Persian Future Tense: Khâham + Past Stem, and How Iranians Really Say It

The Persian future tense is built with the helper خواهم (khâham) plus the past stem of the main verb, so “I will go” is خواهم رفت (khâham raft). You meet it in news, books and formal speech. In everyday conversation, Iranians usually say the present tense with a time word instead: فردا می‌رم (fardâ miram), “I’ll go tomorrow.”

So there are really two things to learn: the formal future, which is short and completely regular, and the way people actually talk about tomorrow at the dinner table. This guide covers both, with full tables, negatives, questions, compound verbs, the useful می‌خوام (mikhâm, “I want to / I’m going to”) and قراره (gharâre, “it’s planned”), plus the time words that go with them. Every example has Persian script, transliteration and English.

The formula: khâham + past stem

The formal future has two parts:

1. The helper, a form of خواستن (khâstan, “to want”) that carries the person ending: خواهم، خواهی، خواهد، خواهیم، خواهید، خواهند.
2. The past stem of the main verb, which never changes. The past stem is the infinitive without its final ن (-an): رفتن (raftan) gives رفت (raft), دیدن (didan) gives دید (did). If you need a refresher, see the lesson on how to form the Persian past stem.

Three rules keep you out of trouble:

• The main verb gets no می‌ (mi-) and no personal ending. Only the helper changes.
• Use the past stem, not the full infinitive: خواهم رفت, not خواهم رفتن.
• Pronounce خوا as “khâ”. The و is written but silent, exactly as in خواهر (khâhar, sister) and خواندن (khândan, to read).

Here is رفتن (raftan, to go) in the future. Listen

The endings on the helper (-am, -i, -ad, -im, -id, -and) are the same ones you already know from the simple present tense. As in other tenses, the subject pronoun is usually dropped because the ending already shows who is acting: فردا خواهم رفت (fardâ khâham raft) is a complete sentence.

Why this tense is easy

Persian present stems are often irregular (رفتن has the present stem رو, دیدن has بین). The future does not use the present stem at all. If you can find the past stem, you can make the future of any verb. The table below shows common verbs; the Persian verb conjugator gives the rest.

“Will be” and “will have”: budan and dâshtan

The verb “to be” follows the same pattern with its past stem بود (bud). This is one of the most frequent future forms you will read. Listen

• هوا فردا سرد خواهد بود. (havâ fardâ sard khâhad bud.) The weather will be cold tomorrow.
• ما منتظر شما خواهیم بود. (mâ montazer-e shomâ khâhim bud.) We will be waiting for you.
• شما وقت کافی خواهید داشت. (shomâ vaght-e kâfi khâhid dâsht.) You will have enough time.

Note that the short forms of “to be” (خوبم, کجاست) have no future of their own. For “will be” you always use خواهم بود and its forms.

Negative: put na- on the helper

To say “will not”, add نـ (na-) to the front of the helper, written as one word: نخواهم (nakhâham). The main verb stays as it was. Listen

• ما شما را فراموش نخواهیم کرد. (mâ shomâ râ farâmush nakhâhim kard.) We will not forget you.
• من دیگر دروغ نخواهم گفت. (man digar dorugh nakhâham goft.) I will not lie anymore.
• او امشب نخواهد آمد. (u emshab nakhâhad âmad.) He / she will not come tonight.

A common learner mistake is خواهم نرفت. The negative always sits on the helper, never on the past stem.

Questions in the future

Persian questions keep normal word order. In speech, rising intonation is enough; in writing you can start with آیا (âyâ), which simply marks a yes/no question.

• آیا شما فردا خواهید آمد؟ (âyâ shomâ fardâ khâhid âmad?) Will you come tomorrow?
• کی برخواهید گشت؟ (key bar khâhid gasht?) When will you come back?
• جلسه کجا برگزار خواهد شد؟ (jalase kojâ bargozâr khâhad shod?) Where will the meeting be held?

Question words such as کی (key, when) and کجا (kojâ, where) go where the answer would go, just before the verb.

Compound verbs: the helper goes in the middle

Most Persian verbs are compound: a noun or adjective plus a light verb such as کردن (kardan), شدن (shodan) or زدن (zadan). In the future, the helper goes between the two parts, right before the light verb. Listen

The negative works the same way: کار نخواهم کرد (kâr nakhâham kard), “I will not work.” Verbs with a prefix such as برگشتن (bargashtan, to come back) also split: زود برخواهم گشت (zud bar khâham gasht), “I will come back soon.” For more on how these verbs are built, see simple and compound infinitives.

The news future: khâhad shod

Turn on Iranian news and you will hear خواهد شد (khâhad shod) constantly. With a noun, it often gives a passive meaning, “will be done”:

• نتایج هفته‌ی آینده اعلام خواهد شد. (natâyej hafte-ye âyande e’lâm khâhad shod.) The results will be announced next week.
• جلسه ساعت ده شروع خواهد شد. (jalase sâ’at-e dah shoru’ khâhad shod.) The meeting will start at ten.

Word order with objects and time words

Persian is a verb-final language, so the whole future verb comes at the end. A typical order is subject, time, object with را (râ), place, verb. Our guide to Persian sentence structure goes into more detail.

• من فردا به تهران خواهم رفت. (man fardâ be tehrân khâham raft.) I will go to Tehran tomorrow.
• این کتاب را خواهم خواند. (in ketâb râ khâham khând.) I will read this book.
• او سال آینده ازدواج خواهد کرد. (u sâl-e âyande ezdevâj khâhad kard.) He / she will get married next year.

