1- DARI ALPHABET
Arabic starts from right to left instead of left to right like in English and every other language.
Video to pronounce the letters, Credits to @muslimah4lifee for the video
**أ، ب، ت، ث، ج، ح، خ، د، ذ، ر، ز، س، ش، ص، ض، ط، ظ، ع، غ، ف، ق، ك، ل، م، ن، ه، و، ي**
أ: Alif (Makes the aa sound)
ب: Baa (Makes the b sound)
ت: Taa (Makes the t sound)
ث: Thaa (Makes the sound of a snake)
ج: Jeem (Makes the J sound)
ح: Ha (Makes the h sound but makes it sound like you are taking a breath)
خ: Khaa (Makes the kh sound)
د: Dal (Makes the d sound)
ذ: Thal (Makes the th sound)
ر: Ra (Makes the r sound)
ز: Zaiy (Makes the z sound)
س: Seen (Makes the s sound)
ش: Sheen (Makes the sh sound)
ص: Saad (Makes the s sound but sounds less like an s)
ض: Thaad (Makes the th sound but sounds more like a th)
ط: Taah (Makes the t sound but makes it sound like you are choking)
ظ: Thaah (Makes the th sound but sounds like th the most)
ع: Ayn (Makes the a sound but makes it sound like you are choking on something)
غ: Ghayn (Makes the sound of someone drowning)
ف: Faa (Makes the f sound)
ق: Kaa (Makes the k sound but makes it sound like you are choking)
ك: Kaa (Makes the k sound)
ل: Laam (Makes the l sound)
م: Meem (Makes the m sound)
ن: Noon (Makes the n sound)
ه: Haa (Makes the haa sound)
و: Wow (Makes the oo sound if it is at the end or the middle of a word and makes the woo sound if it is at the beginning of it)
ي: Yaa (Makes the y sound)
Many letters change how they look depending on where it is in the word.
(The first letters of the words are the same letters on the left.)
نشيد ن
باب ب
جمل ج
حمل ح
سند س
شامي ش
نام ن
يلعب ي
هرب ه
مرض م
عين ع
غبي غ
خمر خ
لمع ل
كرم ك
قلق ق
فتح ف
ثمار ث
يسر ي
صلاة ص
ضلال ض
طالب ط
ظلل ظ
(The middle letters of the words are the same letters on the left.)
نشيد ش
جمل م
سند ن
لها ه
يلعب ع
مليك ي
ملل ل
مفتح ف
مقنع ق
نسيت س
يغلب غ
مخبز خ
مجمل ج
محمل ح
مخبز ب
مخترع ت
يضل ض
مصعد ص
مطلب ط
مظلم ظ
مكرم ك
معين ع
We use the regular form of a letter when it is the last letter of a word.
The letter ه has a specific form when it is the last letter.
نشيد د
مريض ض
له ه
Certain letters always have the regular form, no matter where they are in a word.
The letter that comes after one of these letters will use the initial letter form.
The letters are: ر ز و ؤ ا أ د ذ
رأس
موز
دابة
دلع
2- WORD ORDER
1 Basic S + V S + V من میخوابم. man mī-khwābam I sleep.
2 Direct object S + V + DO S + V + DO من کتاب میخوانم. man kitāb mī-khwānam I read a book.
3 Indirect object S + به + IO + DO + V S + be + IO + DO + V من به او یک کتاب میدهم. man be ū yak kitāb mī-daham I give him/her a book.
4 Beneficiary S + برای + Person + DO + V S + barā-ye + Person + DO + V من برای او یک کتاب میخرم. man barā-ye ū yak kitāb mī-kharam I buy a book for him/her.
5 IO pronoun S + به + IO + DO + V S + be + IO + DO + V من به او یک کتاب میدهم. man be ū yak kitāb mī-daham I give him/her a book.
6 Adjective S + Adj S + Adj + است این کتاب بزرگ است. īn kitāb bozorg ast This book is big.
7 Adverb S + Adv + V + DO S + Adv + V + DO او بهسرعت کتاب را میخواند. ū be-sorat kitāb rā mī-khwānad He reads the book quickly.
8 DO + adverb S + DO + V + Adv S + DO + V + را + Adv من این کتاب را سریع میخوانم. man īn kitāb rā sarīʿ mī-khwānam I read this book quickly.
9 Time S + Time + V S + Time + V من امروز کار میکنم. man emrōz kār mī-konam I work today.
10 Place S + V + در + Place S + V + dar + Place او در آنجا زندگی میکند. ū dar ānjā zendagī mī-konad He lives there.
11 Prepositional phrase N + در + Location N + dar + Location + است این کتاب روی میز است. īn kitāb rū-ye mez ast This book is on the table.
12 DO + location S + DO + را + V + در + Location S + DO + rā + V + dar + Location من کتاب را روی میز میگذارم. man kitāb rā rū-ye mez mī-gozāram I put the book on the table.
13 Determiner + noun Det + N Det + N این کتاب جدید است. īn kitāb jadīd ast This book is new.
14 Det + adjective + noun Det + Adj + N Det + N + Ezāfe + Adj این کتابِ بزرگ جدید است. īn kitāb-e bozorg jadīd ast This big book is new.
15 Numeral + noun Num + N Num + N دو کتاب جدید هستند. do kitāb jadīd hastand Two books are new.
16 Conjunction Clause + و + Clause Clause + o + Clause من کتاب میخوانم و او نامه مینویسد. man kitāb mī-khwānam o ū nāma mī-nevisad I read a book, and he writes a letter.
17 Conjunction + sequence Clause + سپس + Clause Clause + baʿd + Clause من کتاب میخوانم، بعد او نامه مینویسد. man kitāb mī-khwānam, baʿd ū nāma mī-nevisad I read a book, and then he writes a letter.
18 Present passive DO + passive DO + past participle + میشود این کتاب خوانده میشود. īn kitāb khwānda mī-shawad This book is read.
19 Passive + agent DO + توسط + Agent + passive DO + tawassut-e + Agent + passive این کتاب توسط او خوانده میشود. īn kitāb tawassut-e ū khwānda mī-shawad This book is read by him/her.
20 Passive + IO DO + passive + به + IO DO + passive + be + IO این کتاب به او داده شد. īn kitāb be ū dāda shod This book was given to him/her.
21 Passive + IO + agent DO + توسط + Agent + passive + به + IO DO + tawassut-e + Agent + passive + be + IO این کتاب توسط معلم به شاگرد داده شد. īn kitāb tawassut-e moʿallem be shāgerd dāda shod This book was given to the student by the teacher.
22 Passive + adverb DO + Time + passive DO + Time + passive این کتاب امروز توسط او خوانده میشود. īn kitāb emrōz tawassut-e ū khwānda mī-shawad This book is read by him today.
23 Passive + location DO + passive + در + Location DO + passive + dar + Location این کتاب توسط او روی میز گذاشته شد. īn kitāb tawassut-e ū rū-ye mez gozāshta shod This book was put on the table by him.
24 Passive + agent + adverb DO + Time + Agent + passive DO + Time + tawassut-e + Agent + passive این کتاب امروز توسط او خوانده میشود. īn kitāb emrōz tawassut-e ū khwānda mī-shawad This book is read by him today.
25 Passive + IO + agent + adverb DO + Time + Agent + passive + IO DO + Time + tawassut-e + Agent + passive + be + IO این کتاب امروز توسط معلم به شاگرد داده شد. īn kitāb emrōz tawassut-e moʿallem be shāgerd dāda shod This book was given to the student by the teacher today.
26 Perfect passive DO + passive perfect DO + past participle + شده است این کتاب خوانده شده است. īn kitāb khwānda shoda ast This book has been read.
27 Perfect + agent DO + Agent + passive perfect DO + توسط + Agent + passive perfect این کتاب توسط او خوانده شده است. īn kitāb tawassut-e ū khwānda shoda ast This book has been read by him.
28 Future passive DO + future passive DO + past participle + خواهد شد این کتاب خوانده خواهد شد. īn kitāb khwānda khwāhad shod This book will be read.
29 Future passive + agent DO + Agent + future passive DO + توسط + Agent + future passive این کتاب توسط او خوانده خواهد شد. īn kitāb tawassut-e ū khwānda khwāhad shod This book will be read by him.
30 Modal passive DO + باید + passive DO + bāyad + passive این کتاب باید خوانده شود. īn kitāb bāyad khwānda shawad This book must be read.
31 Negative S + نـ/نمی + V + DO S + نمی + V + DO من این کتاب را نمیخوانم. man īn kitāb rā na-mī-khwānam I do not read this book.
32 Negative passive DO + negative passive DO + خوانده نمیشود این کتاب خوانده نمیشود. īn kitāb khwānda na-mī-shawad This book is not read.
33 Yes/no question S + V + یا نه؟ S + V + یا نه؟ آیا این کتاب را میخوانی یا نه؟ āyā īn kitāb rā mī-khwānī yā na? Do you read this book or not?
34 Passive question DO + passive + آیا؟ DO + passive + āyā? آیا این کتاب خوانده میشود؟ āyā īn kitāb khwānda mī-shawad? Is this book read?
35 Agent question DO + توسط + چه کسی + passive؟ DO + tawassut-e + che kasī + passive? این کتاب توسط چه کسی خوانده میشود؟ īn kitāb tawassut-e che kasī khwānda mī-shawad? Who reads this book?
36 IO question S + به + چه کسی + DO + V؟ S + be + che kasī + DO + V? تو این کتاب را به چه کسی میدهی؟ to īn kitāb rā be che kasī mī-dahī? Who do you give this book to?
37 Imperative V + ! V + ! این کتاب را بخوان! īn kitāb rā bekhwān! Read this book!
38 Imperative + IO به + IO + DO + V be + IO + DO + V این کتاب را به او بده! īn kitāb rā be ū bedeh! Give him/her this book!
39 Passive imperative باید + passive bāyad + passive این کتاب باید خوانده شود. īn kitāb bāyad khwānda shawad This book must be read.
40 Infinitive V + ن V + an کتاب خواندن kitāb khwāndan to read a book
41 Infinitive + DO V + DO V + DO این کتاب را خواندن īn kitāb rā khwāndan to read this book
42 Passive infinitive past participle + شدن past participle + shodan خوانده شدن khwānda shodan to be read
43 Purpose S + V + تا + V S + V + tā + subjunctive من میخورم تا بازی کنم. man mī-khoram tā bāzī konam I eat in order to play.
44 Relative clause Relative clause + که + N Relative clause + ke + N کتابی که میخوانم جالب است. kitābī ke mī-khwānam jāleb ast The book that I am reading is interesting.
45 Passive relative passive clause + که + N passive clause + ke + N کتابی که توسط او خوانده شد جالب است. kitābī ke tawassut-e ū khwānda shod jāleb ast The book that was read by him is interesting.
46 Conditional اگر + Clause، + Clause agar + Clause, Clause اگر وقت داشته باشم، کتاب میخوانم. agar waqt dāshta bāsham, kitāb mī-khwānam If I have time, I read/will read a book.
47 Conditional + passive اگر + passive، + Clause agar + passive, Clause اگر این کتاب خوانده شود، چیزهای زیادی یاد میگیری. agar īn kitāb khwānda shawad, chīzhā-ye ziyād yād mī-gīrī If this book is read, you will learn many things.
48 Reported speech S + گفت + Clause S + goft + Clause او گفت که کتاب میخواند. ū goft ke kitāb mī-khwānad He said that he was reading a book.
49 Reported question S + پرسید + آیا/WH + Clause S + porsīd + āyā/WH + Clause او از من پرسید که آیا کتاب میخوانم. ū az man porsīd ke āyā kitāb mī-khwānam He asked me whether I read the book.
50 Reported command S + گفت + به Person + V S + goft + be Person + V او به من گفت که کتاب را بخوانم. ū be man goft ke kitāb rā bekhwānam He told me to read the book.
1 Manner Adverb + Verb / usually before the verb من این کتاب را بهسرعت میخوانم. Man in ketāb-rā besor'at mikhānam. I read this book quickly.
2 Place Place expression + Verb / usually before the verb من در خانه این کتاب را میخوانم. Man dar khāna in ketāb-rā mikhaanam. I read this book at home.
3 Time Time expression + Sentence / beginning, middle, or end من دیروز این کتاب را خواندم. Man diruz in ketāb-rā khāndam. I read this book yesterday.
4 Frequency Frequency adverb + Verb / usually before the verb من اغلب کتاب میخوانم. Man aghlab ketāb mikhaanam. I often read books.
5 Frequency + be Frequency adverb + است (ast) + Predicate او همیشه خوشحال است. U hamisha khoshhāl ast. He is always happy.
6 Frequency + auxiliary Frequency adverb + Auxiliary + Verb من هرگز این را ندیدهام. Man hargiz in-rā nadida-am. I have never seen this.
7 Degree Degree adverb + Adjective این بسیار خوب است. In besyār khub ast. This is very good.
8 Degree + verb Degree adverb + Verb من واقعاً این را دوست دارم. Man wāqe'an in-rā dust dāram. I really like this.
9 Sentence adverb Sentence adverb + Clause / usually beginning خوشبختانه، من برنده شدم. Khoshbakhtāna, man baranda shodam. Fortunately, I won.
10 Comment adverb Comment expression + Clause / usually beginning صادقانه بگویم، نمیدانم. Sādeqāna beguyam, nemidānam. Honestly, I don't know.
11 Linking adverb Linking adverb + Clause / usually beginning من خسته بودم؛ بااینحال، به کار ادامه دادم. Man khasta budam; bā-in-hāl, ba kār edāma dādam. I was tired; however, I continued working.
12 Direction Directional adverb + Verb / often with motion verb او به بیرون رفت. U ba birun raft. He went outside.
13 Definite frequency Definite frequency expression + Verb من هر روز به آنجا میروم. Man har ruz ba ānjā merawam. I go there every day.
14 Duration Duration expression + Verb من دو ساعت درس خواندم. Man do sā'at dars khāndam. I studied for two hours.
15 Purpose برای (baraye) + noun/verb noun OR تا (tā) + clause / purpose phrase من به آنجا میروم تا درس بخوانم. Man ba ānjā merawam tā dars bekhānam. I am going there to study.
Direct object marker DO + را کتاب را میخوانم kitāb rā mī-khwānam
Indirect object به + person به او میدهم be ū mī-daham
Possession Noun + ezāfe + possessor کتابِ علی kitāb-e Alī
Purpose / in order to تا + subjunctive تا بازی کنم tā bāzī konam
Passive past participle + شدن خوانده شدن khwānda shodan
Passive present past participle + میشود خوانده میشود khwānda mī-shawad
Passive past past participle + شد خوانده شد khwānda shod
Passive perfect past participle + شده است خوانده شده است khwānda shoda ast
Passive future past participle + خواهد شد خوانده خواهد شد khwānda khwāhad shod
Subjunctive بـ + present stem بخوانم bekhwānam
Negative present نمی + verb نمیخوانم na-mī-khwānam
Relative clause clause + که + noun کتابی که میخوانم kitābī ke mī-khwānam
Conditional اگر + clause اگر بیایی... agar beyāyī...
Imperative بـ + present stem بخوان! bekhwān!
When do we add ra?
Specific/definite noun ✅ Usually کتاب را میخوانم
Non-specific noun ❌ Usually not کتاب میخوانم
یک + noun, non-specific ❌ Usually not یک کتاب میخوانم
یک + noun, specific/identified ✅ Possible یک کتاب را میخوانم
Personal pronoun ✅ Yes او را دیدم
Demonstrative ✅ Yes این را میخواهم
Possessive noun ✅ Usually کتابِ من را برد
Specific adjective + noun ✅ Usually کتابِ خوب را خواندم
Question who ✅ Usually چه کسی را دیدی؟
INDIRECT OBJECT:
Indirect object S + به + IO + DO + V به او کتاب میدهم. I give him a book.
Both S + DO + را + به + IO + V کتاب را به او میدهم. I give the book to him.
Direct object DO + را + V کتاب را میخوانم. kitāb rā mī-khwānam I read the book.
Indirect object به + IO + DO + V به او کتاب میدهم. be ū kitāb mī-daham I give him/her a book.
Indirect object pronoun به + pronoun به من میدهد. be man mī-dahad He gives it to me.
With definite DO DO + را + به + IO + V کتاب را به علی میدهم. kitāb rā be Alī mī-daham I give the book to Ali.
With indefinite DO به + IO + DO + V به علی یک کتاب میدهم. be Alī yak kitāb mī-daham I give Ali a book.
Direct-object pronoun Pronoun + را + V او را میبینم. ū rā mī-bīnam I see him/her.
IO: me به من به من میگوید. be man mī-gūyad He tells me.
IO: you به تو به تو میدهم. be to mī-daham I give it to you.
IO: him/her به او به او میگویم. be ū mī-gūyam I tell him/her.
IO: us به ما به ما میدهد. be mā mī-dahad He gives it to us.
IO: you (formal/pl.) به شما به شما میگویم. be shomā mī-gūyam I tell you.
IO: them به آنها به آنها میدهم. be ānhā mī-daham I give it to them.
GENITIVE:
Basic genitive N + Ezāfe + N کتابِ علی kitāb-e Alī Ali's book
Possessor pronoun N + Ezāfe + pronoun کتابِ من kitāb-e man my book
Possessive suffix N + suffix کتابم kitābam my book
Adjective + genitive N + Ezāfe + Adj + Ezāfe + N کتابِ خوبِ علی kitāb-e khūb-e Alī Ali's good book
Plural genitive N + ها + Ezāfe + possessor کتابهای علی kitāb-hā-ye Alī Ali's books
Multiple genitives N + Ezāfe + N + Ezāfe + N دوستِ برادرِ من dūst-e barādar-e man my brother's friend
Genitive with adjective N + Ezāfe + Adj خانهٔ بزرگ khāna-ye bozorg big house
Definite possessed noun N + Ezāfe + possessor + را کتابِ علی را kitāb-e Alī rā Ali's book (object)
INDEPENDENT:
mine مالِ من māl-e man این کتاب مالِ من است. īn kitāb māl-e man ast — This book is mine.
yours (informal) مالِ تو māl-e to این کتاب مالِ تو است. īn kitāb māl-e to ast — This book is yours.
his / hers مالِ او māl-e ū این کتاب مالِ او است. īn kitāb māl-e ū ast — This book is his/hers.
ours مالِ ما māl-e mā این کتاب مالِ ما است. īn kitāb māl-e mā ast — This book is ours.
yours (formal/plural) مالِ شما māl-e shomā این کتاب مالِ شما است. īn kitāb māl-e shomā ast — This book is yours.
theirs مالِ آنها māl-e ānhā این کتاب مالِ آنها است. īn kitāb māl-e ānhā ast — This book is theirs.
WAS GOING TO:
I was going to go imperfect of رفتن میرفتم mī-raftam
You were going to go imperfect میرفتی mī-raftī
He was going to go imperfect میرفت mī-raft
She was going to go imperfect میرفت mī-raft
We were going to go imperfect میرفتیم mī-raftīm
You were going to go imperfect میرفتید mī-raftīd
They were going to go imperfect میرفتند mī-raftand
I was going to go میرفتم mī-raftam contextual past intention / was going
I was planning to go قصد داشتم بروم qasd dāshtam berawam explicit intention
I wanted to go میخواستم بروم mī-khwāstam berawam wanted/intended to go
I was about to go در شُرُفِ رفتن بودم dar shorof-e raftan būdam was just about to go
2- NOUNS
If you want to emphasize "a" or "one", you can add یک (yak).
a book یک کتاب
a house یک خانه
a student یک شاگرد
We use without yak if it is not emphasized
noun + ها → کتابها → [ha] books
noun + ان → استادان → [an] teachers
noun + ی → کتابی → a book
noun + ezāfe → کتابِ من → my book
noun + را → کتاب را → the book (object)
Common plural → noun + ها → کتابها → ketāb-hā
Human/formal → noun + ان → استادان → ostādān
Arabic plural → noun + ات → مشکلات → moshkelāt
Category plural → noun + جات → سبزیجات → sabzī-jāt
Broken plural → irregular → اطفال → atfāl
Nominative → none → مرد آمد → mard āmad → man came
Accusative → را → کتاب را خواندم → [rā] ketāb rā khwāndam → read the book
Genitive → Ezāfe ـِ → کتابِ علی → [-e] ketāb-e Alī → Ali's book
Dative → به → به علی دادم → [ba] ba Alī dādam → gave to Ali
Ablative → از → از خانه آمدم → [az] az khāna āmadam → came from house
Locative → در → در خانه → [dar] dar khāna → in house
Instrumental → با → با قلم → [bā] bā qalam → with pen
Comitative → با → با دوست → [bā] bā dūst → with friend
Vocative → ای → ای دوست → [ey] ey dūst → O friend
INDIRECT OBJECT:
Standard → Subject + DO (Direct Object) + را + به + IO (Indirect Object) + Verb → من کتاب را به علی دادم → man ketāb rā ba Alī dādam → I gave the book to Ali.
Alternate → Subject + به + IO + DO + Verb → من به علی کتاب دادم → man ba Alī ketāb dādam → I gave the book to Ali.
