Persian Imperative: How to Give Commands in Farsi (With Polite and Spoken Forms)

To make the Persian imperative, put بـ (be-) in front of the present stem of the verb: رفتن (raftan, to go) has the stem رو (rav), so “go” is برو (boro). For more than one person, or to be polite, add -id: بروید (beravid), which in speech becomes برین (berin). For “don’t”, swap be- for na-: نرو (naro).

That one pattern covers most commands you will ever give or hear. The rest of this guide fills in the details that trip learners up: how the be- prefix changes its sound, the handful of verbs with surprising stems (بیا، بکن، بده، باش), how compound verbs like گوش کن (gush kon) work, how Iranians make a command polite, and how to say “let’s” and “let him”. Every example has Persian script, transliteration and English, and spoken forms are marked as spoken.

The basic rule: be- + present stem

A Persian imperative has three parts:

1. The prefix بـ (be-), written joined to the verb.
2. The present stem of the verb. This is the part you also use in the present tense (می‌روم, miravam, “I go”, has the stem رو). If stems are new to you, start with the lesson on how to find the Persian present stem.
3. The ending: nothing for one person you know well (تو, to), and -id (ید) for several people or for one person you address politely (شما, shomâ).

So the imperative only has two forms in everyday use, singular and plural. Here they are for a few regular verbs:

Two things to notice. First, the stress falls on the prefix: BEnevis, BOkhor. Saying it with a falling, firm tone on the first syllable is what makes it sound like a command. Listen

Second, when the stem starts with ب, you simply write two of them: ببند (beband, close), ببین (bebin, look), ببر (bebar, take away).

How the be- prefix changes its sound

The prefix is always written بـ, but its vowel follows the vowel of the stem. Before a stem with o, it becomes bo-: برو (boro, go), بکن (bokon, do), بخور (bokhor, eat). Before a stem with u, many speakers say bo- or bu-, so بگو (begu, say) often sounds like “bogu”. In casual speech, before i, you will also hear bi-: بگیر (begir, take) is often “bigir”. You do not need to memorize this; copy what you hear, and nobody will misunderstand begu or begir.

A related point: do not confuse the prefix with the separate word به (be, “to”). The imperative prefix is always attached: بگو, never به گو.

Plural, polite and spoken forms

The -id form does two jobs. It addresses a group, and it addresses one person politely. When you speak to a teacher, an older relative, a shopkeeper or anyone you call شما (shomâ), use the -id form even if they are alone. Using the bare singular with a stranger sounds abrupt. The lesson on polite pronouns, shomâ instead of to explains the same choice for other verbs, and our guide to Persian pronouns covers to and shomâ in detail.

In everyday Tehran speech, the -id ending is usually pronounced -in, and informal writing (texts, chat) often spells it that way:

Notice that spoken Persian also shortens some stems: بنشین (beneshin) becomes بشین (beshin), and بگذار (bogzâr) becomes بذار (bezâr). Listen Listen

Formal writing, such as exam instructions, signs and announcements, uses the -id form and often leaves out be- with compound verbs: توجه کنید (tavajjoh konid, “attention, please”), لطفاً سیگار نکشید (lotfan sigâr nakeshid, “please do not smoke”).

Irregular and tricky imperatives

Persian imperatives are not really irregular. The prefix and ending are always the same. What surprises learners is the present stem, which can look very different from the infinitive. Here are the stems you will use most:

Three patterns deserve a closer look.

Stems that start with a vowel: biyâ, biyâr

When the stem begins with آ (â), Persian inserts a y sound and writes ی: بیا (biyâ, come), بیاور (biyâvar, bring). The negative does the same: نیا (nayâ, don’t come). Listen Listen

To be: bâsh

بودن (budan, to be) uses the stem باش (bâsh) and takes no be- prefix. It is very common because many Persian commands are “be + adjective”:

• مواظب باش (movâzeb bâsh), “be careful” Listen
• زود باش (zud bâsh), “hurry up” (literally “be quick”)
• آروم باش (ârum bâsh, spoken), “calm down”
• نگران نباش (negarân nabâsh), “don’t worry” Listen
• مواظب خودت باش (movâzeb-e khodet bâsh), “take care of yourself”, a warm way to say goodbye

The polite form is باشید (bâshid), spoken باشین (bâshin): نگران نباشید (negarân nabâshid).