How Iranians really talk about the future

Here is the part most textbooks skip. In relaxed conversation, the formal future sounds stiff, a bit like a speech or a news report. People use it in writing, formal talks, solemn promises and emphatic statements, but day to day they use four other tools.

1. The present tense plus a time word (the default)

Just like English “I’m leaving tomorrow”, Persian uses the ordinary present with می‌ (mi-) for plans and near future. The time word tells you it is the future. This is by far the most common way to talk about tomorrow. Listen

• فردا می‌رم دانشگاه. (fardâ miram dâneshgâh.) I’m going to the university tomorrow. (spoken)
• امشب بهت زنگ می‌زنم. (emshab behet zang mizanam.) I’ll call you tonight. (spoken) Listen
• بعداً بهت می‌گم. (ba’dan behet migam.) I’ll tell you later. (spoken)
• فردا می‌بینمت. (fardâ mibinamet.) See you tomorrow / I’ll see you tomorrow. (spoken) Listen
• فردا نمیام. (fardâ nemiyâm.) I’m not coming tomorrow. (spoken; formal نمی‌آیم, nemiâyam)

Notice that spoken Persian often drops به (be, “to”) before a destination: می‌رم دانشگاه instead of به دانشگاه می‌روم. For the present tense itself, see the Persian present stem.

2. Mikhâm + subjunctive: “I want to” or “I’m going to”

می‌خواهم (mikhâham), spoken می‌خوام (mikhâm), means “I want”, and with a following subjunctive verb it also expresses an intention, much like English “I’m going to”. Do not confuse it with the future helper خواهم: the helper has no می‌ and takes a past stem, while می‌خوام takes the subjunctive (بـ + present stem). Listen

• می‌خوام تابستون برم ایران. (mikhâm tâbestun beram irân.) I want to / I’m going to go to Iran this summer. (spoken)
• می‌خواهم فارسی یاد بگیرم. (mikhâham fârsi yâd begiram.) I want to learn Persian. (formal)

Compare: خواهم رفت (khâham raft) “I will go” versus می‌خواهم بروم (mikhâham beravam) “I want to go”. One letter group, two very different meanings. The subjunctive is covered in the present subjunctive lesson.

3. Gharâre: “it’s planned / supposed to”

قرار است (gharâr ast), spoken قراره (gharâre), plus the subjunctive describes something arranged or expected. Listen

• قراره فردا بریم شمال. (gharâre fardâ berim shomâl.) We’re supposed to go up north tomorrow. (spoken)
• قراره فردا بارون بیاد. (gharâre fardâ bârun biyâd.) It’s supposed to rain tomorrow. (spoken)
• قرار است وزیر فردا سخنرانی کند. (gharâr ast vazir fardâ sokhanrâni konad.) The minister is to give a speech tomorrow. (formal)

4. Dâram + present: “I’m about to / on my way”

The present continuous with داشتن (dâshtan) can describe something just starting, as in دارم میام (dâram miyâm), “I’m coming / I’m on my way” (spoken). Listen

One sentence, four registers

Time words for the future

Because spoken Persian relies on the present tense, time words do most of the work. Learn these and you can talk about any plan. For clock times, see telling time in Persian.

The word for “future” itself is آینده (âyande). Listen

Common mistakes with the Persian future

• Adding mi- to the main verb: خواهم می‌روم is wrong. Write خواهم رفت.
• Using the present stem: خواهم روم is wrong. The future always takes the past stem.
• Conjugating the main verb: خواهند رفتند is wrong. Only the helper carries the ending: خواهند رفت.
• Mixing up khâham and mikhâham: می‌خواهم رفت is wrong. Either “I will go,” خواهم رفت, or “I want to go,” می‌خواهم بروم.
• Putting the helper first in compound verbs: خواهم کار کرد is wrong. Write کار خواهم کرد.
• Using the formal future with friends: it is not an error, but it sounds bookish. Use the present with a time word.

Want more drills? Try the Persian verbs quiz, or review stems and endings in how to conjugate Persian verbs. If you want the full conjugation of the verbs learners use most, 200 Absolutely Essential Persian Verbs lists every tense, the future included.

For more practice with every tense, look up any verb in the online Persian dictionary.

Common questions

Does Persian have a future tense?

Yes. Persian has a formal future made with خواهم، خواهی، خواهد… plus the past stem, such as خواهم رفت (khâham raft), “I will go.” In everyday speech, though, Iranians mostly use the present tense with a time word for future plans.

How do you say “will” in Persian?

“Will” is expressed by the helper خواهم (khâham) and its forms, placed before the past stem of the verb: خواهد آمد (khâhad âmad), “he / she will come.” There is no separate word for “will” that you can use alone.

How do you say “I will go” in Farsi?

Formally, خواهم رفت (khâham raft). In conversation, می‌رم (miram) with a time word, for example فردا می‌رم (fardâ miram), “I’ll go tomorrow.” “I won’t go” is نخواهم رفت (nakhâham raft) or, spoken, نمی‌رم (nemiram).

Is the future tense used in spoken Persian?

Rarely in casual talk. It is normal in news, speeches, formal letters and books, and people use it in conversation for emphasis or serious promises. With friends and family, the present tense, می‌خوام + subjunctive, or قراره + subjunctive sound natural.

What is the difference between khâham and mikhâham?

خواهم (khâham) is the future helper and takes a past stem: خواهم رفت, “I will go.” می‌خواهم (mikhâham, spoken mikhâm) is the verb “I want” and takes a subjunctive: می‌خواهم بروم, “I want to go.”

Are there irregular verbs in the Persian future?

No. The helper is always the same, so the only thing you need is the past stem, which you get by dropping -an from the infinitive. That makes the future one of the most regular tenses in Persian.

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