Pronoun → Subject + به + Pronoun + Verb → او به من گفت → ū ba man goft
Pronoun + DO → Subject + به + Pronoun + DO + Verb → او به من کتاب داد → ū ba man ketāb dād
GENITIVE:
Basic possession → Noun + Ezāfe + Noun → کتابِ علی → ketāb-e Alī → Ali's book
Possessive pronoun → Noun + Ezāfe + Pronoun → کتابِ من → ketāb-e man → my book
Possessive suffix → Noun + Possessive Suffix → کتابم → ketābam → my book
Adjective + Possessor → Noun + Ezāfe + Adjective + Ezāfe + Possessor → کتابِ خوبِ من → ketāb-e khūb-e man → my good book
Plural possession → Plural Noun + Ezāfe + Possessor → کتابهای علی → ketāb-hā-ye Alī → Ali's books
Multiple genitives → Noun + Ezāfe + Noun + Ezāfe + Noun → دوستِ برادرِ من → dūst-e barādar-e man → my brother's friend
Unlike English, Dari often omits the verb "to be" in informal speech, especially in the 3rd person. In formal writing, است (ast) is commonly used.
Person → Dari → Transliteration → English
من هستم → man hastam → I am
تو هستی → to hastī → you are
او است / هست → ū ast / hast → he/she is
ما هستیم → mā hastīm → we are
شما هستید → shomā hastīd → you are
آنها هستند → ānhā hastand → they are
Examples
من خوشحال هستم.
man khoshhāl hastam.
"I am happy."
او معلم است.
ū moʿallem ast.
"He is a teacher."
ما آماده هستیم.
mā āmāda hastīm.
"We are ready."
Formation
Subject + Predicate + Present form of بودن
Example:
من + خوشحال + هستم
man + khoshhāl + hastam
3. Negative Present
Replace the present form with نیست or negative forms of هست.
Person → Dari → Transliteration
من نیستم → man nīstam
تو نیستی → to nīstī
او نیست → ū nīst
ما نیستیم → mā nīstīm
شما نیستید → shomā nīstīd
آنها نیستند → ānhā nīstand
Example:
او خانه نیست.
ū khāna nīst.
"He is not at home."
4. Past Tense (Was/Were)
Past stem:
بود (būd)
Person → Dari → Transliteration → English
من بودم → man būdam → I was
تو بودی → to būdī → you were
او بود → ū būd → he/she was
ما بودیم → mā būdīm → we were
شما بودید → shomā būdīd → you were
آنها بودند → ānhā būdand → they were
Example:
دیروز بیمار بودم.
dīrōz bīmār būdam.
"I was sick yesterday."
Formation
Past stem + personal ending
بود + م → بودم
بود + ی → بودی
بود → بود
5. Negative Past
Add نـ (na-) to the past form.
Person → Dari → Transliteration
من نبودم → man nabūdam
تو نبودی → to nabūdī
او نبود → ū nabūd
ما نبودیم → mā nabūdīm
شما نبودید → shomā nabūdīd
آنها نبودند → ānhā nabūdand
Example:
او آنجا نبود.
ū ānjā nabūd.
"He was not there."
6. Future Tense (Will Be)
Formation:
خواه + personal ending + بود
Person → Dari → Transliteration
من خواهم بود → man khwāham būd
تو خواهی بود → to khwāhī būd
او خواهد بود → ū khwāhad būd
ما خواهیم بود → mā khwāhīm būd
شما خواهید بود → shomā khwāhīd būd
آنها خواهند بود → ānhā khwāhand būd
Example:
فردا آماده خواهم بود.
fardā āmāda khwāham būd.
"I will be ready tomorrow."
7. Present Perfect (Have Been)
Formation:
بوده + present form of بودن
Person → Dari → Transliteration
من بودهام → man būda-am
تو بودهای → to būda-ī
او بوده است → ū būda ast
ما بودهایم → mā būda-īm
شما بودهاید → shomā būda-īd
آنها بودهاند → ānhā būda-and
Example:
اینجا بودهام.
īnjā būda-am.
"I have been here."
8. Past Perfect (Had Been)
Formation:
بوده + بود
Person → Dari → Transliteration
من بوده بودم → man būda būdam
تو بوده بودی → to būda būdī
او بوده بود → ū būda būd
ما بوده بودیم → mā būda būdīm
شما بوده بودید → shomā būda būdīd
آنها بوده بودند → ānhā būda būdand
Example:
قبل از آنجا بوده بودم.
qabl az ānjā būda būdam.
"I had been there before."
9. Subjunctive
Formation:
باش + personal ending
Person → Dari → Transliteration
من باشم → bāsham
تو باشی → bāshī
او باشد → bāshad
ما باشیم → bāshīm
شما باشید → bāshīd
آنها باشند → bāshand
Example:
امیدوارم خوب باشی.
omīdwāram khūb bāshī.
"I hope you are well."
10. Imperative
باش → bāsh → Be!
باشید → bāshīd → Be! (plural/formal)
نباش → nabāsh → Don't be!
نباشید → nabāshīd → Don't be! (plural/formal)
Examples:
آرام باش!
ārām bāsh!
"Be calm!"
نباش دیر!
nabāsh dīr!
"Don't be late!"
11. Continuous Meaning ("Being")
Dari has no dedicated progressive form of "to be" equivalent to English "am being." Instead, it usually rephrases the sentence.
English:
"I am being careful."
Natural Dari:
من محتاط هستم.
man mohtāt hastam.
Literally:
"I am careful."
4- PRONOUNS:
1. Personal Pronouns (ضمیرهای شخصی)
A. Subject Pronouns (Nominative)
Used as the subject of a sentence.
English → Dari → Transliteration
I → من → man
you (singular informal) → تو → to
you (singular formal) → شما → shomā
he → او → ū
she → او → ū
we → ما → mā
you (plural/formal) → شما → shomā
they → آنها / ایشان → ānhā / īshān
Examples:
I work.
من کار میکنم.
man kār mī-konam.
He is a teacher.
او استاد است.
ū ostād ast.
They came.
آنها آمدند.
ānhā āmadand.
2. Object Pronouns (Accusative)
Dari uses two forms:
full pronouns + را
short enclitic pronouns
A. Full Object Pronouns
Formation:
pronoun + را
English → Dari → Transliteration
me → مرا → marā
you → ترا → torā
him/her → او را → ū rā
us → ما را → mā rā
you → شما را → shomā rā
them → آنها را → ānhā rā
Examples:
او مرا دید.
ū marā dīd.
"He saw me."
من او را دیدم.
man ū rā dīdam.
"I saw him/her."
B. Object Enclitic Pronouns
Attached to verbs, nouns, and prepositions.
English → Ending → Transliteration
me → ـم → -am
you → ـت → -at
him/her → ـش → -ash
us → ـمان → -emān
you → ـتان → -etān
them → ـشان → -eshān
Examples:
دیدمَش.
dīdam-ash
"I saw him/her."
کتابم را برد.
ketābam rā bord.
"He took my book."
3. Possessive Pronouns (ملکی)
Dari often uses Ezāfe + pronoun.
Formation:
noun + Ezāfe + pronoun
English → Dari → Transliteration
my book → کتاب من → ketāb-e man
your book → کتاب تو → ketāb-e to
his/her book → کتاب او → ketāb-e ū
our book → کتاب ما → ketāb-e mā
your book → کتاب شما → ketāb-e shomā
their book → کتاب آنها → ketāb-e ānhā
Possessive Enclitics
Also very common:
English → Ending
my → ـم
your → ـت
his/her → ـش
our → ـمان
your → ـتان
their → ـشان
Examples:
کتابم
ketābam
"my book"
خانهات
khāna-at
"your house"
دوستش
dūst-ash
"his/her friend"
4. Reflexive Pronouns (ضمیر بازتابی)
Dari uses:
خود (khod) = self
English → Dari → Transliteration
myself → خودم → khodam
yourself → خودت → khodat
himself/herself → خودش → khodash
ourselves → خودمان → khodemān
themselves → خودشان → khodeshān
Examples:
من خودم این کار را کردم.
man khodam īn kār rā kardam.
"I myself did this."
او خودش آمد.
ū khodash āmad.
"He/she came himself/herself."
5. Demonstrative Pronouns (اشارهای)
Near:
English → Dari → Transliteration
this (thing/person) → این → īn
these → اینها → īn-hā
Far:
English → Dari → Transliteration
that → آن → ān
those → آنها → ān-hā
Examples:
این کتاب است.
īn ketāb ast.
"This is a book."
آن را میخواهم.
ān rā mī-khwāham.
"I want that."
this book → این کتاب → īn ketāb
that book → آن کتاب → ān ketāb
these books → این کتابها → īn ketāb-hā
those books → آن کتابها → ān ketāb-hā
5- VERB TENSES:
In Dari, you need to memorize the stem to form a verb tense correctly:
Infinitive | Past Stem | Present Stem | Past Participle
Infinitive | Transliteration | Past Stem | Transliteration | Present Stem | Transliteration | Past Participle | Transliteration | Meaning
کردن | kardan | کرد | kard | کن | kon | کرده | karda | to do, to make
رفتن | raftan | رفت | raft | رو | raw (also pronounced rav before endings, e.g. mī-ravam) | رفته | rafta | to go
نوشتن | neveshtan | نوشت | nevesht | نویس | nevis | نوشته | neveshta | to write
خوردن | khordan | خورد | khord | خور | khor | خورده | khorda | to eat
دیدن | dīdan | دید | dīd | بین | bīn | دیده | dīda | to see
Infinitive | Past stem + ن (-an) | کردن | kardan
Past Stem | Base form used for past tenses | کرد | kard
Present Stem | Lexical stem (must usually be memorized) | کن | kon
Past Participle | Past stem + ه (-a/-e) | کرده | karda
1. Present Simple
Formation: می + present stem + personal ending
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من میکنم | man mī-konam | I do
You | تو میکنی | to mī-konī | You do
He/She | او میکند | ū mī-konad | He/She does
We | ما میکنیم | mā mī-konīm | We do
You (pl.) | شما میکنید | shomā mī-konīd | You do
They | آنها میکنند | ānhā mī-konand | They do
2. Present Continuous
Formation: داشتن (present) + می + present verb
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من دارم میکنم | man dāram mī-konam | I am doing
You | تو داری میکنی | to dārī mī-konī | You are doing
He/She | او دارد میکند | ū dārad mī-konad | He/She is doing
We | ما داریم میکنیم | mā dārīm mī-konīm | We are doing
You (pl.) | شما دارید میکنید | shomā dārīd mī-konīd | You are doing
They | آنها دارند میکنند | ānhā dārand mī-konand | They are doing
3. Present Perfect
Formation: past participle + present of بودن
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کردهام | man karda-am | I have done
You | تو کردهای | to karda-ī | You have done
He/She | او کرده است | ū karda ast | He/She has done
We | ما کردهایم | mā karda-īm | We have done
You (pl.) | شما کردهاید | shomā karda-īd | You have done
They | آنها کردهاند | ānhā karda-and | They have done
4. Past Simple
Formation: past stem + personal ending
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کردم | man kardam | I did
You | تو کردی | to kardī | You did
He/She | او کرد | ū kard | He/She did
We | ما کردیم | mā kardīm | We did
You (pl.) | شما کردید | shomā kardīd | You did
They | آنها کردند | ānhā kardand | They did
5. Past Continuous (Imperfect)
Formation: می + past stem + personal ending
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من میکردم | man mī-kardam | I was doing / I used to do
You | تو میکردی | to mī-kardī | You were doing
He/She | او میکرد | ū mī-kard | He/She was doing
We | ما میکردیم | mā mī-kardīm | We were doing
You (pl.) | شما میکردید | shomā mī-kardīd | You were doing
They | آنها میکردند | ānhā mī-kardand | They were doing
6. Past Perfect
Formation: past participle + بود
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده بودم | man karda būdam | I had done
You | تو کرده بودی | to karda būdī | You had done
He/She | او کرده بود | ū karda būd | He/She had done
We | ما کرده بودیم | mā karda būdīm | We had done
You (pl.) | شما کرده بودید | shomā karda būdīd | You had done
They | آنها کرده بودند | ānhā karda būdand | They had done
7. Future
Formation: خواستن (future auxiliary) + past stem
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من خواهم کرد | man khwāham kard | I will do
You | تو خواهی کرد | to khwāhī kard | You will do
He/She | او خواهد کرد | ū khwāhad kard | He/She will do
We | ما خواهیم کرد | mā khwāhīm kard | We will do
You (pl.) | شما خواهید کرد | shomā khwāhīd kard | You will do
They | آنها خواهند کرد | ānhā khwāhand kard | They will do
8. Future Perfect (Rare)
Formation: past participle + future of بودن
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده خواهم بود | man karda khwāham būd | I will have done
You | تو کرده خواهی بود | to karda khwāhī būd | You will have done
He/She | او کرده خواهد بود | ū karda khwāhad būd | He/She will have done
We | ما کرده خواهیم بود | mā karda khwāhīm būd | We will have done
You (pl.) | شما کرده خواهید بود | shomā karda khwāhīd būd | You will have done
They | آنها کرده خواهند بود | ānhā karda khwāhand būd | They will have done
9. Present Subjunctive
Formation: ب + present stem + personal ending
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من بکنم | man bokonam | that I do / may I do
You | تو بکنی | to bokonī | that you do
He/She | او بکند | ū bokonad | that he/she do
We | ما بکنیم | mā bokonīm | that we do
You (pl.) | شما بکنید | shomā bokonīd | that you do
They | آنها بکنند | ānhā bokonand | that they do
10. Past Subjunctive
Formation: past participle + باشد
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده باشم | man karda bāsham | that I have done
You | تو کرده باشی | to karda bāshī | that you have done
He/She | او کرده باشد | ū karda bāshad | that he/she has done
We | ما کرده باشیم | mā karda bāshīm | that we have done
You (pl.) | شما کرده باشید | shomā karda bāshīd | that you have done
They | آنها کرده باشند | ānhā karda bāshand | that they have done
11. Imperative
Formation: ب + present stem
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
You (sing.) | بکن | bokon | Do!
You (pl./formal) | بکنید | bokonīd | Do!
Negative:
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
You (sing.) | نکن | nakon | Don't do!
You (pl./formal) | نکنید | nakonīd | Don't do!
6- PASSIVE TENSES:
1. Passive Infinitive
Formation: Past participle + شدن
Dari | Transliteration | English
کرده شدن | karda shodan | to be done
2. Passive Present Simple
Formation: Past participle + میشود
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده میشوم | man karda mī-shawam | I am done
You | تو کرده میشوی | to karda mī-shawī | You are done
He/She | او کرده میشود | ū karda mī-shawad | He/She is done
We | ما کرده میشویم | mā karda mī-shawīm | We are done
You (pl.) | شما کرده میشوید | shomā karda mī-shawīd | You are done
They | آنها کرده میشوند | ānhā karda mī-shawand | They are done
3. Passive Present Continuous
Formation: داشتن + past participle + میشود
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من دارم کرده میشوم | man dāram karda mī-shawam | I am being done
You | تو داری کرده میشوی | to dārī karda mī-shawī | You are being done
He/She | او دارد کرده میشود | ū dārad karda mī-shawad | He/She is being done
We | ما داریم کرده میشویم | mā dārīm karda mī-shawīm | We are being done
You (pl.) | شما دارید کرده میشوید | shomā dārīd karda mī-shawīd | You are being done
They | آنها دارند کرده میشوند | ānhā dārand karda mī-shawand | They are being done
This tense is very rare. Dari usually rephrases such sentences.
4. Passive Present Perfect
Formation: Past participle + شده + است
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده شدهام | man karda shoda-am | I have been done
You | تو کرده شدهای | to karda shoda-ī | You have been done
He/She | او کرده شده است | ū karda shoda ast | He/She has been done
We | ما کرده شدهایم | mā karda shoda-īm | We have been done
You (pl.) | شما کرده شدهاید | shomā karda shoda-īd | You have been done
They | آنها کرده شدهاند | ānhā karda shoda-and | They have been done
5. Passive Past Simple
Formation: Past participle + شد
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده شدم | man karda shodam | I was done
You | تو کرده شدی | to karda shodī | You were done
He/She | او کرده شد | ū karda shod | He/She was done
We | ما کرده شدیم | mā karda shodīm | We were done
You (pl.) | شما کرده شدید | shomā karda shodīd | You were done
They | آنها کرده شدند | ānhā karda shodand | They were done
6. Passive Past Continuous
Formation: Past participle + میشد
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده میشدم | man karda mī-shodam | I was being done
You | تو کرده میشدی | to karda mī-shodī | You were being done
He/She | او کرده میشد | ū karda mī-shod | He/She was being done
We | ما کرده میشدیم | mā karda mī-shodīm | We were being done
You (pl.) | شما کرده میشدید | shomā karda mī-shodīd | You were being done
They | آنها کرده میشدند | ānhā karda mī-shodand | They were being done
7. Passive Past Perfect
Formation: Past participle + شده بود
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده شده بودم | man karda shoda būdam | I had been done
You | تو کرده شده بودی | to karda shoda būdī | You had been done
He/She | او کرده شده بود | ū karda shoda būd | He/She had been done
We | ما کرده شده بودیم | mā karda shoda būdīm | We had been done
You (pl.) | شما کرده شده بودید | shomā karda shoda būdīd | You had been done
They | آنها کرده شده بودند | ānhā karda shoda būdand | They had been done
8. Passive Future
Formation: Past participle + خواهد شد
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده خواهم شد | man karda khwāham shod | I will be done
You | تو کرده خواهی شد | to karda khwāhī shod | You will be done
He/She | او کرده خواهد شد | ū karda khwāhad shod | He/She will be done
We | ما کرده خواهیم شد | mā karda khwāhīm shod | We will be done
You (pl.) | شما کرده خواهید شد | shomā karda khwāhīd shod | You will be done
They | آنها کرده خواهند شد | ānhā karda khwāhand shod | They will be done
9. Passive Future Perfect (Rare)
Formation: Past participle + شده خواهد بود
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده شده خواهم بود | man karda shoda khwāham būd | I will have been done
You | تو کرده شده خواهی بود | to karda shoda khwāhī būd | You will have been done
He/She | او کرده شده خواهد بود | ū karda shoda khwāhad būd | He/She will have been done
We | ما کرده شده خواهیم بود | mā karda shoda khwāhīm būd | We will have been done
You (pl.) | شما کرده شده خواهید بود | shomā karda shoda khwāhīd būd | You will have been done
They | آنها کرده شده خواهند بود | ānhā karda shoda khwāhand būd | They will have been done
10. Passive Present Subjunctive
Formation: Past participle + شود
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده شوم | man karda shawam | that I be done
You | تو کرده شوی | to karda shawī | that you be done
He/She | او کرده شود | ū karda shawad | that he/she be done
We | ما کرده شویم | mā karda shawīm | that we be done
You (pl.) | شما کرده شوید | shomā karda shawīd | that you be done
They | آنها کرده شوند | ānhā karda shawand | that they be done
11. Passive Past Subjunctive
Formation: Past participle + شده باشد
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
I | من کرده شده باشم | man karda shoda bāsham | that I have been done
You | تو کرده شده باشی | to karda shoda bāshī | that you have been done
He/She | او کرده شده باشد | ū karda shoda bāshad | that he/she have been done
We | ما کرده شده باشیم | mā karda shoda bāshīm | that we have been done
You (pl.) | شما کرده شده باشید | shomā karda shoda bāshīd | that you have been done
They | آنها کرده شده باشند | ānhā karda shoda bāshand | that they have been done
12. Passive Imperative
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
You (sing.) | کرده شو | karda sho | Be done!
You (pl.) | کرده شوید | karda shawīd | Be done!
Negative:
Person | Dari | Transliteration | English
You (sing.) | کرده نشو | karda nasho | Don't be done!
You (pl.) | کرده نشوید | karda nashawīd | Don't be done!
7- NEGATION:
Present Simple Negative نمی + present stem نمیروم na-mi-ravam I do not go / I don't go
Present Continuous Negative ندارم + می + verb ندارم میروم nadāram mi-ravam I am not going
Present Perfect Negative ن + past participle + بودن نرفتهام narafta-am I have not gone
Past Simple Negative ن + past stem نرفتم naraftam I did not go
Past Continuous Negative نمی + past stem نمیرفتم na-mi-raftam I was not going / I would not go
Past Perfect Negative ن + past participle + بود نرفته بودم narafta būdam I had not gone
Future Negative نخواهد + past stem نخواهم رفت na-khwāham raft I will not go
Future Perfect Negative ن + participle + خواهد بود نرفته خواهد بود narafta khwāhad būd It will not have gone
Present Subjunctive Negative ن + present subjunctive نروم naravam I do not go / I should not go
Past Subjunctive Negative ن + participle + باشد نرفته باشد narafta bāshad He/she may not have gone / If he/she has not gone
Negative Imperative ن + imperative نرو naro Don't go!