To have: dâshte bâsh

داشتن (dâshtan, to have) has no simple imperative. Instead you say داشته باش (dâshte bâsh), literally “be having”: به یاد داشته باش (be yâd dâshte bâsh), “remember, keep in mind”. Compounds built on داشتن with a different meaning use the stem دار (dâr) without be-: نگه دار (negah dâr), “stop, hold”. In a taxi you say همین‌جا نگه دارید (hamin‌jâ negah dârid), “stop right here, please”. Listen

The negative imperative: na-

To say “don’t”, replace be- with نـ (na-). The stress moves to the new prefix: NAro.

Listen Listen A single نکن (nakon), “don’t”, is what you say to stop someone in the middle of doing something.

In classical poetry you will also meet an old negative prefix ma-, as in مرو (maro, “do not go”) or مگو (magu, “do not say”). It is not used in conversation; recognize it, but do not use it when you speak.

Compound verbs: gush kon, beneshin and friends

Many Persian verbs are compounds: a noun or adjective plus a light verb such as کردن (kardan), شدن (shodan), زدن (zadan) or دادن (dâdan). In the imperative, only the verb part changes; the first word stays put. Our lesson on simple and compound infinitives explains how these verbs are built.

With کردن and شدن, the be- prefix is usually dropped in normal speech:

Listen Listen You can say باز بکن (bâz bokon) with the prefix, but باز کن is far more common. Light verbs other than kardan and shodan, such as زدن and دادن, normally keep be-: زنگ بزن، گوش بده.

Verbs with bar- and var-

Verbs that start with the prefix بر (bar-) usually take no be-: برداشتن (bardâshtan, to pick up) gives بردار (bardâr, “pick it up, take it”), and برگشتن (bargashtan, to return) gives برگرد (bargard, “come back”). The negative goes after bar-: برنگرد (barnagard, “don’t come back”). In Tehran speech بردار often sounds like وردار (vardâr). The very common spoken “wait, stop” وایسا (vâysâ) comes from ایستادن (istâdan, to stand); its formal written form is بایست (bâyest).

Adding “it”, “me”, “him”

In speech, an object pronoun is often attached to the end of the imperative: بگیرش (begiresh, “take it”), بخورش (bokhoresh, “eat it”), ببینش (bebinesh, “look at it”). With a compound verb it attaches to the first word instead: بازش کن (bâzesh kon, “open it”), کمکم کن (komakam kon, “help me”). To say “tell me”, use a preposition: بهم بگو (beham begu, spoken), “tell me”. With a definite object, add را (râ), spoken -ro or -o: در را ببند (dar râ beband), spoken درو ببند (daro beband), “close the door”.

How to make a command polite

A bare imperative between friends and family is perfectly normal. With anyone else, Iranians soften it, and the habit runs deep in taarof, the Persian system of politeness. Here are the tools, from simplest to most courteous:

Listen Listen Listen

بفرمایید (befarmâyid) deserves special attention. It is itself an imperative, of the elevated verb فرمودن (farmudan), and it is one of the most useful words in Persian. A host says it when opening the door (“come in”), pointing to a seat (“sit down”), passing a dish (“help yourself”) or handing over tea: بفرمایید چای (befarmâyid chây), “here, have some tea”. The singular بفرما (befarmâ) is used with friends. You can also combine it with another imperative: بفرمایید بنشینید (befarmâyid beneshinid), “please, do sit down”.

