To Be in Persian: Hastam, Ast, Nistam, Budam (with Spoken Forms)

“To be” in Persian is بودن (budan). In the present tense it usually shrinks to a short ending on the word before it: خوبم (khubam) means “I am good,” خوبی (khubi) “you are good,” and خوب است (khub ast) “he or she is good.” There is also a full form, هستم (hastam), and the negative is نیستم (nistam), “I am not.”

The table below gives every present, past and negative form at a glance. After it, each form gets its own section with written and spoken versions, spelling rules for words that end in a vowel, how to ask questions, how to say “there is,” and the places where English uses “to be” but Persian does not. Each section has examples in Persian script, pronunciation and English, and there is practice and a quiz at the end.

All the forms of “to be” in Persian at a glance

Persian verbs change their ending for the person: “I,” “you,” “he/she,” “we,” “you (plural or polite)” and “they.” Learn the six endings once and you will see them in almost every verb. The spoken column shows what you will hear in everyday conversation in Tehran and most of Iran.

Two things to notice right away. First, Persian puts the verb at the end of the sentence, so “I am a student” is من دانشجو هستم (man dâneshju hastam), literally “I student am.” Second, the ending already tells you who the subject is, so the pronoun is often dropped: خسته‌ام (khaste-am) on its own means “I am tired.”

The short forms: -am, -i, ast, -im, -id, -and

The short forms are endings that attach to a noun, adjective or place word. They are the most common way to say “am,” “are” and “is” in both writing and speech. Here they are with خوب (khub), “good, well,” and ایرانی (irâni), “Iranian”:

The third person is the odd one out. In writing it is a separate word, است (ast) Listen, not an ending: هوا سرد است (havâ sard ast), “the weather is cold.” In speech, است almost always becomes a short -e on the end of the word: هوا سرده (havâ sarde) Listen. This spoken -e is the single most useful form of “to be” you can learn, because you will hear it in nearly every conversation: گرونه (gerune), “it’s expensive,” and این یه کتابه (in ye ketâbe), “this is a book.”

You already know one of these short forms if you have learned greetings. چطوری؟ (chetori?) Listen “How are you?” is چطور (chetor), “how,” plus -i, “you are.” The answer خوبم (khubam) Listen is “good” plus -am, “I am.” The first Persian conversation lesson on saying hello and how are you shows the rest of that exchange.

The full forms: hastam, hasti, hast

هستم (hastam) Listen and its partners are separate words that do the same job as the short endings. You can say من ایرانی‌ام (man irâni-am) or من ایرانی هستم (man irâni hastam); both mean “I am Iranian.”

Short form or full form: which one should you use?

Both are correct, and native speakers switch between them. A few habits will make you sound natural:

• After adjectives, the short form is the everyday choice. خسته‌ام (khaste-am), “I’m tired,” گرسنه‌ای؟ (gorosne-i?), “are you hungry?”
• After nouns of identity, both are common, and the full form sounds a little clearer. من دانشجو هستم (man dâneshju hastam), “I am a student,” ما ایرانی هستیم (mâ irâni hastim), “we are Iranian.”
• Use the full form for emphasis or for “is there / is here.” On the phone: علی هست؟ (Ali hast?), “Is Ali there?” Answer: آره، هست (âre, hast), “Yes, he is.”
• Use the full form in short answers. “Are you Iranian?” “Yes, I am”: بله، هستم (bale, hastam). You cannot answer with an ending on its own.
• With polite شما (shomâ), the full form sounds more respectful: شما استاد هستید؟ (shomâ ostâd hastid?), “Are you the professor?”

Note that the third person full form هست (hast) is not just a neutral “is.” It often means “is there, exists, is present.” In plain descriptions, use است (ast) in writing and -e in speech: او معلم است (u mo’allem ast) or spoken اون معلمه (un mo’alleme), “she is a teacher.”