Negative Passive Infinitive participle + نشدن نوشته نشدن neveshta nashodan not to be written
Present Simple Negative Passive participle + نمیشود نوشته نمیشود neveshta na-mi-shawad It is not written / It does not get written
Present Continuous Negative Passive ندارد + participle + میشود ندارد نوشته میشود (rare) nadārad neveshta mi-shawad It is not being written
Present Perfect Negative Passive participle + نشده است نوشته نشده است neveshta nashoda ast It has not been written
Past Simple Negative Passive participle + نشد نوشته نشد neveshta nashod It was not written
Past Continuous Negative Passive participle + نمیشد نوشته نمیشد neveshta na-mi-shod It was not being written / It would not be written
Past Perfect Negative Passive participle + نشده بود نوشته نشده بود neveshta nashoda būd It had not been written
Future Simple Negative Passive participle + نخواهد شد نوشته نخواهد شد neveshta na-khwāhad shod It will not be written
Future Perfect Negative Passive (rare) participle + نشده خواهد بود نوشته نشده خواهد بود neveshta nashoda khwāhad būd It will not have been written
Present Subjunctive Negative Passive participle + نشود نوشته نشود neveshta nashawad It should not be written / May it not be written
Past Subjunctive Negative Passive participle + نشده باشد نوشته نشده باشد neveshta nashoda bāshad It may not have been written / If it has not been written
Negative Passive Imperative participle + نشو neveshta nasho Do not be written!
نوشته نشو
من خوشحال نیستم.
man khoshhāl nīstam
"I am not happy."
او خانه نیست.
ū khāna nīst.
"He/She is not at home."
او آنجا نبود.
ū ānjā nabūd
"He/She was not there."
امیدوارم مریض نباشی.
omīdwāram marīz nabāshī
"I hope you are not sick."
آرام نباش!
ārām nabāsh!
"Don't be calm!"
دیر نباشید!
dīr nabāshīd!
"Don't be late!"
8- QUESTIONS:
YES/NO QUESTIONS:
Statement:
او آمد.ū āmad."He came."
Question:
او آمد؟ū āmad? "Did he come?"
QUESTION WORDS:
who کی kay
whom کی را kay rā
what چه che
which کدام kodām
where کجا kojā
when کی kay
why چرا cherā
how چگونه / چطور chegūna / chetor
how much چقدر cheqadr
how many چند chand
whose مال کی / از کی māl-e kay / az kay
to whom به کی be kay
from whom از کی az kay
کی آمد؟ kay āmad? Who came?
9- ADVERBS:
# Dari Transliteration English
1 خوب khub well
2 بد bad badly
3 آهسته āhista slowly; quietly
4 آرام ārām calmly; quietly
5 سریع sarī‘ quickly
6 تیز tīz quickly; fast
7 بهآرامی ba-ārāmī calmly; slowly
8 بهسرعت ba-sor‘at quickly
9 بهخوبی ba-khubī well
10 بهدرستی ba-dorostī correctly
11 درست dorost correctly
12 غلط ghalat wrongly
13 آسان āsān easily
14 سخت sakht with difficulty; hard
15 ساده sāda simply
16 دقیق daqīq precisely
17 دقیقاً daqīqan exactly
18 واضح wāzeh clearly
19 روشن rowshan clearly
20 مستقیم mostaqīm directly
21 غیرمستقیم ghayr-e-mostaqīm indirectly
22 ناگهانی nāgahānī suddenly
23 یکباره yakbāra suddenly; all at once
24 عمداً ‘amdan deliberately
25 تصادفاً tasādufan accidentally
26 اتفاقاً ettifāqan by chance
27 عملاً ‘amalan practically
28 شخصاً shakhsan personally
29 معمولاً ma‘mūlan usually
30 جداگانه judāgāna separately
31 مشترکاً moshtarak-an jointly
32 تنها tanhā alone
33 بهتنهایی ba-tanhāyī alone
34 تقریباً taqrīban approximately
35 کاملاً kāmelan completely
36 جزئاً juz'an partially
37 بهطور کامل ba-tor-e kāmel completely
38 بهطور معمول ba-tor-e ma‘mūl normally
39 بهطور مستقیم ba-tor-e mostaqīm directly
40 بهطور غیرمستقیم ba-tor-e ghayr-e mostaqīm indirectly
2. Time adverbs — زمان
Dari Transliteration English
اکنون اکنون / aknūn now
حالا hālā now
هماکنون ham-aknūn right now
اینک īnak now
امروز emrūz today
دیروز dīrūz yesterday
پریروز parīrūz the day before yesterday
فردا fardā tomorrow
پسفردا pas-fardā the day after tomorrow
صبح subh in the morning
بامداد bāmdād at dawn
ظهر zuhr at noon
بعدازظهر ba‘d-az-zuhr afternoon
عصر ‘asr evening/afternoon
شب shab at night
دیشب dīshab last night
امشب emshab tonight
فرداشب fardā-shab tomorrow night
قبلاً qablan previously
پیشتر pēshtar previously
پیش از این pesh az īn before this
سابقاً sābeqan formerly
پیشاپیش pēshāpēsh beforehand
بعداً ba‘dan later
سپس sepas then; afterward
بعد ba‘d afterward
پس از آن pas az ān afterward
بعد از آن ba‘d az ān after that
بعدتر ba‘dtar later
اخیراً akhīran recently
بهتازگی ba-tāzagī recently
تازه tāza recently; just
زود zūd early; soon
دیر dēr late
بهزودی ba-zūdī soon
فوراً fawran immediately
بلافاصله belāfāsela immediately
ناگهان nāgahān suddenly
بالاخره bālākhara finally
سرانجام sar-anjām finally; eventually
نهایتاً nehāyatan finally; ultimately
همزمان hamzamān simultaneously
همزمان ham-zamān at the same time
در ضمن dar zemn meanwhile / incidentally
هنوز hanūz still; yet
همچنان hamchenān still
دیگر dīgar anymore; else
دوباره dobāra again
مجدداً mojaddadan again
باز bāz again
همیشه hamēsha always
هرگز hargiz ever; never
گاهی gāhī sometimes
گاهگاهی gāh-gāhī occasionally
بعضیوقتها ba‘zī-waqt-hā sometimes
اغلب aghlab often
معمولاً ma‘mūlan usually
غالباً ghāleban generally/often
بندرت bedorat rarely
بهندرت ba-nodrat rarely
گهگاه gahgāh occasionally
پیوسته peywasta continuously
مرتب morattab regularly
مرتباً morattaban regularly
دائماً dā'eman constantly
همواره hamwāra always
موقتاً mo'aqqatan temporarily
دائمی dā'emī permanently
3. Frequency adverbs — تکرار
Dari Transliteration English
همیشه hamēsha always
اغلب aghlab often
معمولاً ma‘mūlan usually
غالباً ghāleban often / generally
بیشتر اوقات bēshtar-e awqāt most of the time
بیشتر bēshtar more often
گاهی gāhī sometimes
گاهگاهی gāh-gāhī occasionally
هر از گاهی har az gāhī from time to time
بعضیوقتها ba‘zī-waqt-hā sometimes
هرگز hargiz never / ever
هیچوقت hīch-waqt never
هیچگاهی hīch-gāhī never
بندرت bedorat rarely
بهندرت ba-nodrat rarely
مرتباً morattaban regularly
پیوسته peywasta continually
دائماً dā'eman constantly
مکرراً mokarraran repeatedly
دوباره dobāra again
مجدداً mojaddadan again
چندبار chand-bār several times
یکبار yak-bār once
دوبار do-bār twice
سهبار se-bār three times
بارها bārahā many times
4. Place adverbs — مکان
Dari Transliteration English
اینجا injā here
اینجا injā here
آنجا ānjā there
آنجا ānjā there
همینجا hamīn-jā right here
همانجا hamān-jā right there
اینطرف īn-taraf this side
آنطرف ān-taraf that side
اینسو īn-sū this way/side
آنسو ān-sū that way/side
بالا bālā up / above
پایین pāyīn down / below
داخل dākhel inside
بیرون bīrūn outside
درون darūn inside
خارج khārej outside
جلو jelo in front
عقب ‘aqab behind
پیش pīsh in front / ahead
پشت posht behind
کنار kenār beside
اطراف atrāf around
نزدیک nazdīk near
دور dūr far
همهجا hama-jā everywhere
هیچجا hīch-jā nowhere
جایی jāyī somewhere
جای دیگر jāy-e dīgar elsewhere
هرجا har-jā wherever
هرجایی har-jāyī anywhere
هیچکجا hīch-kajā nowhere
در همهجا dar hama-jā everywhere
از اینجا az injā from here
از آنجا az ānjā from there
5. Direction adverbs — جهت
Dari Transliteration English
اینجا injā here
آنجا ānjā there
اینطرف īn-taraf this way
آنطرف ān-taraf that way
بالا bālā upward
پایین pāyīn downward
به بالا ba-bālā upward
به پایین ba-pāyīn downward
جلو jelo forward
به جلو ba-jelo forward
عقب ‘aqab backward
به عقب ba-‘aqab backward
داخل dākhel inward
به داخل ba-dākhel inward
بیرون bīrūn outward
به بیرون ba-bīrūn outward
پیش pīsh forward / ahead
پس pas backward / back
دوباره dobāra back/again
دور dūr away
نزدیک nazdīk nearer
بهطرف ba-taraf toward
بهسوی ba-sū-ye toward
به اینسو ba-īn-sū this way
به آنسو ba-ān-sū that way
6. Degree adverbs — درجه
Dari Transliteration English
بسیار besyār very; much
خیلی khaylī very; much
زیاد ziyād much; a lot
بیش از حد bēsh az hadd excessively
بیشازحد bēsh-az-hadd excessively
فوقالعاده fowq-ul-‘āda extremely
بسیار زیاد besyār ziyād very much
کاملاً kāmelan completely
تماماً tamāman entirely
مطلقاً motlaqan absolutely
بهکلی ba-kollī completely
تقریباً taqrīban almost; approximately
نزدیک به nazdīk ba nearly
تقریباً نه taqrīban na almost not
کمی kamī a little
اندکی andakī slightly
اندکی بیشتر andakī bēsh slightly more
کمی کمتر kamī kamtar slightly less
نسبتاً nesbatan relatively
تاحدی tā-haddī to some extent
تا اندازهای tā-andāza-ī to some extent
کاملاً kāmelan fully
نیمه nīma half
تقریباً taqrīban nearly
بهسختی ba-sakhtī hardly
بهزحمت ba-zahmat barely
فقط faqat only
تنها tanhā only
صرفاً sarfan merely
محض mahz merely / pure
7. Quantity adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
زیاد ziyād much / a lot
کم kam little
بسیار besyār much / very much
خیلی khaylī very much
بیشتر bēsh-tar more
کمتر kam-tar less
بیشترین bēsh-tarīn the most
کمترین kam-tarīn the least
بهاندازه ba-andāza sufficiently / enough
کافی kāfī enough
بهاندازهٔ کافی ba-andāza-ye kāfī sufficiently
بیش از اندازه bēsh az andāza excessively
به مقدار کافی ba-meqdār-e kāfī sufficiently
کمی kamī a little
اندکی andakī a little
فراوان farāwān abundantly
بهوفور ba-wofūr abundantly
8. Certainty adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
حتماً hatman certainly
قطعاً qat‘an definitely
یقیناً yaqīnan certainly
مسلماً mosallaman certainly
البته albatta of course
بدون شک bedūn-e shak without doubt
بیشک bī-shak undoubtedly
بیتردید bī-tardīd undoubtedly
یقیناً yaqīnan certainly
واقعاً wāqe‘an really
حقیقتاً haqīqatan truly
بهراستی ba-rāstī truly
درواقع dar-wāqe‘ actually
واقعاً wāqe‘an really
9. Probability / possibility adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
شاید shāyad perhaps; maybe
احتمالاً ehtemālan probably
ممکن است momken ast it may be / it is possible
احتمالاً نه ehtemālan na probably not
شاید هم shāyad ham perhaps
ظاهراً zāheran apparently
گویا gūyā apparently
گویا که gūyā ke apparently
ظاهراً zāheran apparently
بهنظر میرسد ba-nazar mīresad apparently / it seems
احتمالاً ehtemālan probably
ممکن است momken ast possibly
بعید است ba‘īd ast unlikely
احتمالاً چنین است ehtemālan chenīn ast probably so
10. Interrogative adverbs
These are especially important.
Dari Transliteration English
چگونه chegūna how
چطور chetor how
چسان chesān how
کجا kojā where
کِی key when
چه وقت che waqt when
چرا cherā why
از کجا az kojā from where
به کجا ba kojā to where
تا کجا tā kojā how far / up to where
چقدر cheqadr how much
چهقدر che-qadr how much
چقدر زیاد cheqadr ziyād how much
چند بار chand bār how many times
چند وقت chand waqt how long
تا کی tā key until when
از کی az key since when
از چه وقت az che waqt since when
برای چه barā-ye che why / for what
به چه دلیل ba-che dalīl for what reason
به چه منظور ba-che manzūr for what purpose
11. Negative adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
نه na no; not
هرگز hargiz never
هیچگاه hīch-gāh never
هیچوقت hīch-waqt never
هیچجا hīch-jā nowhere
هیچکجا hīch-kajā nowhere
بههیچوجه ba-hīch-wajh in no way
اصلاً aslan at all
ابداً abadan never / absolutely not
هرگز نه hargiz na never
دیگر نه dīgar na no longer
دیگر dīgar anymore
هنوز نه hanūz na not yet
بههیچعنوان ba-hīch-onwān under no circumstances
12. Indefinite adverbs
Dari frequently creates indefinite forms with -ی (-ī), هر- (har-), هیچ- (hīch-), etc.
Dari Transliteration English
جایی jāyī somewhere
هرجا har-jā anywhere / wherever
هرجایی har-jāyī anywhere
هیچجا hīch-jā nowhere
گاهی gāhī sometimes
هرگاه har-gāh whenever
هر وقت har-waqt whenever
هرزمان har-zamān whenever
هرگونه har-gūna in any way
به هر صورت ba har-sūrat anyway
به هر حال ba har-hāl anyway
somehow بهنحوی ba-nahwī
بهنوعی ba-now‘ī somehow / in a way
somehow یکجوری yak-jūrī
somehow یکطور yak-tor
13. Demonstrative adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
اینجا injā here
آنجا ānjā there
همینجا hamīn-jā right here
همانجا hamān-jā right there
اینطور īn-tor this way
آنطور ān-tor that way
اینگونه īn-gūna in this way
آنگونه ān-gūna in that way
چنین chenīn thus / like this
چنان chenān like that / so
اینچنین īn-chenīn like this
آنچنان ān-chenān like that
از اینجا az injā from here
از آنجا az ānjā from there
به اینجا ba injā to here
به آنجا ba ānjā to there
14. Relative adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
جایی که jāyī ke where
هرجا که har-jā ke wherever
وقتی که waqtī ke when
زمانی که zamānī ke when
آنگاه که āngāh ke when
چنانکه chenān-ke as; just as
آنگونه که ān-gūna ke as / in the way that
همانطور که hamān-tor ke just as
بهطوری که ba-torī ke so that / in such a way that
هرگاه که har-gāh ke whenever
15. Focus and emphasis adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
فقط faqat only
تنها tanhā only
صرفاً sarfan merely
دقیقاً daqīqan exactly
درست dorost exactly / precisely
حتی hattā even
نیز nīz also
هم ham also
همچنین hamchenīn also
مخصوصاً makhsūsan especially
بهخصوص be-khosūs especially
خصوصاً khususan especially
عمدتاً ‘omdetan mainly
بیشتر bēsh-tar mostly
بهویژه ba-wēzha especially
حتیالمقدور hattā-l-maqdūr as much as possible
دستکم dast-kam at least
حداقل hadd-e aqal at least
حداکثر hadd-e aksar at most
16. Restrictive adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
فقط faqat only
تنها tanhā only
صرفاً sarfan merely
محض mahz merely
فقط همین faqat hamīn only this
فقط آن faqat ān only that
دستکم dast-kam at least
حداقل hadd-e aqal at least
حداکثر hadd-e aksar at most
نهایتاً nehāyatan at most / ultimately
17. Addition adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
هم ham also
نیز nīz also
همچنین hamchenīn also
علاوه بر آن alāwa bar ān in addition
علاوه بر این alāwa bar īn besides this
افزون بر این afzūn bar īn furthermore
بهعلاوه be-alāwa additionally
ضمناً zemnan additionally / incidentally
نیز هم nīz ham also
بازهم bāz ham again / also
18. Contrast / concession adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
اما ammā however / but
ولی walī but / however
بااینحال bā-īn-hāl nevertheless
با وجود این bā-wujūd-e īn nevertheless
با این وجود bā-īn-wujūd nevertheless
باوجوداین bā-wujūd-e-īn nevertheless
درعوض dar-ewaz instead
برعکس bar-aks conversely
برخلاف آن bar-khelāf-e ān contrary to that
در مقابل dar moqābel in contrast
درحالیکه dar-hālī-ke whereas / while
با وجود آن bā-wujūd-e ān despite that
19. Result / consequence adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
بنابراین banābar-īn therefore
پس pas therefore / then
لذا leżā therefore
ازاینرو az-īn-rū therefore
درنتیجه dar-natīja as a result
در نتیجه dar natīja consequently
بنابراینکه banābar-īn-ke therefore that
به همین دلیل ba-hamīn dalīl for this reason
به این ترتیب ba-īn tartīb in this way / consequently
دراینصورت dar-īn-sūrat in that case
آنگاه āngāh then
بدینترتیب badīn-tartīb thus
20. Attitude / evaluation adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
خوشبختانه khoshbakhtāna fortunately
متأسفانه mota'assifāna unfortunately
امیدوارانه omīd-wārāna hopefully
صادقانه sādeqāna honestly
شخصاً shakhsan personally
واقعاً wāqe‘an really
حقیقتاً haqīqatan truly
ظاهراً zāheran apparently
طبیعتاً tabī‘atan naturally
البته albatta of course
مسلماً mosallaman certainly
عملاً ‘amalan practically
نظریاً nazariyyan theoretically
احتمالاً ehtemālan probably
خوشبختانه khoshbakhtāna fortunately
عجیباً ajīban strangely
شگفتآورانه shegeft-āwarāna surprisingly
21. Approximation adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
تقریباً taqrīban approximately
حدوداً hodūdan approximately
تقریباً همینقدر taqrīban hamīn-qadr approximately this much
حدود hodūd around/about
نزدیک به nazdīk ba nearly
کموبیش kam-o-bēsh more or less
تقریباً taqrīban almost
تقریباً همیشه taqrīban hamēsha almost always
تقریباً هرگز taqrīban hargiz almost never
تقریباً همه taqrīban hama almost all
22. Sequence / ordering adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
اول awwal first
نخست nokhost first
ابتدا ebtedā initially
در ابتدا dar ebtedā at first
اولاً awwalan firstly
سپس sepas then
بعد ba‘d afterward
بعداً ba‘dan later
بعد از آن ba‘d az ān after that
سپس sepas subsequently
آنگاه āngāh then
سرانجام sar-anjām finally
بالاخره bālākhara finally
نهایتاً nehāyatan ultimately
در پایان dar pāyān finally
درنهایت dar-nehāyat ultimately
23. Purpose / circumstance adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
عمداً ‘amdan deliberately
آگاهانه āgāhāna consciously
ناآگاهانه nā-āgāhāna unconsciously
تصادفاً tasādufan accidentally
اتفاقاً ettifāqan by chance
عمداً ‘amdan intentionally
بهقصد ba-qasd intentionally
بهمنظور ba-manzūr for the purpose of
بیقصد bī-qasd unintentionally
ناخواسته nākhwāsta unwillingly / unintentionally
بهطور اتفاقی ba-tor-e ettifāqī accidentally
24. Comparative adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
بیشتر bēsh-tar more
کمتر kam-tar less
زیادتر ziyād-tar more
بهتر behtar better
بدتر bad-tar worse
بیشتر از bēsh-tar az more than
کمتر از kam-tar az less than
به همان اندازه ba-hamān andāza equally
بهاندازهٔ ba-andāza-ye as much as
همانقدر hamān-qadr as much
همینقدر hamīn-qadr this much
آنقدر ān-qadr that much
هرچه بیشتر har-che bēsh-tar the more
هرچه کمتر har-che kam-tar the less
25. “How?” series
This is a useful master series:
Function Dari Transliteration English
How? چگونه chegūna how?
How? چطور chetor how?
In this way اینطور īn-tor like this
In that way آنطور ān-tor like that
Thus چنین chenīn thus
So / in such a way چنان chenān so / like that
Somehow بهنحوی ba-nahwī somehow
Somehow بهنوعی ba-now‘ī somehow
In no way بههیچوجه ba-hīch-wajh in no way
In any way به هر نحوی ba har nahwī in any way
However هرطور har-tor however / any way
However one likes هرطور که har-tor ke however
26. “Where?” series
Function Dari Transliteration English
Where? کجا kojā where?
