوردن (to eat), didan دیدن (to see), and goftan گفتن (to say).

The everyday essentials

Add dashtan داشتن (to have), kardan کردن (to do), khastan خواستن (to want), dadan دادن (to give), and budan بودن (to be), and you have ten verbs that carry most conversations.

Present tense, the colloquial way

Spoken Persian usually adds mi- to a present stem and a personal ending. From raftan: miram (I go), miri (you go), mire (he/she goes), mirim (we go), mirin (you all go), miran (they go).

Compound verbs are everywhere

Persian builds many verbs by pairing a word with kardan (to do) or shodan (to become): kar kardan (to work), sohbat kardan (to talk), amade shodan (to get ready). Learn kardan well and you unlock dozens of expressions.

Ten core verbs, the mi- present pattern, and the kardan compound trick give you enough to start saying what you actually mean.