Farsi for Toddlers (and Their Grown Ups): Easy Farsi Imperative Phrases

Easy Farsi for Toddlers (And Their Grown Ups)

Every parent uses a lot of imperative phrases, otherwise known as commands or requests. To form a command in Farsi, take the present tense stem of the verb and add the imperative prefix “بِ | be” (e sounds like the e in ‘egg’) to the beginning, like this:

Verb – English	Verb – Farsi	Present Tense Stem	+ Imperative Prefix	= Imperative Verb	English Translation
to jump/fly	پَریدَن | páreedán	پَر | pár	بِ | be (e like in ‘egg’)	بِپَر | bepár	Jump!

See this video as an example using the verb “to come.” We tell our toddler to “beeya” a lot, but she tells us to “beeya” even more!

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Want to take a deep dive into imperative Farsi verbs and grammar? Check out this guide from the University of Texas at Austin, or this one from Ali Jahanshiri. And also don’t feel bad if you have zero interest in a deep dive and just want to pick up the few easy Farsi phrases I’ve included below. Your interests (or lack thereof) are valid. If you need someone to remind you of that, hit me up and I’ll send you all the encouraging words. 🙂

Now let’s learn some easy Farsi words and phrases you can start using today in everyday interactions with your family.

Let’s Learn: Easy Farsi Imperative Phrases with Farsi Script, Transliterations, and Translations

In the charts below, I’ve only included the informal versions of these phrases. I have also used the informal contractions (short versions) of the phrases. In formal Farsi, and especially in written Farsi, some of the words are pronounced and/or written differently.

All that to say, if you’re talking to an elder and you need to be extra respectful and formal, you probably don’t want to rely on these phrases! Could you imagine telling Khaleh to “listen | gush bedeh | گوش بِدِه”? 😳

Check out this great lesson from Chai and Conversation for more info about the difference between the formal ‘shomā | شُما’ and the informal ‘to | تو.’

Easy Farsi Charts

Vowel	Transliteration	Sound
ا ,آ	ā	a in “all”
و	u	u in “rule”
َ (slanted line above)	á	a in “ran”
ِ (slanted line below)	e	e in “egg”
ُ (looped line above)	o	o in “oh”
ی,	ee	ee in “feel”

In general, regular verbs are made imperative by taking the present tense verb stem and adding “beh | بِ” to the beginning. Some regional pronunciation differences might change this in some dialects or accents. Remember that ‘e’ in these transliterations always sounds like the ‘e’ in ‘egg,’ while ‘ee’ sounds like ‘ee’ in ‘feel.’ See the vowel pronunciation guide above for more.

Farsi	Transliteration	Translation
بِبین	bebeen	look
بِشین	besheen	sit down
بِدِه …	… bedeh	give …
گوش بِدی	gush bedeh (gush: u like in ‘rule’)	listen (literally: give ear)
دَستِتو بِدِه بِه مَن	dást-e-to bedeh beh mán	give me your hand
بوس بِدِه بِه مَن	bus bedeh beh mán (bus rhymes with goose)	give me a kiss
…بِگو	begu…	say…
بِگو لُتفَن	begu lotfán	say please

If the verb stem has an “oh” sound in the first syllable, then the the “beh | بِ” becomes “bo | بُ” in spoken language, simply because human brains like matching sounds and that’s how language evolves sometimes. 🤷‍♀️ In written Farsi, you would leave off all the vowel diacritics/markings anyway, so if you write these phrases down, leave off the diacritic off of the letter b | ب entirely.

Similarly, if the verb stem starts with “ā” then the letter “yeh | ی” is added before the letter “álef | آ” and the ‘eh’ sound becomes an ‘ee’ sound. A ‘y’ sound sneaks in there to make it flow nicely as well.

Remember that ‘o’ in these transliterations always sounds like ‘oh’ and rhymes with ‘no.’ See the vowel pronunciation guide above for more.

Farsi	Transliteration	Translation
بُدو	bodo	run (also used colloquially to say ‘hurry’)
بُرو	boro	go (also used colloquially to say ‘get out of here’)
بُرو اونجا	boro unja	go there
بُخور	bokhor	eat
بیا	beeyā	come
بیا اینجا	beeyā eenjā	come here

Some verbs are only used in partnership with another word as compound verbs like the ones listed above, and these verbs are made imperative by using the present tense stem, without any prefix or suffix, after the partner word.

Farsi	Transliteration	Translation
شو …	… show	become…
بُلَند شو	bolánd show	stand up (literally: become tall)
باش …	… bāsh	be …
مُلّایِم باش	mollāyem bāsh	be gentle
ساکِت باش	sāket bāsh	be quiet
…کُن	… kon (sounds like ‘cone’)	do …
صَبر کُن	sábr kon^	wait/be patient (literally: do waiting/patience)
لالا کُن	lālā kon*	sleep (literally: do sleeping)

Farsi	Transliteration	Translation
اونو نَخور*	oono nákhor	don’t eat that