Here اینجا injā here
There آنجا ānjā there
Somewhere جایی jāyī somewhere
Nowhere هیچجا hīch-jā nowhere
Anywhere هرجا har-jā anywhere / wherever
Elsewhere جای دیگر jāy-e dīgar elsewhere
From where? از کجا az kojā from where?
From here از اینجا az injā from here
From there از آنجا az ānjā from there
To where? به کجا ba kojā to where?
To here به اینجا ba injā to here
To there به آنجا ba ānjā to there
Everywhere همهجا hama-jā everywhere
27. “When?” series
Function Dari Transliteration English
When? کی key when?
When? چه وقت che waqt when?
Now حالا hālā now
Then آنگاه āngāh then
Sometimes گاهی gāhī sometimes
Never هرگز hargiz never
Always همیشه hamēsha always
Whenever هرگاه har-gāh whenever
Whenever هر وقت har-waqt whenever
Once یکبار yak-bār once
Again دوباره dobāra again
Before قبلاً qablan previously
Afterward بعداً ba‘dan afterward
Until when? تا کی tā key until when?
Since when? از کی az key since when?
28. “How much?” series
Function Dari Transliteration English
How much? چقدر cheqadr how much?
How many? چند chand how many?
So much آنقدر ān-qadr that much
This much اینقدر īn-qadr this much
As much همانقدر hamān-qadr as much
Very much خیلی khaylī very much
Too much بیش از حد bēsh az hadd too much
Little کم kam little
More بیشتر bēsh-tar more
Less کمتر kam-tar less
Enough کافی kāfī enough
Not enough ناکافی nā-kāfī insufficient
29. Common adverbial phrases
Dari frequently forms adverbs using به + noun/adjective + -ی.
Formation Example English
به + آرامی بهآرامی راه رفت. He walked slowly/calmly.
به + سرعت بهسرعت رفت. He went quickly.
به + خوبی بهخوبی کار کرد. He worked well.
به + درستی بهدرستی جواب داد. He answered correctly.
به + آسانی بهآسانی حل شد. It was solved easily.
به + سختی بهسختی راه رفت. He walked with difficulty.
به + تنهایی بهتنهایی زندگی میکند. He lives alone.
به + طور + ... بهطور کامل completely
به + طور + ... بهطور معمول normally
به + طور + ... بهطور مستقیم directly
به + طور + ... بهطور غیرمستقیم indirectly
به + طور + ... بهطور کلی generally
30. Very common discourse adverbs
Dari Transliteration English
البته albatta of course
بنابراین banābarīn therefore
پس pas so / therefore / then
اما ammā however
ولی walī but / however
همچنین hamchenīn also
نیز nīz also
ضمناً zemnan besides / incidentally
درواقع dar-wāqe‘ actually
درنتیجه dar-natīja consequently
بههرحال ba-har-hāl anyway
درهرحال dar-har-hāl in any case
مثلاً masalan for example
مخصوصاً makhsūsan especially
بهخصوص be-khosūs especially
درنهایت dar-nehāyat finally
خلاصه kholāsa in short
عموماً ‘omūman generally
کلاً kollan generally / overall
دقیقاً daqīqan exactly
تقریباً taqrīban approximately
10- CONJUNCTIONS:
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
1 و wa and من کتاب میخوانم و او موسیقی گوش میدهد. — Man ketāb mikhānam wa ū mūsīqī gūsh midahad. — I read a book and he listens to music.
2 یا yā or چای میخوری یا قهوه؟ — Chāy mikhurī yā qahwa? — Do you drink tea or coffee?
3 یا اینکه yā īnke or else / or rather امروز میروی یا اینکه فردا میروی؟ — Emrūz merawī yā īnke fardā merawī? — Are you going today or tomorrow?
4 اما ammā but / however میخواستم بروم، اما باران میبارید. — Mekhāstam berawam, ammā bārān mibārīd. — I wanted to go, but it was raining.
5 ولی walī but / however او خسته بود، ولی کار کرد. — Ū khasta būd, walī kār kard. — He was tired, but he worked.
6 لیکن lekin but / however هوا سرد بود، لیکن ما بیرون رفتیم. — Hawā sard būd, lekin mā بيرūn raftīm. — The weather was cold, but we went outside.
7 بلکه balka but rather / instead او نه تنها آمد، بلکه دوستانش را هم آورد. — Ū na tanhā āmad, balka dūstānash rā ham āward. — He not only came, but also brought his friends.
8 بلکه هم balka ham but also او نه تنها درس میخواند، بلکه هم کار میکند. — Ū na tanhā dars mikhānad, balka ham kār mikonad. — He not only studies, but also works.
2. Additive conjunctions
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
9 نیز nīz also / and also او آمد و نیز دوستش را آورد. — Ū āmad wa nīz dūstash rā āward. — He came and also brought his friend.
10 همچنین hamchenān also / likewise او انگلیسی میداند؛ همچنین عربی هم میداند. — Ū Englīsī midānad; hamchenān Arabī ham midānad. — He knows English; he also knows Arabic.
11 هم ham also / too من میروم و او هم میآید. — Man merawam wa ū ham miyāyad. — I am going and he also is coming.
12 علاوه بر این alāwa bar īn besides / furthermore او سخت کار میکند؛ علاوه بر این زیاد مطالعه میکند. — Ū sakht kār mikonad; alāwa bar īn ziyād motāla'a mikonad. — He works hard; besides, he studies a lot.
13 بهعلاوه be-alāwa additionally / moreover این کتاب مفید است؛ بهعلاوه ارزان است. — Īn ketāb mofīd ast; be-alāwa arzān ast. — This book is useful; moreover, it is cheap.
14 افزون بر این afzūn bar īn furthermore هوا خوب است؛ افزون بر این، وقت کافی داریم. — Hawā khūb ast; afzūn bar īn, waqt-e kāfī dārīm. — The weather is good; furthermore, we have enough time.
3. Cause and reason
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
15 چون chūn because / since من به خانه ماندم چون مریض بودم. — Man ba khāna māndam chūn marīz būdam. — I stayed home because I was sick.
16 زیرا zerā because او نیامد زیرا بیمار بود. — Ū nayāmad zerā bīmār būd. — He did not come because he was ill.
17 چونکه chūn-ke because من خوشحال هستم چونکه امتحان تمام شده است. — Man khushhāl hastam chūn-ke emtehān tamām shoda ast. — I am happy because the exam is finished.
18 بهخاطر اینکه be-khāter-e īnke because او نیامد بهخاطر اینکه بیمار بود. — Ū nayāmad be-khāter-e īnke bīmār būd. — He did not come because he was sick.
19 از آنجا که az ān-jā ke since / because از آنجا که دیر شده است، باید برویم. — Az ān-jā ke der shoda ast, bāyad berawīm. — Since it has become late, we must go.
20 از اینرو که az īn-rū ke because / for this reason او نیامد از اینرو که بیمار بود. — Ū nayāmad az īn-rū ke bīmār būd. — He did not come because he was ill.
4. Result / consequence
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
21 بنابراین banābarīn therefore باران میبارد؛ بنابراین در خانه میمانیم. — Bārān mibārad; banābarīn dar khāna mimānīm. — It is raining; therefore, we are staying home.
22 پس pas so / therefore / then خسته هستی، پس استراحت کن. — Khasta hastī, pas esterāhat kon. — You are tired, so rest.
23 لذا leżā therefore / hence وقت کم است، لذا باید زود برویم. — Waqt kam ast, leżā bāyad zūd berawīm. — There is little time, therefore we must leave early.
24 ازاینرو az-īn-rū therefore / hence او بیمار بود، ازاینرو به مدرسه نرفت. — Ū bīmār būd, az-īn-rū ba maktab naraft. — He was sick; therefore, he did not go to school.
25 در نتیجه dar natīja as a result / consequently زیاد مطالعه کرد؛ در نتیجه موفق شد. — Ziyād motāla'a kard; dar natīja movaffaq shod. — He studied a lot; as a result, he succeeded.
26 به همین دلیل ba hamīn dalīl for this reason هوا سرد بود؛ به همین دلیل بیرون نرفتیم. — Hawā sard būd; ba hamīn dalīl بيرūn naraftīm. — It was cold; for this reason, we did not go outside.
5. Conditional conjunctions
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
27 اگر agar if اگر وقت داشته باشم، به تو کمک میکنم. — Agar waqt dāshta bāsham, ba to komak mikonam. — If I have time, I will help you.
28 اگر که agar ke if اگر که باران ببارد، نمیرویم. — Agar ke bārān bebārad, nemerawīm. — If it rains, we will not go.
29 اگرچه agarche although / even though اگرچه خسته بود، کار کرد. — Agarche khasta būd, kār kard. — Although he was tired, he worked.
30 گرچه garche although گرچه هوا سرد بود، بیرون رفتیم. — Garche hawā sard būd, بيرūn raftīm. — Although the weather was cold, we went outside.
31 چنانچه chenānche if / provided that چنانچه آماده باشید، شروع میکنیم. — Chenānche āmāda bāshīd, shorū‘ mikonīm. — If you are ready, we will begin.
32 در صورتی که dar sūratī ke if / provided that در صورتی که وقت داشته باشم، میآیم. — Dar sūratī ke waqt dāshta bāsham, miyāyam. — If I have time, I will come.
33 مشروط بر اینکه mashrūt bar īnke provided that میتوانی بروی مشروط بر اینکه زود برگردی. — Metawānī berawī mashrūt bar īnke zūd bargardī. — You can go provided that you return early.
34 مگر اینکه magar īnke unless میآیم مگر اینکه باران شدید ببارد. — Miyāyam magar īnke bārān-e shadīd bebārad. — I will come unless it rains heavily.
35 وگرنه wagarna otherwise / or else زود بیا، وگرنه دیر میرسیم. — Zūd biyā, wagarna der miresīm. — Come early, otherwise we will be late.
6. Temporal conjunctions
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
36 وقتی که waqtī ke when وقتی که رسیدی، به من زنگ بزن. — Waqtī ke residī, ba man zang bezan. — When you arrive, call me.
37 زمانی که zamānī ke when زمانی که کودک بودم، اینجا زندگی میکردم. — Zamānī ke koodak būdam, injā zendagī mikardam. — When I was a child, I lived here.
38 هنگامی که hengāmī ke when هنگامی که او آمد، ما غذا میخوردیم. — Hengāmī ke ū āmad, mā ghazā mikhوردīm. — When he arrived, we were eating.
39 تا وقتی که tā waqtī ke until / as long as تا وقتی که برگردی، اینجا میمانم. — Tā waqtī ke bargardī, injā mimānam. — I will stay here until you return.
40 تا زمانی که tā zamānī ke until / as long as تا زمانی که باران ببارد، بیرون نمیرویم. — Tā zamānī ke bārān bebārad, بيرūn nemerawīm. — As long as it rains, we will not go outside.
41 پیش از اینکه pēsh az īnke before پیش از اینکه بخوابی، کتاب را بخوان. — Pēsh az īnke bekhwābī, ketāb rā bekhwān. — Read the book before you sleep.
42 قبل از اینکه qabl az īnke before قبل از اینکه بروی، با من صحبت کن. — Qabl az īnke berawī, bā man sohbat kon. — Talk to me before you leave.
43 بعد از اینکه ba‘d az īnke after بعد از اینکه غذا خوردیم، بیرون رفتیم. — Ba‘d az īnke ghazā khوردīm, بيرūn raftīm. — After we ate, we went outside.
44 هرگاه hargāh whenever / whenever that هرگاه به کابل میروم، دوستانم را میبینم. — Hargāh ba Kābol merawam, dūstānam rā mibīnam. — Whenever I go to Kabul, I see my friends.
45 هر وقت har waqt whenever هر وقت خواستی، بیا. — Har waqt khwāstī, biyā. — Come whenever you want.
46 تا اینکه tā īnke until / so that eventually منتظر ماندیم تا اینکه او آمد. — Montazer māndīm tā īnke ū āmad. — We waited until he came.
7. Purpose conjunctions
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
47 تا tā so that / in order to زود آمدم تا تو را ببینم. — Zūd āmadam tā to rā ببینم. — I came early so that I could see you.
48 برای اینکه barā-ye īnke in order that / because زود خوابیدم برای اینکه صبح زود بیدار شوم. — Zūd khwābīdam barā-ye īnke sobh zūd bedār shوم. — I slept early so that I could wake up early.
49 بهخاطر اینکه be-khāter-e īnke because / due to the fact that او نیامد بهخاطر اینکه مریض بود. — Ū nayāmad be-khāter-e īnke marīz būd. — He did not come because he was sick.
50 برای آنکه barā-ye ānke in order that او تلاش کرد برای آنکه موفق شود. — Ū talāsh kard barā-ye ānke movaffaq shود. — He tried in order to succeed.
51 بهمنظور اینکه ba-manzūr-e īnke in order that برنامهای ساختیم بهمنظور اینکه مشکل حل شود. — Barnāma-ī sākhtīm ba-manzūr-e īnke moshkel hal shود. — We made a plan in order that the problem would be solved.
8. Concession / contrast
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
52 هرچند harچand although / even though هرچند خسته بود، ادامه داد. — Harchand khasta būd, edāma dād. — Although he was tired, he continued.
53 هرچند که harchand ke although هرچند که دشوار بود، انجامش دادیم. — Harchand ke دشwār būd, anjāmash dādīm. — Although it was difficult, we did it.
54 با اینکه bā īnke although / even though با اینکه باران میبارید، بیرون رفتیم. — Bā īnke bārān mibārīd, بیرūn raftīm. — Although it was raining, we went outside.
55 باوجود اینکه ba-wujūd-e īnke despite the fact that باوجود اینکه خسته بود، کار کرد. — Bā-wujūd-e īnke khasta būd, kār kard. — Despite the fact that he was tired, he worked.
56 در حالی که dar hālī ke while / whereas او میخندید در حالی که من گریه میکردم. — Ū mikhandīd dar hālī ke man gerya mikardam. — He was laughing while I was crying.
57 درصورتی که dar-sūratī ke whereas / if او زیاد کار میکند درصورتی که برادرش استراحت میکند. — Ū ziyād kār mikonad dar-sūratī ke برادرش esterāhat mikonad. — He works a lot whereas his brother rests.
9. Comparison / manner conjunctions
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
58 مانند اینکه mānand-e īnke as if / as though او رفتار میکند مانند اینکه همهچیز را میداند. — Ū raftār mikonad mānand-e īnke hama-chīz rā midānad. — He behaves as if he knows everything.
59 چنانکه chenān-ke as / just as چنانکه میدانی، این کار آسان نیست. — Chenān-ke midānī, īn kār āsān nīst. — As you know, this is not easy.
60 همانطور که hamān-tor ke just as / as همانطور که گفتی، او آمد. — Hamān-tor ke goftī, ū āmad. — Just as you said, he came.
61 آنگونه که ān-gūna ke in the way that / as کار را آنگونه که خواستی انجام دادم. — Kār rā ān-gūna ke khwāstī anjām dādam. — I did the work the way you wanted.
62 چنانکه گویی chenān-ke gūyī as though / as if او صحبت میکرد چنانکه گویی همهچیز را دیده است. — Ū sohbat mikard chenān-ke gūyī hama-chīz rā dīda ast. — He spoke as though he had seen everything.
10. Correlative conjunctions
These work as paired structures.
# Dari structure Transliteration English Example
63 هم...هم ham...ham both...and هم علی هم احمد آمدند. — Ham Alī ham Ahmad āmadand. — Both Ali and Ahmad came.
64 نه...نه na...na neither...nor نه علی نه احمد آمدند. — Na Alī na Ahmad āmadand. — Neither Ali nor Ahmad came.
65 یا...یا yā...yā either...or یا امروز یا فردا میرویم. — Yā emrūz yā fardā merawīm. — We will go either today or tomorrow.
66 نه تنها...بلکه na tanhā...balka not only...but also نه تنها انگلیسی میداند، بلکه عربی هم میداند. — Na tanhā Englīsī midānad, balka Arabī ham midānad. — He knows not only English but also Arabic.
67 چه...چه che...che whether...or / both...and چه امروز چه فردا، باید برویم. — Che emrūz che fardā, bāyad berawīm. — Whether today or tomorrow, we must go.
68 خواه...خواه khwāh...khwāh whether...or خواه بخواهی خواه نخواهی، باید بروی. — Khwāh bekhwāhī khwāh nakhwāhī, bāyad berawī. — Whether you want to or not, you must go.
69 هم...و هم ham...wa ham both...and هم درس میخواند و هم کار میکند. — Ham dars mikhānad wa ham kār mikonad. — He both studies and works.
11. Explanatory / complement conjunctions
# Dari Transliteration English Example
70 که ke that میدانم که او میآید. — Midānam ke ū miyāyad. — I know that he is coming.
71 اینکه īnke that / the fact that خوشحالم که آمدی. — Khushhālam ke āmadī. — I am happy that you came.
72 تا اینکه tā īnke until / so that صبر کردیم تا اینکه او رسید. — Sabr kardīm tā īnke ū رسīd. — We waited until he arrived.
73 طوری که torī ke so that / in such a way that آنقدر سریع رفت طوری که کسی نتوانست او را بگیرد. — Ān-qadr sarī‘ raft torī ke kasī نتوانست ū rā begīrad. — He went so fast that nobody could catch him.
74 بهطوری که ba-torī ke in such a way that او صحبت کرد بهطوری که همه فهمیدند. — Ū sohbat kard ba-torī ke hama fahmīdand. — He spoke in such a way that everyone understood.
12. Alternative / exception / otherwise
# Dari Transliteration English Example
75 مگر magar unless / except / but همه آمدند مگر احمد. — Hama āmadand magar Ahmad. — Everyone came except Ahmad.
76 مگر اینکه magar īnke unless میآیم مگر اینکه مشکلی پیش بیاید. — Miyāyam magar īnke moshkelī pesh biyāyad. — I will come unless a problem arises.
77 وگرنه wagarna otherwise عجله کن، وگرنه دیر میرسی. — Ajala kon, wagarna der meresī. — Hurry, otherwise you will be late.
78 جز اینکه joz īnke except that چیزی نمیخواهم جز اینکه کمکم کنی. — Chīzī nemekhāham joz īnke komakam konī. — I want nothing except that you help me.
13. Sequence / continuation connectors
# Dari Transliteration English Example
79 سپس sepas then / afterward غذا خوردیم سپس به خانه رفتیم. — Ghazā khوردīm, sepas ba khāna raftīm. — We ate then went home.
80 آنگاه āngāh then / at that time ابتدا صحبت کرد و آنگاه رفت. — Ebtedā sohbat kard wa āngāh raft. — He spoke first and then left.
81 بعد ba‘d then / afterward اول درس بخوان، بعد بازی کن. — Awwal dars bekhwān, ba‘d bāzī kon. — Study first, then play.
82 بعد از آن ba‘d az ān after that غذا خوردیم و بعد از آن بیرون رفتیم. — Ghazā khوردīm wa ba‘d az ān بیرūn raftīm. — We ate and after that went outside.
83 درنهایت dar-nehāyat finally / ultimately زیاد تلاش کرد و درنهایت موفق شد. — Ziyād talāsh kard wa dar-nehāyat movaffaq shod. — He tried hard and finally succeeded.
14. Common connective expressions
# Dari Transliteration English Example
84 با این حال bā īn hāl however / nevertheless هوا سرد بود؛ با این حال بیرون رفتیم. — Hawā sard būd; bā īn hāl بیرūn raftīm. — The weather was cold; nevertheless, we went outside.
85 با وجود این bā wujūd-e īn nevertheless / despite this مشکل بود؛ با وجود این انجامش دادیم. — Moshkel būd; bā wujūd-e īn anjāmash dādīm. — It was difficult; nevertheless, we did it.
86 در عوض dar ewaz instead / in return او نیامد؛ در عوض برادرش آمد. — Ū nayāmad; dar ewaz برادرash āmad. — He did not come; instead, his brother came.
87 برعکس bar‘aks on the contrary / conversely او تنبل نیست؛ برعکس، بسیار فعال است. — Ū تنبل nīst; bar‘aks, besyār fa‘āl ast. — He is not lazy; on the contrary, he is very active.
88 به هر حال ba-har-hāl anyway / in any case به هر حال باید تصمیم بگیریم. — Ba-har-hāl bāyad tasmīm begīrīm. — Anyway, we have to decide.
89 در هر حال dar har hāl in any case در هر حال من به تو کمک میکنم. — Dar har hāl man ba to komak mikonam. — In any case, I will help you.
90 در واقع dar wāqe‘ in fact / actually او در واقع برادر من است. — Ū dar wāqe‘ برادر-e man ast. — He is actually my brother.
11- PREPOSITIONS
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
1 از az from; of; than من از کابل آمدم. — Man az Kābol āmadam. — I came from Kabul.
2 به ba to; toward; at; in من به مکتب میروم. — Man ba maktab merawam. — I go to school.
3 در dar in; at; inside او در خانه است. — Ū dar khāna ast. — He is in the house.
4 با bā with; by من با دوستم صحبت کردم. — Man bā dūstam sohbat kardam. — I spoke with my friend.