Spelling “to be” after words that end in a vowel

This is where most learners make spelling mistakes. The endings start with a vowel, so when the word before them also ends in a vowel, Persian adds a letter or a separating space. The rules depend on how the word ends. Our lessons on ast after vowels (mâst, kojâst, kist, chist) and the short forms of to be have more practice.

Words ending in â or u (ا, و): add ی

After ا and و, a ی (y) joins the word to the ending, and است loses its first letter and becomes -st:

The same pattern gives two of the most common words in the language: کجاست؟ (kojâst?) Listen, “where is it?”, and اینجاست (injâst), “it’s here.” In spoken Persian you will also hear کجایی؟ (kojâyi?), “where are you?”, and کجایین؟ (kojâyin?) for the plural or polite form.

Words ending in silent e (ه): keep them apart

Many adjectives end in a silent ه that is pronounced e: خسته (khaste), “tired,” گرسنه (gorosne), “hungry.” Here the endings are written with ا and a zero-width non-joiner, a small invisible space that stops the letters from joining. The third person stays a separate است:

On a phone or computer, the zero-width non-joiner is usually Shift+Space on a Persian keyboard layout. If you do not have one installed, the online Persian keyboard lets you type these forms directly.

Words ending in i (ی)

After a word ending in ی like ایرانی (irâni), the endings are also separated with a non-joiner: ایرانی‌ام (irâni-am), “I am Iranian,” ایرانی‌ایم (irâni-im), “we are Iranian.” The third person is ایرانی است (irâni ast) in writing and ایرانیه (irâniye) Listen in speech, with a y sound slipped in before the -e. Because these forms look awkward on the page, many people simply use the full form: ایرانی هستم (irâni hastam), “I am Iranian.”

The negative: nistam, nisti, nist

The present negative of “to be” is its own word, built on نیست (nist) Listen, “is not.” It always stands on its own after the noun or adjective, never as an ending.

Examples:

• من خسته نیستم (man khaste nistam) Listen, “I am not tired.”
• علی خانه نیست (Ali khâne nist), “Ali isn’t home.” Spoken: علی خونه نیست (Ali khune nist).
• این گران نیست (in gerân nist), “this isn’t expensive.” Spoken: این گرون نیست (in gerun nist).
• مشکلی نیست (moshkeli nist), “no problem,” literally “there is no problem.” You will hear this one constantly.

A common learner mistake is to put na- in front of هستم. Persian does not say “nahastam”; the negative is always نیستم.

Questions with “to be”

In everyday Persian, a yes/no question looks exactly like a statement. Only your voice changes: raise the pitch at the end.

• خسته‌ای؟ (khaste-i?), “Are you tired?”
• شما ایرانی هستید؟ (shomâ irâni hastid?), “Are you Iranian?”
• غذا آماده است؟ (ghazâ âmâde ast?), “Is the food ready?” In speech people often say غذا حاضره؟ (ghazâ hâzere?)

Formal written Persian can start a yes/no question with آیا (âyâ), which works like a spoken question mark: آیا شما دانشجو هستید؟ (âyâ shomâ dâneshju hastid?), “Are you a student?” You will see it in textbooks and the news, rarely in conversation.

With question words, the third person is often joined straight on. These short forms are worth memorizing as whole words:

این چیه؟ (in chiye?) Listen, “What is this?”, is the question every beginner needs in Iran. For the full list of question words, see the lesson on Persian question words.

Spoken Persian: what you will actually hear

Textbooks teach the written forms, but conversation sounds different. Here are the changes that matter most for “to be”:

• است becomes -e. خوب است (khub ast) is said خوبه (khube). After a vowel, it becomes -st or just -s: کجاست (kojâst) is often heard as “kojâs.”
• -id becomes -in. خوبید (khubid) is said خوبین (khubin), هستید (hastid) is said هستین (hastin).
• -and becomes -an. هستند (hastand) is said هستن (hastan), نیستند (nistand) is said نیستن (nistan).
• Pronouns change too. او (u) becomes اون (un), and آن‌ها (ânhâ) becomes اونا (unâ).