Another everyday word you already know is an imperative too: ببخشید (bebakhshid), “excuse me, sorry”, is literally the polite command “forgive”, from بخشیدن (bakhshidan). Our guide to saying sorry in Persian shows how to use it.

“Let’s” and “let him”: the subjunctive in commands

Persian has no separate imperative for “we” or “he”. Instead it uses the subjunctive, which is built the same way (be- + present stem) but with full person endings. The guide to the Persian present subjunctive covers the whole tense.

Let’s: beravim, berim

For “let’s”, use the “we” form of the subjunctive: برویم (beravim), spoken بریم (berim), “let’s go”. Listen Often it is introduced by بیا or بیایید, just like English “come on, let’s…”:

• بیا بریم (biyâ berim, spoken), “come on, let’s go” Listen
• بیایید شروع کنیم (biyâyid shoru’ konim), “let’s begin” (to a group, or in writing)
• بریم بخوریم (berim bokhorim, spoken), “let’s go eat”
• نریم (narim, spoken), “let’s not go”

Let me, let him: bezâr + subjunctive

To say “let me” or “let someone do something”, use the imperative of گذاشتن (to let), spoken بذار (bezâr), plus a subjunctive verb:

• بذار ببینم (bezâr bebinam, spoken), “let me see” or “hang on, let me think” Listen
• بذار بیاد (bezâr biyâd, spoken), “let him / her come”
• بگذارید توضیح بدهم (bogzârid tozih bedaham, formal), “let me explain”

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using the infinitive. رفتن means “to go”, not “go”. The command is برو.
• Using the past stem. The imperative of دیدن is ببین (bebin), not “bedid”.
• Adding a personal ending to the singular. “Go” to a friend is برو, never “borovi”.
• Using the singular with strangers. بشین to an older guest sounds bossy; say بفرمایید بشینید or بفرمایید.
• Adding be- to budan. “Be careful” is مواظب باش, with no prefix.
• Keeping be- in the negative. The negative replaces the prefix: نرو, not “benaro”.

To drill dozens of stems quickly, use our Persian verb conjugator or browse the list of 200 most common Persian verbs.

20 imperatives you will hear every day

Listen Listen

Want more practice? Try the Persian verbs quiz, then work through the step-by-step grammar lesson on imperative verbs and commands. If you prefer a structured book with exercises, Farsi Grammar in Use: For Beginners covers commands alongside the other core tenses.

Common questions

How do you form the imperative in Persian?

Add بـ (be-) to the present stem. For one friend, stop there: بنویس (benevis, write). For a group or a polite “you”, add -id: بنویسید (benevisid). For the negative, use na- instead of be-: ننویس (nanevis).

What is “come” and “go” in Persian?

“Come” is بیا (biyâ), polite بیایید (biyâyid), spoken بیاین (biyâin). “Go” is برو (boro), polite بروید (beravid), spoken برین (berin). “Let’s go” is بریم (berim).

How do you say “please” with a command in Persian?

Put لطفاً (lotfan) before the polite form: لطفاً صبر کنید (lotfan sabr konid), “please wait”. For small favors, بی‌زحمت (bi-zahmat) is warmer, and بفرمایید (befarmâyid) is used for offering and inviting.

Is the Persian imperative the same as the subjunctive?

They share the same building blocks, be- + present stem, which is why “let’s go” (برویم) is a subjunctive. The difference is the endings: the singular imperative has no ending (برو), while the subjunctive always has one (بروی, beravi, “that you go”).

Why do some imperatives have no be-?

بودن uses باش (bâsh) without it, compound verbs with kardan and shodan usually drop it (گوش کن، بلند شو), and verbs starting with bar- normally do too (برگرد, bargard). Formal writing also often drops it in compounds (توجه کنید).

Is it rude to use the imperative in Persian?

Not with friends, family and children, where the bare singular is normal. With strangers, elders and customers, use the -id form and soften it with لطفاً، بی‌زحمت or a question with می‌شه (mishe), “could you”.

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