5 برای barā-ye for این کتاب برای تو است. — Īn ketāb barā-ye to ast. — This book is for you.
6 تا tā until; up to; to تا کابل سه ساعت راه است. — Tā Kābol se sā'at rāh ast. — It is three hours to Kabul.
7 بر bar on; upon; over کتاب بر میز است. — Ketāb bar mīz ast. — The book is on the table.
8 بی bī without او بی اجازه رفت. — Ū bī ejāza raft. — He left without permission.
9 نزد nazd-e at; with; in the presence of او نزد داکتر رفت. — Ū nazd-e dākter raft. — He went to/see the doctor.
10 پیش pēsh-e before; at someone's place من پیش دوستم رفتم. — Man pēsh-e dūstam raftam. — I went to my friend's place.
11 مثل mesl-e like او مثل پدرش کار میکند. — Ū mesl-e pedarash kār mikonad. — He works like his father.
12 مانند mānand-e like; such as او مانند یک استاد صحبت میکند. — Ū mānand-e yak ustād sohbat mikonad. — He speaks like a professor.
13 همچون hamchūn like; as او همچون یک قهرمان جنگید. — Ū hamchūn-e yak qahremān jangīd. — He fought like a hero.
14 نزدِ nazd-e with; at من نزدِ او ماندم. — Man nazd-e ū māndam. — I stayed with him.
15 اندر andar in; within این داستان اندر کتاب آمده است. — Īn dāstān andar ketāb āmada ast. — This story appears in the book.
Note: اندر is literary/archaic and is much less common in everyday modern Dari.
2. Direction and movement
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
16 به سوی ba-sū-ye toward او به سوی خانه رفت. — Ū ba-sū-ye khāna raft. — He went toward the house.
17 بهطرف ba-taraf-e toward ما بهطرف شهر رفتیم. — Mā ba-taraf-e shahr raftīm. — We went toward the city.
18 به سمت ba-samt-e toward او به سمت دروازه رفت. — Ū ba-samt-e darwāza raft. — He went toward the gate.
19 به جانب ba-jānib-e toward سربازان به جانب شهر حرکت کردند. — Sar-bāzān ba-jānib-e shahr harekat kardand. — The soldiers moved toward the city.
20 از سوی az-sū-ye from the direction/side of او از سوی خانه آمد. — Ū az-sū-ye khāna āmad. — He came from the direction of the house.
21 از طرف az-taraf-e from; on behalf of این نامه از طرف مدیر است. — Īn nāma az taraf-e modīr ast. — This letter is from the manager.
22 از سمت az-samt-e from the direction of او از سمت بازار آمد. — Ū az-samt-e bāzār āmad. — He came from the direction of the market.
23 از جانب az-jānib-e from; on behalf of پیام از جانب رئیس بود. — Payām az-jānib-e ra'īs būd. — The message was from the president/chief.
24 در جهت dar jehat-e in the direction of ما در جهت شمال حرکت کردیم. — Mā dar jehat-e shomāl harekat kardīm. — We moved in the direction of the north.
3. Location and position
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
25 کنار kenār-e beside; next to او کنار من نشست. — Ū kenār-e man neshast. — He sat beside me.
26 نزدیک nazdīk-e near خانه نزدیک مکتب است. — Khāna nazdīk-e maktab ast. — The house is near the school.
27 دور از dūr az far from خانه دور از شهر است. — Khāna dūr az shahr ast. — The house is far from the city.
28 بالای bālā-ye above; on top of کتاب بالای میز است. — Ketāb bālā-ye mīz ast. — The book is on top of the table.
29 زیر zēr-e under; below گربه زیر میز است. — Gorba zēr-e mīz ast. — The cat is under the table.
30 پایینِ pāyīn-e below خانه پایینِ تپه است. — Khāna pāyīn-e tapa ast. — The house is below the hill.
31 بالایِ bālā-ye above پرنده بالای درخت است. — Paranda bālā-ye derakht ast. — The bird is above the tree.
32 داخلِ dākhel-e inside او داخلِ اتاق است. — Ū dākhel-e otāq ast. — He is inside the room.
33 بیرونِ bīrūn-e outside ماشین بیرونِ خانه است. — Māshīn bīrūn-e khāna ast. — The car is outside the house.
34 میان miyān-e among; between او میان مردم ایستاد. — Ū miyān-e mardom ایستاد. — He stood among the people.
35 بین beyn-e between; among او بین دو دوستش نشست. — Ū beyn-e do dūstash neshast. — He sat between his two friends.
36 در میان dar miyān-e among; in the middle of او در میان جمع ایستاد. — Ū dar miyān-e jam‘ ایستاد. — He stood among the crowd.
37 در کنار dar kenār-e beside; alongside او در کنار من نشست. — Ū dar kenār-e man neshast. — He sat beside me.
38 روبهروی rū-be-rū-ye opposite; across from مکتب روبهروی مسجد است. — Maktab rū-be-rū-ye masjed ast. — The school is opposite the mosque.
39 مقابل moqābel-e opposite; in front of خانه مقابل پارک است. — Khāna moqābel-e pārk ast. — The house is opposite the park.
40 پشت posht-e behind ماشین پشت خانه است. — Māshīn posht-e khāna ast. — The car is behind the house.
41 جلوِ jelow-e in front of او جلوِ در ایستاده است. — Ū jelow-e dar ایستāda ast. — He is standing in front of the door.
42 پیشِ pēsh-e before; in front of; at او پیشِ استاد نشست. — Ū pēsh-e ustād neshast. — He sat in front of the teacher.
43 اطراف atrāf-e around; surrounding خانههای زیادی اطرافِ پارک هستند. — Khāna-hā-ye ziyādī atrāf-e pārk hastand. — There are many houses around the park.
44 پیرامون pīrāmūn-e around; concerning مردم پیرامون میز جمع شدند. — Mardom pīrāmūn-e mīz jam‘ shodand. — People gathered around the table.
4. Time
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
45 قبل از qabl az before قبل از غذا دستهایت را بشوی. — Qabl az ghazā dast-hāyat rā beshūy. — Wash your hands before eating.
46 پیش از pēsh az before پیش از خواب کتاب میخوانم. — Pēsh az khwāb ketāb mikhānam. — I read a book before sleep.
47 بعد از ba‘d az after بعد از کار به خانه میروم. — Ba‘d az kār ba khāna merawam. — I go home after work.
48 پس از pas az after پس از جنگ، شهر بازسازی شد. — Pas az jang, shahr bāzsāzī shod. — After the war, the city was rebuilt.
49 هنگامِ hengām-e during; at the time of هنگامِ سفر عکسهای زیادی گرفتم. — Hengām-e safar aks-hā-ye ziyād gereftam. — I took many photos during the trip.
50 در جریانِ dar jaryān-e during; in the course of در جریانِ جلسه این موضوع مطرح شد. — Dar jaryān-e jalsa īn mowzū‘ مطرح shod. — This issue was raised during the meeting.
51 در طولِ dar tūl-e during; throughout در طولِ سال زیاد کار کردم. — Dar tūl-e sāl ziyād kār kardam. — I worked a lot throughout the year.
52 تا tā until تا فردا صبر میکنم. — Tā fardā sabr mikonam. — I will wait until tomorrow.
53 از ... تا az ... tā from...to از صبح تا شب کار کردم. — Az sobh tā shab kār kardam. — I worked from morning until night.
54 به مدتِ ba moddat-e for a period of او به مدتِ دو ساعت مطالعه کرد. — Ū ba moddat-e do sā‘at motāla‘a kard. — He studied for two hours.
55 در مدتِ dar moddat-e during the period of در مدتِ یک هفته همهچیز تغییر کرد. — Dar moddat-e yak hafta hama-chīz taghyīr kard. — Everything changed during one week.
5. Cause, reason, and source
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
56 به دلیلِ ba dalīl-e because of پرواز به دلیلِ باران لغو شد. — Parwāz ba dalīl-e bārān laghw shod. — The flight was cancelled because of rain.
57 به خاطرِ ba khāter-e because of; for the sake of او به خاطرِ خانوادهاش ماند. — Ū ba khāter-e khānevāda-ash mānd. — He stayed for the sake of his family.
58 به سببِ ba sabab-e because of; due to مسابقه به سببِ باران لغو شد. — Mosābeqa ba sabab-e bārān laghw shod. — The match was cancelled because of rain.
59 در اثرِ dar asar-e as a result of; due to جاده در اثرِ باران خراب شد. — Jāda dar asar-e bārān kharāb shod. — The road was damaged as a result of the rain.
60 بر اثرِ bar asar-e as a result of او بر اثرِ حادثه زخمی شد. — Ū bar asar-e hādisa zakhmī shod. — He was injured as a result of the accident.
61 از رویِ az rū-ye out of; based on او از رویِ علاقه این کار را انجام داد. — Ū az rū-ye alāqa īn kār rā anjām dād. — He did this out of interest.
62 از بابتِ az bābat-e because of; regarding از بابتِ کمک شما تشکر میکنم. — Az bābat-e komak-e shomā tashakor mikonam. — I thank you for your help.
63 از طرفِ az taraf-e from; on behalf of این پیام از طرفِ مدیر است. — Īn payām az taraf-e modīr ast. — This message is from the manager.
6. Purpose and beneficiary
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
64 برایِ barā-ye for این هدیه برایِ تو است. — Īn hadya barā-ye to ast. — This gift is for you.
65 بهخاطرِ ba-khāter-e for the sake of او بهخاطرِ خانواده کار میکند. — Ū ba-khāter-e khānevāda kār mikonad. — He works for the sake of his family.
66 به منظورِ ba-manzūr-e for the purpose of این برنامه به منظورِ آموزش ساخته شده است. — Īn barnāma ba-manzūr-e āmūzesh sākhta shoda ast. — This program was made for the purpose of education.
67 در جهتِ dar jehat-e toward; for the purpose of این برنامه در جهتِ بهبود آموزش است. — Īn barnāma dar jehat-e behbūd-e āmūzesh ast. — This program is aimed at improving education.
68 در راستایِ dar rāstā-ye toward; in line with این اقدام در راستایِ توسعه انجام شد. — Īn eqdām dar rāstā-ye tos‘a anjām shod. — This action was taken toward development.
7. Possession / relation / origin
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
69 از az of; from یکی از دوستان من آمد. — Yakī az dūstān-e man āmad. — One of my friends came.
70 متعلق به mota‘alleq ba belonging to این کتاب متعلق به من است. — Īn ketāb mota‘alleq ba man ast. — This book belongs to me.
71 مربوط به marbūt ba related to; concerning این موضوع مربوط به کار است. — Īn mowzū‘ marbūt ba kār ast. — This matter is related to work.
72 وابسته به wābasta ba dependent on; affiliated with این تصمیم وابسته به شرایط است. — Īn tasmīm wābasta ba sharāyet ast. — This decision is dependent on the circumstances.
73 مربوط به marbūt ba concerning این سؤال مربوط به درس است. — Īn su'āl marbūt ba dars ast. — This question is about the lesson.
8. Comparison
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
74 از az than علی از احمد بلندتر است. — Alī az Ahmad بلندتر ast. — Ali is taller than Ahmad.
75 نسبت به nesbat ba compared with; relative to امسال نسبت به پارسال بهتر است. — Emsāl nesbat ba pārsāl behtar ast. — This year is better compared with last year.
76 در مقایسه با dar moqāyasa bā compared with این شهر در مقایسه با کابل کوچکتر است. — Īn shahr dar moqāyasa bā Kābol کوچکتر ast. — This city is smaller compared with Kabul.
77 در برابر dar barābar-e compared with; against این قیمت در برابر کیفیت مناسب است. — Īn qīmat dar barābar-e keyfiyat monāseb ast. — This price is reasonable for the quality.
9. Opposition / contrast
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
78 علیهِ ‘alayh-e against مردم علیهِ این تصمیم اعتراض کردند. — Mardom ‘alayh-e īn tasmīm e‘terāz kardand. — People protested against this decision.
79 بر ضدِ bar-zedd-e against او بر ضدِ این قانون صحبت کرد. — Ū bar-zedd-e īn qānūn sohbat kard. — He spoke against this law.
80 برخلافِ bar-khelāf-e contrary to; unlike برخلافِ انتظار، او آمد. — Bar-khelāf-e entezār, ū āmad. — Contrary to expectations, he came.
81 در برابرِ dar barābar-e against; in front of او در برابرِ مشکل مقاومت کرد. — Ū dar barābar-e moshkel moqāwamat kard. — He resisted against the problem.
82 در مقابلِ dar moqābel-e opposite; in contrast to او در مقابلِ این پیشنهاد مخالفت کرد. — Ū dar moqābel-e īn pishnehād mokhālefat kard. — He opposed this proposal.
10. Inclusion / exclusion
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
83 با bā with; including همه آمدند با احمد. — Hama āmadand bā Ahmad. — Everyone came, including/with Ahmad.
84 بدونِ bedūn-e without او بدونِ اجازه رفت. — Ū bedūn-e ejāza raft. — He left without permission.
85 بی bī without او بی ترس صحبت کرد. — Ū bī tars sohbat kard. — He spoke without fear.
86 به جز be joz except همه آمدند به جز احمد. — Hama āmadand be joz Ahmad. — Everyone came except Ahmad.
87 جز joz except هیچکس جز او این را نمیدانست. — Hīch-kas joz ū īn rā nemidānest. — Nobody except him knew this.
88 غیر از ghayr az except; other than غیر از علی کسی نیامد. — Ghayr az Alī kasī nayāmad. — Nobody came other than Ali.
89 به استثنایِ be estesnā-ye with the exception of همه شرکت کردند به استثنایِ او. — Hama شرکت kardand be estesnā-ye ū. — Everyone participated with the exception of him.
11. Instrument / means
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
90 با bā with; by means of او با چاقو نان را برید. — Ū bā chāqū nān rā borīd. — He cut the bread with a knife.
91 توسطِ tawassot-e by; through این کتاب توسطِ استاد نوشته شد. — Īn ketāb tawassot-e ustād neveshta shod. — This book was written by the teacher.
92 به وسیلهٔ ba wasīla-ye by means of او به وسیلهٔ موتر سفر کرد. — Ū ba wasīla-ye motar safar kard. — He traveled by means of a car.
93 از طریقِ az tarīq-e through; by means of اطلاعات از طریقِ اینترنت فرستاده شد. — Ettelā‘āt az tarīq-e internet ferستāda shod. — The information was sent through the internet.
94 به کمکِ ba komak-e with the help of او به کمکِ دوستش مشکل را حل کرد. — Ū ba komak-e dūstash moshkel rā hal kard. — He solved the problem with the help of his friend.
95 به واسطهٔ ba wāseta-ye through; by means of او به واسطهٔ دوستش کار پیدا کرد. — Ū ba wāseta-ye dūstash kār peydā kard. — He found a job through his friend.
12. Association / accompaniment
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
96 همراهِ hamrāh-e together with او همراهِ خانوادهاش آمد. — Ū hamrāh-e khānevāda-ash āmad. — He came together with his family.
97 در کنارِ dar kenār-e alongside او در کنارِ دوستانش کار میکند. — Ū dar kenār-e dūstānash kār mikonad. — He works alongside his friends.
98 به همراهِ ba hamrāh-e together with او به همراهِ برادرش آمد. — Ū ba hamrāh-e برادرash āmad. — He came together with his brother.
99 همگام با hamgām bā alongside / in step with این برنامه همگام با نیازهای جامعه تغییر کرد. — Īn barnāma hamgām bā نیازhā-ye jāme‘a taghyīr kard. — This program changed in line with society's needs.
13. Complex and formal prepositions
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
100 دربارهٔ dar-bāra-ye about; concerning ما دربارهٔ این موضوع صحبت کردیم. — Mā darbāra-ye īn mowzū‘ sohbat kardīm. — We talked about this subject.
101 راجع به rāje‘ ba about; regarding او راجع به کار صحبت کرد. — Ū rāje‘ ba kār sohbat kard. — He talked about the work.
102 در موردِ dar mowred-e about; concerning من در موردِ این مسئله سؤال دارم. — Man dar mowred-e īn mas'ala su'āl dāram. — I have a question about this issue.
103 در بارهٔ dar-bāra-ye about او در بارهٔ تاریخ مطالعه میکند. — Ū darbāra-ye tārīkh motāla‘a mikonad. — He studies about history.
104 در خصوصِ dar khosūs-e regarding; concerning در خصوصِ این موضوع تصمیم گرفته شد. — Dar khosūs-e īn mowzū‘ tasmīm gerefta shod. — A decision was made regarding this matter.
105 پیرامونِ pīrāmūn-e concerning; around کتابی پیرامونِ تاریخ افغانستان خواندم. — Ketābī pīrāmūn-e tārīkh-e Afghānestān khāndam. — I read a book about Afghan history.
106 در رابطه با dar rābeta bā in relation to این قانون در رابطه با آموزش است. — Īn qānūn dar rābeta bā āmūzesh ast. — This law is related to education.
107 در ارتباط با dar ertebāt bā in connection with این خبر در ارتباط با پروژه است. — Īn khabar dar ertebāt bā projah ast. — This news is connected with the project.
108 نسبت به nesbat ba toward; regarding; compared with او نسبت به دوستانش مهربان است. — Ū nesbat ba dūstānash mehrabān ast. — He is kind toward his friends.
109 در قبالِ dar qebāl-e toward; in return for او در قبالِ این کار پول گرفت. — Ū dar qebāl-e īn kār pul gereft. — He received money in return for this work.
110 در موردِ dar mowred-e regarding در موردِ این مسئله صحبت کردیم. — Dar mowred-e īn mas'ala sohbat kardīm. — We talked about this issue.
14. Relation / reference
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
111 دربارهٔ darbāra-ye concerning دربارهٔ او چیزی نمیدانم. — Darbāra-ye ū chīzī nemidānam. — I know nothing about him.
112 در موردِ dar mowred-e regarding در موردِ این موضوع تصمیم گرفتیم. — Dar mowred-e īn mowzū‘ tasmīm gereftīm. — We decided regarding this matter.
113 در خصوصِ dar khosūs-e concerning در خصوصِ این درخواست پاسخ دادند. — Dar khosūs-e īn darkhwāst pāsox dādand. — They responded regarding this request.
114 در رابطه با dar rābeta bā concerning در رابطه با این مسئله صحبت شد. — Dar rābeta bā īn mas'ala sohbat shod. — This issue was discussed in relation to the matter.
115 نسبت به nesbat ba toward / concerning او نسبت به مردم مهربان است. — Ū nesbat ba mardom mehrabān ast. — He is kind toward people.
15. Formal/literary prepositions and constructions
# Dari Transliteration English Example
116 نزدِ nazd-e at; with او نزدِ پدرش ماند. — Ū nazd-e pedarash mānd. — He stayed with his father.
117 نزدِ nazd-e in the opinion of نزدِ من این کار درست است. — Nazd-e man īn kār dorost ast. — In my opinion, this is correct.
118 بهنزدِ ba-nazd-e to/at the place of او بهنزدِ استاد رفت. — Ū ba-nazd-e ustād raft. — He went to the teacher.
119 اندر andar in/within اندر این جهان کسی کامل نیست. — Andar īn jahān kasī kāmel nīst. — In this world nobody is perfect.
120 بهوسیلهٔ ba-wasīla-ye by means of مشکل بهوسیلهٔ این دستگاه حل شد. — Moshkel ba-wasīla-ye īn dastgāh hal shod. — The problem was solved by means of this device.
121 بهواسطهٔ ba-wāseta-ye through / by means of او بهواسطهٔ دوستش وارد شد. — Ū ba-wāseta-ye dūstash wāred shod. — He entered through his friend.
16. “From” and “to” combinations
These are especially useful in Dari.
Dari Transliteration English
از اینجا az īnjā from here
از آنجا az ānjā from there
از بالا az bālā from above
از پایین az pāyīn from below
از داخل az dākhel from inside
از بیرون az bīrūn from outside
از میان az miyān from among / through
از بین az beyn from between / among
از کنار az kenār from beside
به اینجا ba īnjā to here
به آنجا ba ānjā to there
به بالا ba bālā upward / to above
به پایین ba pāyīn downward / to below
به داخل ba dākhel into
به بیرون ba bīrūn to outside
به میان ba miyān into the middle
به سوی ba sū-ye toward
به طرف ba taraf-e toward
به سمت ba samt-e toward
A very important Dari pattern: Ezāfe
Many Dari “prepositions” such as:
کنارِ kenār-e — beside
بالایِ bālā-ye — above
داخلِ dākhel-e — inside
پشتِ posht-e — behind
مقابلِ moqābel-e — opposite
دربارهٔ darbāra-ye — about
are followed by a noun through Ezāfe:
کنارِ خانه
kenār-e khāna
“beside the house”
بالایِ میز
bālā-ye mīz
“above the table”
پشتِ در
posht-e dar
“behind the door
12- DETERMINERS
1. Demonstrative determiners
# Dari Transliteration English Full example
1 این īn this این کتاب جدید است. — Īn ketāb jadīd ast. — This book is new.