Use spoken forms when you talk and text with friends; use written forms in emails, essays and anything official.

Past tense: budam, budi, bud (“I was”)

The past of “to be” is regular and simple: the past stem بود (bud) plus the endings. The third person singular has no ending at all. This is covered step by step in the lesson past tense of to be: budam, budi, bud.

• دیروز خیلی خسته بودم (diruz kheyli khaste budam) Listen, “I was very tired yesterday.”
• هوا خوب بود (havâ khub bud), “The weather was nice.”
• دیشب خانه نبودیم (dishab khâne nabudim), “We weren’t home last night.” Spoken: دیشب خونه نبودیم (dishab khune nabudim).

Unlike the present, the past has no separate “full form.” بودم is used everywhere, in speech and writing, and the negative is made the regular way with na-.

“I have been”: bude-am

The present perfect is بوده (bude) plus the short forms: بوده‌ام (bude-am), بوده‌ای (bude-i), بوده است (bude ast). “Have you ever been to Iran?” is تا حالا ایران بوده‌ای؟ (tâ hâlâ Irân bude-i?) in writing. In speech most people simply say تا حالا ایران بودی؟ (tâ hâlâ Irân budi?), using the simple past.

Future: “I will be”

The written future is خواهم بود (khâham bud), “I will be”: the helper verb خواستن (khâstan) with its endings, followed by بود (bud). It is used in formal writing, news and speeches: فردا در دفتر خواهم بود (fardâ dar daftar khâham bud), “I will be in the office tomorrow.” The other persons are خواهی بود (khâhi bud), خواهد بود (khâhad bud), خواهیم بود (khâhim bud), خواهید بود (khâhid bud) and خواهند بود (khâhand bud).

In conversation, Iranians almost always use the present tense with a time word instead: فردا خونه‌ام (fardâ khune-am), “I’ll be home tomorrow,” شنبه اینجا هستیم (shanbe injâ hastim), “We’ll be here on Saturday.” The present already carries the future meaning when the time is clear.

“Be” and “to be” after other verbs: bâsham, bâsh

بودن has a second stem, باش (bâsh), used for commands and the subjunctive (the “that I be” form that follows words like “must,” “want” and “maybe”).

Subjunctive: bâsham (“that I be”)

• باید ساعت هشت اینجا باشم (bâyad sâ’at-e hasht injâ bâsham), “I have to be here at eight.”
• شاید خسته باشد (shâyad khaste bâshad), “Maybe he is tired.” Spoken: شاید خسته باشه (shâyad khaste bâshe).

Many everyday wishes use this form, such as موفق باشی (movaffagh bâshi), “good luck,” literally “may you be successful,” and مبارک باشه (mobârak bâshe), “congratulations.”

Commands: bâsh (“be”)

The command form is باش (bâsh) for one friend and باشید (bâshid) for several people or politely. Add na- for “don’t be”:

• آرام باش (ârâm bâsh), “Be calm.” Spoken: آروم باش (ârum bâsh).
• نگران نباش (negarân nabâsh) Listen, “Don’t worry,” literally “don’t be worried.” Polite: نگران نباشید (negarân nabâshid).

The formal mibâshad

You will also meet می‌باشد (mibâshad), another present form built on باش. It means simply “is,” but it belongs to official notices, forms and business writing, for example این قسمت تعطیل می‌باشد (in ghesmat ta’til mibâshad), “this section is closed.” Recognize it when you read, but do not use it in conversation: it sounds stiff, like saying “the office is presently closed” to a friend.

“There is” and “there are” in Persian

Persian has no empty “there” like the one in English “there is.” To say something exists or is present, use هست (hast) Listen, or نیست (nist) for the negative:

• یک مشکل هست (yek moshkel hast), “There is a problem.” Spoken: یه مشکل هست (ye moshkel hast).
• کسی خانه نیست (kasi khâne nist), “There is nobody home.”
• نان نیست (nân nist), “There’s no bread.” Spoken: نون نیست (nun nist).
• چند نفر اینجا هستند (chand nafar injâ hastand), “There are a few people here.” For people, the plural هستند is used; for things, the singular هست is normal even when there are many: کتاب زیاد هست (ketâb ziyâd hast), “there are plenty of books.”