2 اینها īnhā these اینها کتابها هستند. — Īnhā ketābhā hastand. — These are the books.
3 آن ān that آن خانه بزرگ است. — Ān khāna bozorg ast. — That house is big.
4 آنها ānhā those آنها کتابها هستند. — Ānhā ketābhā hastand. — Those are the books.
5 همین hamīn this very / this same همین کتاب را میخواهم. — Hamīn ketāb rā mekhwāham. — I want this very book.
6 همینها hamīnhā these very همین کتابها را خریدم. — Hamīn ketābhā rā kharīdam. — I bought these very books.
7 همان hamān that very / the same همان مرد آمد. — Hamān mard āmad. — That same man came.
8 همانها hamānhā those very / the same ones همان کتابها را خواندم. — Hamān ketābhā rā khāndam. — I read those same books.
Demonstrative formation
این + noun = this + noun
آن + noun = that + noun
همین + noun = this very noun
همان + noun = that same noun
2. Possessive determiners
Dari commonly expresses possession using a possessive pronoun + Ezāfe:
noun + ـِ + possessor
# Possessive determiner Transliteration English Example
1 من man my کتابِ من روی میز است. — Ketāb-e man rū-ye mīz ast. — My book is on the table.
2 تو to your کتابِ تو جدید است. — Ketāb-e to jadīd ast. — Your book is new.
3 او ū his/her کتابِ او اینجاست. — Ketāb-e ū injāst. — His/her book is here.
4 ما mā our خانهٔ ما بزرگ است. — Khāna-ye mā bozorg ast. — Our house is big.
5 شما shomā your استادِ شما آمد. — Ustād-e shomā āmad. — Your teacher came.
6 آنها ānhā their موترِ آنها جدید است. — Motar-e ānhā jadīd ast. — Their car is new.
Possessive suffix determiners
Dari also uses attached possessive suffixes:
Suffix Transliteration Meaning Example
ـم -am my کتابم — ketābam — my book
ـت -at your کتابت — ketābat — your book
ـش -ash his/her کتابش — ketābash — his/her book
ـمان -emān our کتابمان — ketābemān — our book
ـتان -etān your کتابتان — ketābetān — your book
ـشان -eshān their کتابشان — ketābeshān — their book
Example:
کتابم روی میز است.
Ketābam rū-ye mīz ast.
My book is on the table.
3. Indefinite determiners
Dari does not have an exact equivalent of English a/an. Indefiniteness is commonly expressed using یک and sometimes the indefinite marker ـی.
# Dari Transliteration English Example
1 یک yak a / one یک کتاب خریدم. — Yak ketāb kharīdam. — I bought a book.
2 یک...ی yak ...-ī a certain / some یک مردی آمد. — Yak mardī āmad. — A certain man came.
3 ـی -ī some / a certain کتابی خریدم. — Ketābī kharīdam. — I bought a book / some book.
4 یکعده yak-‘adda a group of / some یکعده مردم آمدند. — Yak-‘adda mardom āmadand. — Some people came.
5 چند chand some / several چند کتاب خریدم. — Chand ketāb kharīdam. — I bought several books.
Important
یک کتاب
yak ketāb
= a book / one book
کتابی
ketābī
= a book / some book / a certain book
The exact meaning depends on context.
4. Quantifier determiners
# Dari Transliteration English Example
1 همهٔ hama-ye all همهٔ دانشآموزان آمدند. — Hama-ye dānesh-āmūzān āmadand. — All the students came.
2 همه hama all همهٔ مردم این را میدانند. — Hama-ye mardom īn rā midānad. — All people know this.
3 تمام tamām all / entire تمام روز کار کردم. — Tamām-e rūz kār kardam. — I worked all day.
4 هر har every / each / any هر روز ورزش میکنم. — Har rūz warzesh mikonam. — I exercise every day.
5 هیچ hīch no / any هیچ کتابی ندارم. — Hīch ketābī nadāram. — I have no books.
6 بعضی ba‘zī some / certain بعضی مردم این را نمیدانند. — Ba‘zī mardom īn rā nemidānad. — Some people do not know this.
7 برخی barخī some / certain برخی دانشجویان غایب بودند. — Barkhī dāneshjūyān ghāyeb būdand. — Some students were absent.
8 شماری از shomārī az a number of شماری از دانشجویان آمدند. — Shomārī az dāneshjūyān āmadand. — A number of students came.
9 تعداد زیادی از te‘dād-e ziyādī az a large number of تعداد زیادی از مردم آمدند. — Te‘dād-e ziyādī az mardom āmadand. — A large number of people came.
10 مقدار زیادی از meqdār-e ziyādī az a large amount of مقدار زیادی از آب مصرف شد. — Meqdār-e ziyādī az āb masraf shod. — A large amount of water was used.
11 مقدار کمی از meqdār-e kamī az a small amount of مقدار کمی از آب باقی مانده است. — Meqdār-e kamī az āb bāqī mānda ast. — A small amount of water remains.
12 فراوان farāwān abundant / many مردم فراوان در شهر زندگی میکنند. — Mardom-e farāwān dar shahr zendagī mikonand. — Many people live in the city.
13 کافی kāfī enough / sufficient وقت کافی ندارم. — Waqt-e kāfī nadāram. — I don't have enough time.
14 اندکی andakī a little / a small amount of اندکی آب نوشید. — Andakī āb nūshīd. — He drank a little water.
15 کمی kamī a little / some کمی آب میخواهم. — Kamī āb mekhwāham. — I want a little water.
16 بسیار besyār many / much بسیاری از مردم آمدند. — Besyārī az mardom āmadand. — Many people came.
17 بسیاری از besyārī az many of بسیاری از دانشجویان موفق شدند. — Besyārī az dāneshjūyān movaffaq shodand. — Many of the students succeeded.
18 بیشترین bēshtarīn the most بیشترین وقت را اینجا گذراندم. — Bēshtarīn waqt rā injā gozarāndam. — I spent the most time here.
19 کمترین kamtarīn the least کمترین هزینه را پرداخت کردیم. — Kamtarīn hazine rā pardākht kardīm. — We paid the least cost.
5. Numeral determiners
Numbers can directly determine nouns.
# Dari Transliteration English Example
1 یک yak one یک کتاب دارم. — Yak ketāb dāram. — I have one book.
2 دو do two دو کتاب دارم. — Do ketāb dāram. — I have two books.
3 سه se three سه کتاب خریدم. — Se ketāb kharīdam. — I bought three books.
4 چهار chahār four چهار کتاب روی میز است. — Chahār ketāb rū-ye mīz ast. — There are four books on the table.
5 پنج panj five پنج دانشآموز آمدند. — Panj dānesh-āmūz āmadand. — Five students came.
6 ده dah ten ده نفر آمدند. — Dah nafar āmadand. — Ten people came.
7 صد sad hundred صد نفر شرکت کردند. — Sad nafar شرکت kardand. — One hundred people participated.
8 هزار hezār thousand هزار نفر آمدند. — Hezār nafar āmadand. — One thousand people came.
Common numeral determiners
یک — yak — one/a
دو — do — two
سه — se — three
چهار — chahār — four
پنج — panj — five
شش — shash — six
هفت — haft — seven
هشت — hasht — eight
نه — noh — nine
ده — dah — ten
صد — sad — hundred
هزار — hezār — thousand
میلیون — milyon — million
میلیارد — milyārd — billion
6. Interrogative determiners
These determine a noun in a question.
# Dari Transliteration English Example
1 کدام kodām which کدام کتاب را میخواهی؟ — Kodām ketāb rā mekhwāhī? — Which book do you want?
2 چه che what / which چه کتابی میخوانی؟ — Che ketābī mikhwānī? — What/which book are you reading?
3 چند chand how many / several چند کتاب داری؟ — Chand ketāb dārī? — How many books do you have?
4 چقدر cheqadr how much چقدر آب میخواهی؟ — Cheqadr āb mekhwāhī? — How much water do you want?
5 چهقدر che-qadr how much چهقدر وقت داری؟ — Che-qadr waqt dārī? — How much time do you have?
6 چه نوع che naw‘ what kind of چه نوع کتابی میخواهی؟ — Che naw‘ ketābī mekhwāhī? — What kind of book do you want?
7 کدام یک kodām yak which one کدام یک از کتابها را میخواهی؟ — Kodām yak az ketābhā rā mekhwāhī? — Which one of the books do you want?
7. Indefinite determiners
# Dari Transliteration English Example
1 یک yak a / one یک نفر آمد. — Yak nafar āmad. — Someone / a person came.
2 کسی kasī someone / anyone کسی دروازه را زد. — Kasī darwāza rā zad. — Someone knocked on the door.
3 چیزی chīzī something / anything چیزی روی میز است. — Chīzī rū-ye mīz ast. — Something is on the table.
4 جایی jāyī somewhere / some place جایی برای نشستن پیدا کردیم. — Jāyī barā-ye neshastan peydā kardīm. — We found somewhere to sit.
5 هر har any / every هر کسی میتواند بیاید. — Har kasī metawānad biyāyad. — Anyone/everyone can come.
6 هرگونه har-gūna any kind of هرگونه کمک مفید است. — Har-gūna komak mofīd ast. — Any kind of help is useful.
7 هر نوع har naw‘ any kind of / every type of هر نوع کتابی پیدا میشود. — Har naw‘ ketābī peydā mishawad. — Every kind of book can be found.
8 بعضی ba‘zī some بعضی کتابها جالب هستند. — Ba‘zī ketābhā jāleb hastand. — Some books are interesting.
9 برخی barkhī some برخی مردم مخالف بودند. — Barkhī mardom mokhālef būdand. — Some people were opposed.
10 شماری shomārī some / a number of شماری از افراد آمدند. — Shomārī az afrād āmadand. — A number of people came.
11 فلان folān a certain / such-and-such فلان شخص این را گفت. — Folān shakhs īn rā goft. — A certain person said this.
12 بهمان bahmān that certain / that particular بهمان روز او آمد. — Bahmān rūz ū āmad. — He came on that particular day.
13 یکعده yak-‘adda a group of / some یکعده دانشجویان اعتراض کردند. — Yak-‘adda dāneshjūyān e‘terāz kardand. — A group of students protested.
8. Distributive determiners
# Dari Transliteration English Example
1 هر har every / each هر دانشآموز یک کتاب دارد. — Har dānesh-āmūz yak ketāb dārad. — Every student has a book.
2 هر یک har yak each / every one هر یک از دانشجویان یک کتاب گرفتند. — Har yak az dāneshjūyān yak ketāb gereftand. — Each of the students received a book.
3 هرکدام har-kodām each / whichever هرکدام از آنها میتواند انتخاب کند. — Har-kodām az ānhā metawānad entekhāb konad. — Each of them can choose.
4 هر یک از har yak az each of هر یک از دانشآموزان پاسخ دادند. — Har yak az dānesh-āmūzān pāsox dādand. — Each of the students answered.
5 هر دو har do both / each of two هر دو دانشآموز آمدند. — Har do dānesh-āmūz āmadand. — Both students came.
6 هر سه har se all three / each of three هر سه برادر آمدند. — Har se برādar āmadand. — All three brothers came.
9. Negative determiners
# Dari Transliteration English Example
1 هیچ hīch no / any هیچ کتابی ندارم. — Hīch ketābī nadāram. — I have no books.
2 هیچیک hīch-yak none / neither هیچیک از دانشجویان نیامدند. — Hīch-yak az dāneshjūyān nayāmadand. — None of the students came.
3 هیچکدام hīch-kodām none / neither هیچکدام از کتابها مناسب نیستند. — Hīch-kodām az ketābhā monāseb nīstand. — None of the books are suitable.
4 هیچ نوع hīch naw‘ no kind of هیچ نوع مشکلی وجود ندارد. — Hīch naw‘ moshkelī wojūd nadārad. — There is no kind of problem.
5 هیچگونه hīch-gūna no kind of / any kind of هیچگونه اطلاعاتی نداریم. — Hīch-gūna ettelā‘ātī nadārīm. — We have no information.
Important: After هیچ, the noun commonly takes the indefinite ـی:
هیچ + کتاب + ی
hīch ketābī
= no book / any book
10. Totality determiners
Dari Transliteration English
همهٔ hama-ye all
تمامِ tamām-e all / entire
کلِ kol-e the whole / entire
سراسرِ sarāsar-e the whole of / throughout
تمامیِ tamāmī-ye all of / the entirety of
مجموعِ majmū‘-e the total of
جملگیِ jomalagī-ye all of them / the entirety of
Examples:
کلِ شهر
kol-e shahr
= the whole city
تمامیِ مردم
tamāmī-ye mardom
= all the people
سراسرِ کشور
sarāsar-e keshwar
= the whole country / throughout the country
11. Partitive determiners
These indicate some/all/many of a larger group.
Dari Transliteration English
بعضی از ba‘zī az some of
برخی از barkhī az some of
بسیاری از besyārī az many of
تعدادی از te‘dādī az a number of
شماری از shomārī az a number of
چند تا از chand tā az several of
هر یک از har yak az each of
هیچیک از hīch-yak az none of
یکی از yakī az one of
بیشترِ bēshtar-e most of
کمترِ kamtar-e less/fewer of
Examples:
بعضی از دانشجویان آمدند.
Ba‘zī az dāneshjūyān āmadand.
Some of the students came.
یکی از دوستانم آمد.
Yakī az dūstānam āmad.
One of my friends came.
12. Proportional / comparative determiners
Dari Transliteration English Example
بیشتر bēshtar more / most بیشتر مردم موافق بودند. — Bēshtar-e mardom mowāfeq būdand. — Most people agreed.
کمتر kamtar less / fewer کمتر مردم اینجا زندگی میکنند. — Kamtar-e mardom injā zendagī mikonand. — Fewer people live here.
بیشترین bēshtarīn most بیشترین تعداد دانشجویان قبول شدند. — Bēshtarīn te‘dād-e dāneshjūyān qabūl shodand. — The largest number of students were accepted.
کمترین kamtarīn least / fewest کمترین تعداد افراد آمدند. — Kamtarīn te‘dād-e afrād āmadand. — The fewest people came.
چندین chandīn several / many چندین کتاب خریدم. — Chandīn ketāb kharīdam. — I bought several books.
چند chand several / a few چند نفر آمدند. — Chand nafar āmadand. — Several people came.
دهها dah-hā dozens of دهها نفر آمدند. — Dah-hā nafar āmadand. — Dozens of people came.
صدها sad-hā hundreds of صدها نفر شرکت کردند. — Sad-hā nafar شرکت kardand. — Hundreds of people participated.
هزاران hezārān thousands of هزاران نفر آمدند. — Hezārān nafar āmadand. — Thousands of people came.
13. Specificity and emphasis determiners
Dari Transliteration English Example
همین hamīn this very / this exact همین کتاب را میخواهم. — Hamīn ketāb rā mekhwāham. — I want this exact book.
همان hamān that very / that same همان مرد را دیدم. — Hamān mard rā dīdam. — I saw that same man.
خودِ khod-e the very / itself / own خودِ علی آمد. — Khod-e Alī āmad. — Ali himself came.
تنها tanhā only / the only تنها راه این است. — Tanhā rāh īn ast. — This is the only way.
فقط faqat only فقط این کتاب را میخواهم. — Faqat īn ketāb rā mekhwāham. — I want only this book.
Strictly speaking, خود، تنها، فقط are not all determiners in every grammatical analysis; they can function as pronouns, adjectives, or focus particles depending on context.
14. “Each / every / all / whole” comparison
English Dari Transliteration
each هر har
each one هر یک har yak
each of هر یک از har yak az
each one of them هرکدام از آنها har-kodām az ānhā
every هر har
every person هر کس har kas
everyone همه hama
all همه hama
all of همهٔ hama-ye
all of them همهٔ آنها hama-ye ānhā
whole کل kol
entire تمام tamām
entirety تمامی tamāmī
neither/none هیچکدام hīch-kodām
none of هیچیک از hīch-yak az
13- IF CONDITIONAL
Zero Conditional اگر (agar) + present, present اگر آب بجوشد، بخار تولید میشود. agar āb bejūshad, bokhār tawlīd mī-shawad If water boils, steam is produced.
First Conditional اگر (agar) + subjunctive, future/present اگر بیایی، خوشحال میشوم. agar beyāyī, khoshhāl mī-shawam If you come, I will be happy.
Second Conditional اگر (agar) + past, imperfect اگر پول داشتم، خانه میخریدم. agar pul dāshtam, khāna mī-kharīdam If I had money, I would buy a house.
Third Conditional اگر (agar) + past perfect, imperfect/result اگر آمده بودی، تو را میدیدم. agar āmada būdī, to rā mī-dīdam If you had come, I would have seen you.
Mixed (Past → Present) اگر + past perfect, present result اگر درس خوانده بودم، حالا موفق بودم. agar dars khwānda būdam, hālā mowaffaq būdam If I had studied, I would be successful now.
Mixed (Present → Past) اگر + past, past result اگر پول داشتم، دیروز آن را میخریدم. agar pul dāshtam, dīrōz ān rā mī-kharīdam If I had money, I would have bought it yesterday.
Open Conditional اگر + possible condition اگر باران بیاید، در خانه میمانیم. agar bārān beyāyad, dar khāna mī-mānīm If it rains, we'll stay at home.
Real Conditional اگر + real condition اگر زود بیایی، او را میبینی. agar zūd beyāyī, ū rā mī-bīnī If you come early, you'll see him/her.
Unreal Conditional اگر + unreal condition اگر پرنده بودم، پرواز میکردم. agar paranda būdam, parwāz mī-kardam If I were a bird, I would fly.
Negative Conditional اگر + negative verb اگر نیایی، ناراحت میشوم. agar nayāyī, nārāhat mī-shawam If you don't come, I'll be upset.
Passive Conditional اگر + passive اگر خانه ساخته شود، نقل مکان میکنیم. agar khāna sākhta shawad, naql-e makān mī-konīm If the house is built, we'll move.
Negative Passive اگر + negative passive اگر خانه ساخته نشود، صبر میکنیم. agar khāna sākhta nashawad, sabr mī-konīm If the house isn't built, we'll wait.
Modal Conditional اگر + modal verb اگر بخواهی، کمک میکنم. agar bekhwāhī, komak mī-konam If you want, I'll help.
Command Conditional اگر + clause, imperative اگر آمد، خبر بده. agar āmad, khabar bedeh If he comes, let me know.
Question Conditional اگر + clause, question اگر بیاید، چه میکنی؟ agar beyāyad, che mī-konī? If he comes, what will you do?
Wish Conditional اگر + wish اگر اینجا بودی! agar īnjā būdī! If only you were here!
Unless مگر اینکه (magar in-ke) مگر اینکه باران بیاید، بیرون میرویم. magar in-ke bārān beyāyad, bīrūn mī-rawīm Unless it rains, we'll go out.
Provided that به شرط اینکه (be shart-e in-ke) به شرط اینکه درس بخوانی، قبول میشوی. be shart-e in-ke dars bekhwānī, qabūl mī-shawī Provided that you study, you'll pass.
Even if حتی اگر (hattā agar) حتی اگر باران بیاید، میروم. hattā agar bārān beyāyad, mī-rawam Even if it rains, I'll go.
Only if فقط اگر (faqat agar) فقط اگر وقت داشته باشم، میآیم. faqat agar waqt dāshta bāsham, mī-āyam Only if I have time will I come.
As long as تا وقتی که (tā waqtī ke) تا وقتی که کار کنی، موفق میشوی. tā waqtī ke kār konī, mowaffaq mī-shawī As long as you work, you'll succeed.
In case در صورتی که (dar sūratī ke) در صورتی که دیر شد، تماس بگیر. dar sūratī ke dīr shod, tamās begīr In case you're late, call me.
Suppose / Let's suppose فرض کنیم (farz konīm) فرض کنیم او بیاید، چه میشود؟ farz konīm ū beyāyad, che mī-shawad? Suppose he comes, what will happen?
As if انگار / گویی (engār / gūyī) انگار او همهچیز را میداند. engār ū hama-chīz rā mī-dānad As if he knows everything.
Otherwise وگرنه (wagarna) عجله کن، وگرنه دیر میرسی. ajala kon, wagarna dīr mī-rasī Hurry up, otherwise you'll be late.
If (uncertain condition) اگر (agar) اگر بیایی، خوشحال میشوم. If you come, I'll be happy.
When (expected event) وقتی (waqtī) وقتی بیایی، خوشحال میشوم. When you come, I'll be happy.
Whenever هر وقت (har waqt) هر وقت بیایی، خوشحال میشوم. Whenever you come, I'll be happy.
Formal whenever/if هرگاه (hargāh) هرگاه آماده باشی، شروع میکنیم.
Present Simple اگر + present, present اگر کار کنم، موفق میشوم. agar kār konam, movaffaq mi-shawam. If I work, I succeed / I'll succeed.
Present Continuous اگر + present continuous اگر دارم کار میکنم، مزاحمم نشو. agar dāram kār mi-konam, mozāhemam nasho. If I am working, don't disturb me.
Present Perfect اگر + present perfect اگر رفتهام، نگران نباش. agar rafta-am, negarān nabāsh. If I have gone, don't worry.
Present Perfect Continuous* Expressed with duration phrases اگر از صبح کار میکنم، خستهام. agar az sobh kār mi-konam, khasta-am. If I have been working since morning, I am tired.
Past Simple اگر + past, imperfect اگر پول داشتم، میرفتم. agar pul dāshtam, mi-raftam. If I had money, I would go.
Past Continuous اگر + past continuous اگر میرفتی، او را میدیدی. agar mi-raftī, ū rā mi-dīdī. If you were going, you would see him.
Past Perfect اگر + past perfect اگر آمده بودی، خوشحال میشدم. agar āmada būdī, khoshhāl mi-shodam. If you had come, I would have been happy.
Future اگر + subjunctive, future/present اگر بیایی، خواهم رفت. agar biyāyī, khwāham raft. (more naturally: mi-ravam) If you come, I will go.
Future Continuous* Periphrastic اگر فردا کار کنم، تمام روز مشغول خواهم بود. agar fardā kār konam, tamām-e rūz mashghūl khwāham būd. If I work tomorrow, I will be working all day.
Future Perfect* Rare, periphrastic اگر رفته باشی، او را دیدهای. agar rafta bāshī, ū rā dīda-ī. If you have gone, you have seen him.
Present Subjunctive اگر + subjunctive اگر بروی، موفق میشوی. agar beravī, movaffaq mi-shawī. If you go, you will succeed.
Past Subjunctive اگر + participle + باشد اگر رفته باشد، دیر میرسد. agar rafta bāshad, dēr mi-rasad. If he has gone, he will arrive late.
Imperative اگر + clause + command اگر آمد، خبر بده. agar āmad, khabar bedeh. If he comes, let me know.
Infinitive اگر + infinitive phrase اگر بخواهم بروم، به تو میگویم. agar bekhwāham beravam, be to mi-gūyam. If I want to go, I'll tell you.
Zero Conditional اگر + negative present, present اگر نخوانی، یاد نمیگیری. agar na-khwānī, yād na-mi-gīrī. If you don't study, you don't learn.
First Conditional اگر + negative subjunctive, future/present اگر نیایی، ناراحت میشوم. agar nayāyī, nārāhat mi-shawam. If you don't come, I'll be upset.
Second Conditional اگر + negative past, imperfect اگر پول نداشتم، نمیخریدم. agar pul nadāshtam, na-mi-kharīdam. If I didn't have money, I wouldn't buy it.
Third Conditional اگر + negative past perfect, imperfect اگر نخوانده بودی، قبول نمیشدی. agar na-khwānda būdī, qabūl na-mi-shodī. If you hadn't studied, you wouldn't have passed.
Present Simple اگر + negative present اگر نمیروم، او ناراحت میشود. agar na-mi-ravam, ū nārāhat mi-shawad. If I don't go, he becomes upset.
Present Perfect اگر + negative present perfect اگر نرفتهام، منتظر باش. agar narafta-am, montazer bāsh. If I haven't gone, wait.
Past Simple اگر + negative past اگر نرفتم، تماس میگیرم. agar naraftam, tamās mi-gīram. If I didn't go, I'll call. (Context determines the intended time.)
Past Continuous اگر + negative past continuous اگر نمیرفتم، او را نمیدیدم. agar na-mi-raftam, ū rā na-mi-dīdam. If I wasn't going, I wouldn't see him.
Past Perfect اگر + negative past perfect اگر نرفته بودم، او را میدیدم. agar narafta būdam, ū rā mi-dīdam. If I hadn't gone, I would have seen him.
Future اگر + negative subjunctive, future negative اگر نیایی، نخواهم رفت. agar nayāyī, na-khwāham raft. (More naturally: na-mi-ravam.) If you don't come, I won't go.
Future Perfect* Periphrastic اگر نرفته باشی، هنوز اینجایی. agar narafta bāshī, hanūz īnjāyī. If you haven't gone, you're still here.
Present Subjunctive اگر + negative subjunctive اگر نروم، مشکلی نیست. agar naravam, moshkelī nīst. If I don't go, there's no problem.
Past Subjunctive اگر + negative participle + باشد اگر نرفته باشد، منتظر میمانیم. agar narafta bāshad, montazer mi-mānīm. If he hasn't gone, we'll wait.
Imperative اگر + clause + negative command اگر باران آمد، نرو. agar bārān āmad, naro. If it rains, don't go.
Zero Conditional اگر + passive present اگر نامه نوشته شود، خوانده میشود. agar nāma neveshta shawad, khwānda mi-shawad. If the letter is written, it is read.
First Conditional اگر + passive subjunctive اگر خانه ساخته شود، مردم آنجا زندگی خواهند کرد. agar khāna sākhta shawad, mardom ānjā zendagī khwāhand kard. If the house is built, people will live there.
Second Conditional اگر + passive imperfect اگر نامه نوشته میشد، فرستاده میشد. agar nāma neveshta mi-shod, ferestāda mi-shod. If the letter were written, it would be sent.
Third Conditional اگر + passive past perfect اگر خانه ساخته شده بود، فروخته میشد. agar khāna sākhta shoda būd, forūkhta mi-shod. If the house had been built, it would have been sold.
Present Passive اگر + passive present اگر در باز شود، وارد شو. agar dar bāz shawad, vāred sho. If the door is opened, come in.
Present Continuous Passive اگر + در حال ... شدن باشد اگر خانه در حال ساخته شدن باشد، صبر کن. agar khāna dar hāl-e sākhta shodan bāshad, sabr kon. If the house is being built, wait.
Present Perfect Passive اگر + participle + شده است اگر نامه نوشته شده است، آن را بخوان. agar nāma neveshta shoda ast, ān rā bekhwān. If the letter has been written, read it.
Past Passive اگر + participle + شد اگر خانه ساخته شد، همه خوشحال شدند. agar khāna sākhta shod, hama khoshhāl shodand. If the house was built, everyone became happy.
Past Continuous Passive اگر + participle + میشد اگر خانه ساخته میشد، ما کمک میکردیم. agar khāna sākhta mi-shod, mā komak mi-kardīm. If the house was being built, we would help.
Past Perfect Passive اگر + participle + شده بود اگر نامه نوشته شده بود، ارسال میشد. agar nāma neveshta shoda būd, ersāl mi-shod. If the letter had been written, it would have been sent.
Future Passive اگر + participle + شود اگر خانه ساخته شود، استفاده خواهد شد. agar khāna sākhta shawad, estefāda khwāhad shod. If the house is built, it will be used.
Future Perfect Passive* اگر + participle + شده باشد اگر پروژه تکمیل شده باشد، افتتاح خواهد شد. agar proje takmīl shoda bāshad, eftetāh khwāhad shod. If the project has been completed, it will be inaugurated.
Present Subjunctive Passive اگر + participle + شود اگر انتخاب شود، موفق خواهد شد. agar entekhāb shawad, movaffaq khwāhad shod. If he/she is chosen, he/she will succeed.
Past Subjunctive Passive اگر + participle + شده باشد اگر نوشته شده باشد، کافی است. agar neveshta shoda bāshad, kāfī ast. If it has been written, that is enough.
Imperative Passive اگر ... باید ... شود / ... شود اگر لازم باشد، این نامه باید نوشته شود. agar lāzem bāshad, īn nāma bāyad neveshta shawad. If necessary, this letter should be written.
Zero Conditional اگر + participle + نشود اگر نامه نوشته نشود، خوانده نمیشود. agar nāma neveshta nashawad, khwānda na-mi-shawad. If the letter is not written, it is not read.
First Conditional اگر + participle + نشود اگر خانه ساخته نشود، استفاده نخواهد شد. agar khāna sākhta nashawad, estefāda na-khwāhad shod. If the house is not built, it will not be used.
Second Conditional اگر + participle + نمیشد اگر نامه نوشته نمیشد، فرستاده نمیشد. agar nāma neveshta na-mi-shod, ferestāda na-mi-shod. If the letter were not written, it would not be sent.
Third Conditional اگر + participle + نشده بود اگر خانه ساخته نشده بود، فروخته نمیشد. agar khāna sākhta nashoda būd, forūkhta na-mi-shod. If the house had not been built, it would not have been sold.
Present Passive اگر + participle + نشود اگر در باز نشود، وارد نمیشویم. agar dar bāz nashawad, vāred na-mi-shawīm. If the door is not opened, we do not enter.
Present Continuous Passive اگر + در حال ... شدن نباشد اگر خانه در حال ساخته شدن نباشد، کار را شروع نمیکنیم. agar khāna dar hāl-e sākhta shodan nabāshad, kār rā shorū' na-mi-konīm. If the house is not being built, we do not begin the work.
Present Perfect Passive اگر + participle + نشده است اگر نامه نوشته نشده است، آن را نخوان. agar nāma neveshta nashoda ast, ān rā nakhwān. If the letter has not been written, don't read it.
Past Passive اگر + participle + نشد اگر خانه ساخته نشد، مردم ناراحت شدند. agar khāna sākhta nashod, mardom nārāhat shodand. If the house was not built, the people became upset.
Past Continuous Passive اگر + participle + نمیشد اگر خانه ساخته نمیشد، ما کمک نمیکردیم. agar khāna sākhta na-mi-shod, mā komak na-mi-kardīm. If the house was not being built, we would not help.
Past Perfect Passive اگر + participle + نشده بود اگر نامه نوشته نشده بود، ارسال نمیشد. agar nāma neveshta nashoda būd, ersāl na-mi-shod. If the letter had not been written, it would not have been sent.
Future Passive اگر + participle + نشود اگر خانه ساخته نشود، استفاده نخواهد شد. agar khāna sākhta nashawad, estefāda na-khwāhad shod. If the house is not built, it will not be used.
Future Perfect Passive* اگر + participle + نشده باشد اگر پروژه تکمیل نشده باشد، افتتاح نخواهد شد. agar proje takmīl nashoda bāshad, eftetāh na-khwāhad shod. If the project has not been completed, it will not be inaugurated.
Present Subjunctive Passive اگر + participle + نشود اگر انتخاب نشود، ناراحت خواهد شد. agar entekhāb nashawad, nārāhat khwāhad shod. If he/she is not chosen, he/she will be upset.
Past Subjunctive Passive اگر + participle + نشده باشد اگر نوشته نشده باشد، دوباره بنویس. agar neveshta nashoda bāshad, dobāra benevīs. If it has not been written, write it again.
Imperative Passive اگر ... نباشد، ... نشود اگر لازم نباشد، این نامه نوشته نشود. agar lāzem nabāshad, īn nāma neveshta nashawad. If it is not necessary, this letter should not be written.
would go Imperfect میرفتم mi-raftam I would go.
would be میبودم خوشحال میبودم. khoshhāl mi-būdam. I would be happy.
would have gone Imperfect in the result clause after a past condition اگر خبر داشتم، میرفتم. agar khabar dāshtam, mi-raftam. If I had known, I would have gone.
would be going Imperfect میرفتم. mi-raftam. I would be going.
would have been going Periphrastic expression مشغول رفتن میبودم. mashghūl-e raftan mi-būdam. I would have been going.
Future in the past Present or future او گفت که میآید. / او گفت که خواهد آمد. ū goft ke mi-āyad. / ū goft ke khwāhad āmad. He said that he would come.
Habitual would Imperfect هر روز میرفتم. har rūz mi-raftam. I would go every day / I used to go every day.
would like دوست دارم / مایلم دوست دارم قهوه بخورم. dūst dāram qahwa bekhoram. I would like to drink coffee.
would rather ترجیح میدهم ترجیح میدهم بمانم. tarjīh mi-daham bemānam. I would rather stay.
would prefer ترجیح میدهم چای را ترجیح میدهم. chāy rā tarjīh mi-daham. I would prefer tea.
would probably احتمالاً + imperfect احتمالاً میآمد. ehtemālan mi-āmad. He would probably come.
would never هرگز + imperfect negative هرگز نمیگفت. hargez na-mi-goft. He would never say (that).
would always همیشه + imperfect همیشه میرفت. hamīsha mi-raft. He would always go.
would sometimes گاهی + imperfect گاهی میرفتم. gāhī mi-raftam.
wouldn't go Imperfect negative نمیرفتم na-mi-raftam I wouldn't go.
wouldn't be نمیبودم خوشحال نمیبودم. khoshhāl na-mi-būdam. I wouldn't be happy.
wouldn't have gone Imperfect negative in the result clause اگر خبر داشتم، نمیرفتم. agar khabar dāshtam, na-mi-raftam. If I had known, I wouldn't have gone.
wouldn't be going Imperfect negative نمیرفتم. na-mi-raftam. I wouldn't be going.
wouldn't have been going Periphrastic expression مشغول رفتن نمیبودم. mashghūl-e raftan na-mi-būdam. I wouldn't have been going.
Future in the past Present or future negative او گفت که نمیآید. / او گفت که نخواهد آمد. ū goft ke na-mi-āyad. / ū goft ke na-khwāhad āmad. He said that he wouldn't come.
Habitual wouldn't Imperfect negative هر روز نمیرفت. har rūz na-mi-raft. He wouldn't go every day / He used not to go every day.
wouldn't like دوست ندارم / مایل نیستم دوست ندارم قهوه بخورم. dūst nadāram qahwa bekhoram. I wouldn't like to drink coffee.
would rather not ترجیح میدهم + negative subjunctive ترجیح میدهم نروم. tarjīh mi-daham naravam. I would rather not go.
wouldn't prefer ترجیح نمیدهم چای را ترجیح نمیدهم. chāy rā tarjīh na-mi-daham. I wouldn't prefer tea.
probably wouldn't احتمالاً + imperfect negative احتمالاً نمیآمد. ehtemālan na-mi-āmad. He probably wouldn't come.
would never هرگز + imperfect negative هرگز نمیرفت. hargez na-mi-raft. He would never go.
wouldn't always همیشه + imperfect negative همیشه گوش نمیداد. hamīsha gūsh na-mi-dād. He wouldn't always listen.
sometimes wouldn't گاهی + imperfect negative گاهی جواب نمیدادم. gāhī javāb na-mi-dādam. I sometimes wouldn't answer.
would be written نوشته میشد neveshta mi-shod It would be written.
would be built ساخته میشد sākhta mi-shod It would be built.
would have been written نوشته میشد (context-dependent) neveshta mi-shod It would have been written.
would be being written* در حال نوشته شدن میبود dar hāl-e neveshta shodan mi-būd It would be being written.
would have been being written* در حال نوشته شدن میبود dar hāl-e neveshta shodan mi-būd It would have been being written.
would be finished تمام میشد tamām mi-shod It would be finished.
would be seen دیده میشد dīda mi-shod It would be seen.
would be heard شنیده میشد shenīda mi-shod It would be heard.
would be opened باز میشد bāz mi-shod It would be opened.
would be chosen انتخاب میشد entekhāb mi-shod He/She would be chosen.
would probably be احتمالاً ساخته میشد ehtemālan sākhta mi-shod It would probably be built.
would never be هرگز ساخته نمیشد hargez sākhta na-mi-shod It would never be built.
would always be همیشه دیده میشد hamīsha dīda mi-shod It would always be seen.
would often be اغلب شنیده میشد aghlab shenīda mi-shod It would often be heard.
wouldn't be written نوشته نمیشد neveshta na-mi-shod
wouldn't be built ساخته نمیشد sākhta na-mi-shod
wouldn't have been written نوشته نمیشد (context) neveshta na-mi-shod
wouldn't be being written در حال نوشته شدن نمیبود dar hāl-e neveshta shodan na-mi-būd
wouldn't have been being written paraphrase dar hāl-e ... na-mi-būd
wouldn't be finished تمام نمیشد tamām na-mi-shod
wouldn't be seen دیده نمیشد dīda na-mi-shod
wouldn't be heard شنیده نمیشد shenīda na-mi-shod
wouldn't be opened باز نمیشد bāz na-mi-shod
wouldn't be chosen انتخاب نمیشد entekhāb na-mi-shod
probably wouldn't be احتمالاً ... نمیشد ehtemālan ... na-mi-shod
would never be هرگز ... نمیشد hargez ... na-mi-shod
wouldn't always be همیشه ... نمیشد hamīsha ... na-mi-shod
wouldn't often be اغلب ... نمیشد aghlab ... na-mi-shod
14- COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE
Positive adjective adjective بزرگ bozorg big
Comparative adjective adjective + تر بزرگتر [-tar] bozorg-tar bigger
Superlative adjective adjective + ترین بزرگترین [-tarin] bozorg-tarīn biggest
Comparative with than از az + noun + comparative علی از احمد بلندتر است Alī az Ahmad boland-tar ast Ali is taller than Ahmad.
Comparative adverb adverb + تر سریعتر sarī'-tar faster
Superlative adverb adverb + ترین سریعترین sarī'-tarīn fastest
More + noun بیشتر + noun بیشتر پول bīshtar pul more money
Most + noun بیشترین + noun بیشترین پول bīshtarīn pul the most money
More + verb بیشتر + verb بیشتر کار میکنم bīshtar kār mī-konam I work more.
Less + verb کمتر + verb کمتر کار میکنم kamtar kār mī-konam I work less.
Equality مثل / به اندازهٔ مثل او mesl-e ū like him/her
As...as به اندازهٔ به اندازهٔ تو بلند است be andāza-ye to boland ast as tall as you
Less (inferiority) کمتر + adjective کمتر مهم kamtar mohem less important
The more…the more هرچه … تر هرچه بیشتر بخوانی، بهتر میشوی har-che bīshtar bekhwānī, behtar mī-shawī The more you study, the better you become.
15- RELATIVE CLAUSES
who که ke
which که ke
that که ke
someone who کسی که kasī ke
something that چیزی که chīzī ke
the one who آنکه ān-ke
whose که + pronoun ke + pronoun
Noun + که [kah] + clause
Sometimes که [kah] can be omitted:
Type Full Relative Clause Without که Transliteration English Usage
Object Relative کتابی که خریدم کتابی خریدم ketābī ke kharīdam → ketābī kharīdam The book (that) I bought ✅ Common
Person as Object کسی که دیدم کسی دیدم kasī ke dīdam → kasī dīdam The person (whom) I saw ✅ Common
Possessive Relative مردی که موترش خراب بود مردی موترش خراب بود mardī ke motarash kharāb būd → mardī motarash kharāb būd The man whose car was broken ✅ Possible
Subject Relative مردی که آمد ❌ مردی آمد mardī ke āmad The man who came ❌ Usually not omitted (without که, it simply means "A man came.")
Place Relative خانهای که در آن زندگی میکنم خانهای در آن زندگی میکنم khāna-ī ke dar ān zendagī mī-konam → khāna-ī dar ān zendagī mī-konam The house (that) I live in ⚠️ Sometimes
Time Relative روزی که آمدی روزی آمدی rūzī ke āmadī → rūzī āmadī The day (that) you came ⚠️ Sometimes
16- REPORTED SPEECH AND DIRECT SPEECH
Direct Speech: Subject + گفتن [goftan] (to say) + "exact words"
Reported Speech:
said that گفت که goft ke
says that میگوید که mi-goyad ke
asked whether پرسید که آیا porsīd ke āyā
asked where پرسید که کجا porsīd ke kojā
told someone to گفت که + subjunctive goft ke + subjunctive
told someone not to گفت که نـ + subjunctive goft ke na- + subjunctive
17- INFINITIVES AND VERBAL NOUNS
to go رفتن raftan
going (activity) رفتن raftan
reading خواندن khwāndan
while reading هنگام خواندن hengām-e khwāndan
after reading بعد از خواندن ba'd az khwāndan
before reading قبل از خواندن qabl az khwāndan
not going نرفتن naraftan
I am happy seeing you خوشحالم که تو را میبینم khoshhālam ke to rā mibīnam happy + ke + present
FORMATION:
I am happy خوشحالم khoshhālam I am happy
that که ke that
you تو را to rā you (object)
I see میبینم mībīnam I see
I am happy to see you خوشحالم که تو را ببینم khoshhālam ke to rā bebīnam happy + ke + subjunctive
FORMATION:
I am happy خوشحالم khoshhālam
that / to که ke
see ببینم bebīnam
I plan to eat قصد دارم غذا بخورم qasd dāram ghazā bokhoram intend + subjunctive
FORMATION:
I plan/intend قصد دارم qasd dāram
eat غذا بخورم ghazā bokhoram
I plan eating قصدِ غذا خوردن دارم qasd-e ghazā khordan dāram intend + infinitive
FORMATION:
intention of قصدِ qasd-e
eating غذا خوردن ghazā khordan
I have دارم dāram
I see him run میبینم که او میدود mībīnam ke ū mīdawad see + ke + present
FORMATION:
I see میبینم mībīnam
that که ke
he او ū
runs میدود mīdawad
I see him running میبینم که او در حال دویدن است mībīnam ke ū dar hāl-e dawīdan ast see + dar hāl-e + infinitive
FORMATION:
I see میبینم mībīnam
that که ke
he او ū
in the process of در حالِ dar hāl-e
running دویدن dawīdan
is است ast
I eat to play (reason) غذا میخورم تا بازی کنم ghazā mī-khoram tā bāzī konam main verb + تا + subjunctive
FORMATION:
I eat غذا میخورم ghazā mī-khoram
in order to تا tā
play بازی کنم bāzī konam
I eat in order to play غذا میخورم برای بازی کردن ghazā mī-khoram barā-ye bāzī kardan main verb + برای + infinitive
FORMATION:
I eat غذا میخورم ghazā mī-khoram
for / in order to برای barā-ye
playing بازی کردن bāzī kardan
18- SUBJUNCTIVE
Present Subjunctive بـ + present stem بروم berawam
Negative Present نـ + subjunctive نروم narawam
Past Subjunctive participle + باشد رفته باشم rafta bāsham
Negative Past ن + participle + باشد نرفته باشم narafta bāsham
Future Subjunctive present subjunctive بیایم biyāyam
Perfect Subjunctive participle + باشد نوشته باشد neveshta bāshad
Passive Present participle + شود نوشته شود neveshta shawad
Passive Perfect participle + شده باشد نوشته شده باشد neveshta shoda bāshad
19- TAG QUESTIONS
isn't it? مگر نه؟ magar na?
right? نه؟ na?
correct? درست است؟ dorost ast?
isn't that so? اینطور نیست؟ īn-tor nīst?
agreed? قبول؟ qabūl?