In formal writing, “there is” is often وجود دارد (vojud dârad) Listen, literally “existence it has”: در این شهر یک موزه‌ی بزرگ وجود دارد (dar in shahr yek muze-ye bozorg vojud dârad), “There is a big museum in this city.” The negative is وجود ندارد (vojud nadârad).

In shops, people usually ask with “to have” instead: نون دارین؟ (nun dârin?), “Do you have bread?”, rather than “Is there bread?”

Where English uses “to be” and Persian does not

A word-for-word translation will trip you up in a few very common sentences. Learn these as fixed patterns:

Two lessons here. Age uses داشتن (dâshtan), “to have,” the verb taught in the lesson on dâshtan. And when something changes, Persian uses شدن (shodan), “to become,” where English might say “was” or “got”: دیروز مریض شدم (diruz mariz shodam), “I got sick yesterday,” versus دیروز مریض بودم (diruz mariz budam), “I was sick yesterday.”

Persian also does not use “to be” to build its continuous tenses the way English does (“I am going”). “I am going” is می‌روم (miravam), spoken می‌رم (miram): one verb, no “am.” See how to conjugate Persian verbs for the full system, or check any verb in the Persian verb conjugator.

Common mistakes with “to be” in Persian

• Putting the verb in the middle. “I am a teacher” is من معلم هستم (man mo’allem hastam), not “man hastam mo’allem.”
• Saying “nahastam.” The negative is نیستم (nistam).
• Joining endings to a silent e. Write خسته‌ام with the ending kept apart, not run into one word.
• Using “to be” for age or feeling cold. Use بیست سال دارم and سردمه.
• Using mibâshad in conversation. Say خوبه (khube) or هست (hast) instead.
• Mixing written and spoken forms in one sentence. آن‌ها خوبن mixes a written pronoun with a spoken ending; say اونا خوبن (unâ khuban) or write آن‌ها خوب هستند.

Want more practice? Try the Persian grammar quiz, or work through the beginner lesson on hastam, ast and nistam. If you like learning grammar with clear rules and lots of exercises, Farsi Grammar in Use: For Beginners covers “to be” and every other beginner topic in order.

Common questions

What is the verb “to be” in Persian?

It is بودن (budan). Its present forms are the endings -am, -i, ast, -im, -id, -and (as in خوبم, khubam, “I am well”) or the full words هستم (hastam), هستی (hasti), هست (hast) and so on. The past is بودم (budam), “I was.”

What is the difference between ast and hast?

است (ast) is the plain written “is”: هوا سرد است, “the weather is cold.” هست (hast) is the full form, used for emphasis, short answers, and to mean “is there” or “exists”: علی هست؟, “Is Ali there?” In speech, است usually turns into -e: سرده (sarde).

How do you say “I am” in Farsi?

Add -am to the word, as in خسته‌ام (khaste-am), “I am tired,” or use هستم (hastam): من دانشجو هستم (man dâneshju hastam), “I am a student.” Both are correct; the verb always goes at the end.

How do you say “is not” in Persian?

Use نیست (nist): این گرون نیست (in gerun nist), “this isn’t expensive.” The other persons are نیستم (nistam), نیستی (nisti), نیستیم (nistim), نیستید (nistid) and نیستند (nistand).

How do you say “there is” in Persian?

Use هست (hast) in speech and وجود دارد (vojud dârad) in formal writing: یه مشکل هست (ye moshkel hast), “there is a problem.” “There isn’t” is نیست (nist).

Is budan an irregular verb?

Partly. The past is regular (بود + endings), but the present uses the short endings or هست instead of a stem from بودن, the negative is نیست, and the subjunctive and command use a different stem, باش (bâsh).

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