Don't you go? آیا نمیروی؟ āyā na-mi-rawī?
Didn't you go? آیا نرفتی؟ āyā naraftī?
Haven't you gone? آیا نرفتهای؟ āyā narafta-ī?
Won't you go? آیا نخواهی رفت؟ āyā na-khwāhī raft?
Can't you go? آیا نمیتوانی بروی؟ āyā na-mitawānī berawī?
Shouldn't you go? آیا نباید بروی؟ āyā nabāyad berawī?
Don't you have? آیا نداری؟ āyā nadārī?
20- MODAL WORDS
# Dari Transliteration Meaning Full example
1 توانستن tawānestan to be able to, can من میتوانم این کار را انجام بدهم. — man mītawānam īn kār rā anjām bedaham. — I can do this work.
2 توانستن tawānestan could / be able to او میتوانست سریع بدود. — ū mītawānest sarī‘ bedawad. — He/she could run fast.
3 خواستن khwāstan to want to / will من میخواهم بروم. — man mīkhwāham berawam. — I want to go.
4 بایستن bāyestan must / have to باید بروی. — bāyad berawī. — You must go.
5 باید bāyad must / should / ought to باید درس بخوانم. — bāyad dars bekhānam. — I must study.
6 لازم است lāzem ast it is necessary / must لازم است امروز برویم. — lāzem ast emrūz berawīm. — We must go today.
7 لازم نیست lāzem nīst need not / do not have to لازم نیست بیایی. — lāzem nīst biyāyī. — You don't have to come.
8 ضروری است zarūrī ast it is necessary ضروری است که صبر کنیم. — zarūrī ast ke sabr konīm. — It is necessary that we wait.
9 ضروری نیست zarūrī nīst it is not necessary ضروری نیست که بروی. — zarūrī nīst ke berawī. — You don't need to go.
10 ممکن است momken ast may / might / it is possible ممکن است فردا بیاید. — momken ast fardā biyāyad. — He/she may come tomorrow.
11 ممکن نیست momken nīst cannot / is impossible ممکن نیست این درست باشد. — momken nīst īn dorost bāshad. — This cannot be correct.
12 احتمال دارد ehtemāl dārad may / might / there is a possibility احتمال دارد باران ببارد. — ehtemāl dārad bārān bebārad. — It may rain.
13 احتمالاً ehtemālan probably احتمالاً فردا میآید. — ehtemālan fardā mīyāyad. — He/she will probably come tomorrow.
14 شاید shāyad maybe / perhaps / may شاید او بیاید. — shāyad ū biyāyad. — Maybe he/she will come.
15 گمان است gomān ast it is thought / presumably گمان است که او بیاید. — gomān ast ke ū biyāyad. — It is presumed that he/she will come.
16 گویا gūyā apparently / seemingly گویا او بیمار است. — gūyā ū bīmār ast. — Apparently, he/she is ill.
17 ظاهراً zāheran apparently ظاهراً او میداند. — zāheran ū mīdānad. — Apparently, he/she knows.
18 احتمالاً ehtemālan probably احتمالاً درست است. — ehtemālan dorost ast. — It is probably correct.
19 حتماً hatman certainly / definitely حتماً میآیم. — hatman mīyāyam. — I will definitely come.
20 قطعاً qat‘an definitely قطعاً این کار را میکنم. — qat‘an īn kār rā mīkonam. — I will definitely do this.
21 مسلماً mosallaman certainly مسلماً درست است. — mosallaman dorost ast. — It is certainly correct.
22 شاید هم shāyad ham perhaps / maybe also شاید هم او بیاید. — shāyad ham ū biyāyad. — Perhaps he/she will come too.
2. Ability and possibility
Dari Transliteration Meaning Example
میتوانم mītawānam I can / am able to میتوانم این کار را انجام بدهم. — mītawānam īn kār rā anjām bedaham. — I can do this.
میتوانی mītawānī you can میتوانی بیایی. — mītawānī biyāyī. — You can come.
میتواند mītawānad he/she can میتواند شنا کند. — mītawānad shenā konad. — He/she can swim.
میتوانیم mītawānīm we can میتوانیم برویم. — mītawānīm berawīm. — We can go.
میتوانید mītawānīd you can میتوانید بنشینید. — mītawānīd beneshīnīd. — You can sit.
میتوانند mītawānand they can میتوانند کمک کنند. — mītawānand komak konand. — They can help.
نمیتوانم nemītawānam I cannot نمیتوانم بیایم. — nemītawānam biyāyam. — I cannot come.
میتوانست mītawānest could او میتوانست برود. — ū mītawānest berawad. — He/she could go.
نمیتوانست nemītawānest could not او نمیتوانست بیاید. — ū nemītawānest biyāyad. — He/she could not come.
ممکن است momken ast may / might ممکن است بیاید. — momken ast biyāyad. — He/she may come.
ممکن بود momken būd might have been possible ممکن بود بیاید. — momken būd biyāyad. — He/she might have come.
غیرممکن است ghayr-e momken ast impossible غیرممکن است. — ghayr-e momken ast. — It is impossible.
3. Obligation, necessity and duty
These are especially important in Dari.
Dari Transliteration Meaning Example
باید bāyad must / should باید بروی. — bāyad berawī. — You must go.
باید... bāyad... have to باید کار کنم. — bāyad kār konam. — I have to work.
نباید nabāyad must not / should not نباید دروغ بگویی. — nabāyad dorogh begūyī. — You must not lie.
لازم است lāzem ast it is necessary لازم است کار کنیم. — lāzem ast kār konīm. — We need to work.
لازم نیست lāzem nīst need not لازم نیست بروی. — lāzem nīst berawī. — You don't need to go.
ضروری است zarūrī ast it is essential ضروری است صبر کنیم. — zarūrī ast sabr konīm. — It is essential that we wait.
ضرورت دارد zarūrat dārad it is necessary ضرورت دارد که اقدام کنیم. — zarūrat dārad ke eqdām konīm. — It is necessary that we act.
مجبور بودن majbūr būdan to be forced to / have to مجبورم بروم. — majbūram berawam. — I have to go.
مکلف بودن mokallaf būdan be obliged / be required او مکلف است گزارش بدهد. — ū mokallaf ast gozaresh bedahad. — He/she is required to give a report.
موظف بودن mowazzaf būdan be obliged / be required او موظف است حاضر شود. — ū mowazzaf ast hāzer shawad. — He/she is required to appear.
ناچار بودن nāchār būdan have no choice but to ناچارم بروم. — nāchāram berawam. — I have no choice but to go.
مجبور شدن majbūr shodan be forced to مجبور شدم بروم. — majbūr shodam berawam. — I was forced to go.
4. Advice and recommendation
Dari Transliteration Meaning Example
باید bāyad should باید بیشتر بخوانی. — bāyad bēshtar bekhānī. — You should study more.
نباید nabāyad should not نباید دیر بخوابی. — nabāyad der bekhābī. — You should not sleep late.
بهتر است behtar ast it is better to / should بهتر است صبر کنی. — behtar ast sabr konī. — You should wait.
بهتر بود behtar būd it would have been better بهتر بود زودتر میآمدی. — behtar būd zūdtar mīāmadī. — You should have come earlier.
خوب است khūb ast it is good / advisable خوب است استراحت کنی. — khūb ast esterāhat konī. — You should rest.
مناسب است monāseb ast it is appropriate مناسب است که صبر کنیم. — monāseb ast ke sabr konīm. — It is appropriate that we wait.
شایسته است shāyesta ast it is proper / advisable شایسته است احترام بگذاری. — shāyesta ast ehtirām begozārī. — You should show respect.
5. Permission and prohibition
Dari commonly expresses permission with اجازه داشتن, اجازه دادن, and میشود.
Dari Transliteration Meaning Example
اجازه داشتن ejāza dāshtan be allowed to اجازه دارم داخل شوم؟ — ejāza dāram dākhel shavam? — May I enter?
اجازه دادن ejāza dādan allow / permit اجازه بده بروم. — ejāza bede berawam. — Let me go.
میشود mīshawad may / can / is it possible میشود داخل شوم؟ — mīshawad dākhel shavam? — May I come in?
میتوانم؟ mītawānam? may I? / can I? میتوانم بنشینم؟ — mītawānam beneshīnam? — May I sit?
مجاز بودن mojāz būdan be permitted شما مجاز هستید وارد شوید. — shomā mojāz hastīd wāred shawīd. — You are permitted to enter.
ممنوع بودن mamnū‘ būdan be forbidden ورود ممنوع است. — worūd mamnū‘ ast. — Entry is forbidden.
نباید nabāyad must not / may not نباید اینجا پارک کنی. — nabāyad īnjā pārk konī. — You must not park here.
6. Volition, intention and willingness
Dari Transliteration Meaning Example
خواستن khwāstan want to میخواهم بخوابم. — mīkhwāham bekhābam. — I want to sleep.
میخواهم mīkhwāham I want to / intend to میخواهم بروم. — mīkhwāham berawam. — I want to go.
میخواهد mīkhwāhad he/she wants to او میخواهد بخواند. — ū mīkhwāhad bekhānad. — He/she wants to read.
نمیخواهم nemīkhwāham I don't want to نمیخواهم بروم. — nemīkhwāham berawam. — I don't want to go.
قصد داشتن qasd dāshtan intend to قصد دارم بروم. — qasd dāram berawam. — I intend to go.
قصد کردن qasd kardan intend to قصد کردم بروم. — qasd kardam berawam. — I intended to go.
مایل بودن māyel būdan be willing / inclined مایلم کمک کنم. — māyelam komak konam. — I am willing to help.
راضی بودن rāzī būdan be willing / agreeable راضی است کمک کند. — rāzī ast komak konad. — He/she is willing to help.
حاضر بودن hāzer būdan be willing حاضرم کمک کنم. — hāzeram komak konam. — I am willing to help.
تمایل داشتن tamāyol dāshtan have a desire/inclination تمایل دارد برود. — tamāyol dārad berawad. — He/she wishes to go.
7. Desire, preference and willingness
Dari Transliteration Meaning
دوست داشتن dūst dāshtan want / like
ترجیح دادن tarjīh dādan prefer
مایل بودن māyel būdan be willing / inclined
تمایل داشتن tamāyol dāshtan wish / be inclined
راغب بودن rāgheb būdan be desirous / willing
خواهان بودن khwāhān būdan desire / demand
آرزو داشتن ārezū dāshtan wish
آرزو کردن ārezū kardan wish
امید داشتن omīd dāshtan hope
امیدوار بودن omīd-wār būdan hope / be hopeful
Example:
امیدوارم فردا بیاید.
omīdwāram fardā biyāyad.
I hope he/she comes tomorrow.
8. Probability and uncertainty
Dari Transliteration Meaning
شاید shāyad maybe / perhaps
ممکن است momken ast may / might
ممکن بود momken būd might / could have been possible
احتمال دارد ehtemāl dārad there is a possibility
احتمالاً ehtemālan probably
احتمالاً نه ehtemālan na probably not
بعید است ba‘īd ast unlikely
بعید نیست ba‘īd nīst it is not unlikely / may well
محتمل است mohtamel ast it is probable
محتمل نیست mohtamel nīst it is improbable
گمان میرود gomān mīrawad it is thought / presumed
به نظر میرسد ba nazar mīresad it seems
ظاهراً zāheran apparently
گویا gūyā apparently / reportedly
شاید هم shāyad ham perhaps
گویا که gūyā ke apparently that
احتمالاً چنین است ehtemālan chenīn ast it is probably so
9. Certainty and necessity of truth
Dari Transliteration Meaning
حتماً hatman certainly / definitely
قطعاً qat‘an definitely
مسلماً mosallaman certainly
یقیناً yaqīnan certainly
بیشک bī-shak undoubtedly
بیتردید bī-tardīd undoubtedly
بدون شک bedūn-e shak without doubt
البته albatta certainly / of course
بهطور یقین ba-tor-e yaqīn certainly
به احتمال زیاد ba-ehtemāl-e ziyād very probably
به احتمال کم ba-ehtemāl-e kam with low probability
10. Necessity vs possibility
A very useful distinction:
Modal Strength English
باید bāyad strong must / should
لازم است lāzem ast strong need to / must
ضروری است zarūrī ast strong it is necessary
مجبورم majbūram strong I have to / am forced to
نباید nabāyad strong negative must not / should not
ممکن است momken ast possible may / might
احتمال دارد ehtemāl dārad possible/probable may / there is a possibility
شاید shāyad uncertain maybe / perhaps
احتمالاً ehtemālan fairly probable probably
بعید است ba‘īd ast low probability unlikely
حتماً hatman certain definitely
قطعاً qat‘an very certain definitely/certainly
11. Past modality
Dari can combine modal expressions with past forms.
Must have / should have
باید میرفتی.
bāyad mīraftī.
You should have gone / You were supposed to go.
نباید میرفتی.
nabāyad mīraftī.
You should not have gone.
Could
میتوانستم بروم.
mītawānestam berawam.
I could go / I was able to go.
میتوانستم بروم، اما نرفتم.
mītawānestam berawam, ammā naraftam.
I could have gone, but I didn't.
Might have
ممکن بود بیاید.
momken būd biyāyad.
He/she might have come.
Probably
احتمالاً آمده بود.
ehtemālan āmada būd.
He/she had probably come.
12. “Would” / hypothetical modality
Dari does not have one word that corresponds exactly to every English use of would. Different constructions are used.
English meaning Common Dari construction Example
would / hypothetical می... اگر وقت میداشتم، میآمدم. — agar waqt mīdāshtam, mīāmadam. — If I had time, I would come.
would have می... + past context اگر میدانستم، میآمدم. — agar mīdānestam, mīāmadam. — If I had known, I would have come.
would like میخواهم / مایل هستم مایلم صحبت کنم. — māyelam sohbat konam. — I would like to speak.
used to / would repeatedly می... هر روز آنجا میرفتم. — har rūz ānjā mīraftam. — I would go there every day.
13. “Be supposed to”
Several expressions can express this meaning:
Dari Transliteration Meaning
باید bāyad should / supposed to
قرار است qarār ast be supposed to / be scheduled to
قرار بود qarār būd was supposed to
مقرر است moqarrar ast it is scheduled/decided
مقرر بود moqarrar būd it was scheduled/decided
وظیفه داشتن wazīfa dāshtan be supposed/required to
Example:
قرار است فردا بیاید.
qarār ast fardā biyāyad.
He/she is supposed to come tomorrow.
قرار بود دیروز بیاید.
qarār būd dīrūz biyāyad.
He/she was supposed to come yesterday.
14. “Need”
Dari Transliteration Meaning
لازم داشتن lāzem dāshtan need
نیاز داشتن niyāz dāshtan need
احتیاج داشتن ehtiyāj dāshtan need
لازم است lāzem ast need to
لازم نیست lāzem nīst don't need to
نیازی نیست niyāzī nīst there is no need
احتیاجی نیست ehtiyājī nīst there is no need
Example:
نیازی نیست صبر کنی.
niyāzī nīst sabr konī.
You don't need to wait.
15. “Dare”
Dari does not normally have a direct modal verb exactly equivalent to English dare. It commonly uses:
Dari Transliteration Meaning
جرئت داشتن jor'at dāshtan dare / have the courage
جرئت کردن jor'at kardan dare
جرئت نکردن jor'at nakardan not dare
جرئت نمیکنم این را بگویم.
jor'at nemīkonam īn rā begūyam.
I don't dare say this.
16. “Be able / manage to”
Dari Transliteration Meaning
توانستن tawānestan be able to
قادر بودن qāder būdan be capable/able
موفق شدن movaffaq shodan manage/succeed in
از عهدهٔ ... برآمدن az ohda-ye ... bar-āmad-an manage to / be capable of
او قادر است این کار را انجام دهد.
ū qāder ast īn kār rā anjām dahad.
He/she is able to do this.
17. “Almost / nearly” as modal-like possibility
These do not express modality strictly, but they affect the likelihood or completion of an event:
Dari Transliteration Meaning
نزدیک بود nazdīk būd was almost
نزدیک است nazdīk ast is close to
نزدیک بود که... nazdīk būd ke... almost...
داشت... dāsht... was about to...
داشت میرفت dāsht mīraft he/she was about to leave
Example:
نزدیک بود بیفتم.
nazdīk būd beoftam.
I almost fell.
18. Important modal particles/adverbs
These are not modal verbs, but they add modality, certainty, doubt, expectation, or speaker attitude.
Dari Transliteration Meaning
شاید shāyad perhaps / maybe
حتماً hatman certainly
قطعاً qat‘an definitely
مسلماً mosallaman certainly
احتمالاً ehtemālan probably
ظاهراً zāheran apparently
گویا gūyā apparently / seemingly
واقعاً wāqe‘an really
احتمالاً نه ehtemālan na probably not
بعیداً ba‘īdan unlikely / probably not
حتیالامکان hattā-l-emkān if possible / as far as possible
ترجیحاً tarjīhan preferably
احیاناً ehyānan possibly / perhaps
مبادا mabādā lest / don't let it happen that
نکند nakonad perhaps / lest / could it be that
انگار engār apparently / as if
ظاهراً zāheran seemingly
لابد lābod presumably / must probably
گویا gūyā seemingly / apparently
البته albatta of course
طبعاً tab‘an naturally / of course
طبیعتاً tabī‘atan naturally
بیشک bī-shak undoubtedly
Especially useful:
لابد lābod can express an inference:
لابد او خبر دارد.
lābod ū khabar dārad.
He/she must know.
Here لابد is not obligation like باید. It means something like “presumably / surely / he/she must…” based on inference.
19. “Lest / beware that”
Two particularly useful Dari modal/subjunctive expressions:
مبادا — mabādā — lest / beware that
مبادا فراموش کنی.
mabādā farāmūsh konī.
Don't forget / lest you forget.
نکند — nakonad — perhaps / lest / could it be that
نکند او نیاید؟
nakonad ū nayāyad?
Could it be that he won't come
توانستن — tawānestan — can/could
باید — bāyad — must/should
نباید — nabāyad — must not/should not
ممکن است — momken ast — may/might
شاید — shāyad — may/might/perhaps
لازم است — lāzem ast — need to/must
لازم نیست — lāzem nīst — need not
خواستن — khwāstan — want to/will
قرار است — qarār ast — be supposed to
احتمال دارد — ehtemāl dārad — may/might
حتماً — hatman — definitely
لابد — lābod — presumably/must (inference)
مبادا — mabādā — lest
جرئت داشتن — jor'at dāshtan — dare
ترجیح دادن — tarjīh dādan — prefer.
21- THERE IS / HAVE / BE
There is هست / است hast / ast
There are هست / هستند hast / hastand
There is not نیست nīst
There was بود būd
There were بودند būdand
There will be خواهد بود khwāhad būd
There exists وجود دارد wujūd dārad
Is there...? آیا ... هست؟ āyā ... hast?
I have دارم dāram
You have (sing.) داری dārī
He/she has دارد dārad
We have داریم dārīm
You have (plural/formal) دارید dārīd
They have دارند dārand
I have دارم dāram
I don't have ندارم nadāram
I had داشتم dāshtam
I didn't have نداشتم nadāshtam
I will have خواهم داشت khwāham dāsht
I have had داشتهام dāshta-am
I had had داشته بودم dāshta būdam
I have to باید bāyad
IMPERATIVES:
Positive singular بـ + stem برو bero
Positive plural/formal بـ + stem + ید بروید berawīd
Negative singular نـ + imperative نرو naro
Negative plural نـ + imperative + ید نروید narawīd
Let's subjunctive برویم berawīm
Passive command participle + شو نوشته شو neveshta sho
Be written! نوشته شو neveshta sho
Be opened! باز شو bāz sho
Be finished! تمام شو tamām sho