Yes/no questions
A statement becomes a question just by rising intonation and a question mark. Nothing moves and there is no helper verb like "do".
- خستهای. (khaste-i) — You are tired.
- خستهای؟ (khaste-i?) — Are you tired?
- فارسی حرف میزنید؟ — Do you speak Persian?
In writing, forms, exams and news the question can start with آیا (āyā). It adds no meaning; it only marks the sentence as a question from the start:
- آیا شما ساکنِ این شهر هستید؟ — Are you a resident of this city?
Answers: بله (bale) / colloquial آره (āre) — yes; نه (na) / formal خیر (kheyr) — no.
Question words
| Word | Say | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| چه (colloquial چی) | che, chi | what | چه میخوری؟ — What are you eating? |
| کی (formal چه کسی) | ki | who | او کیست؟ — Who is he/she? |
| کِی | key | when | کِی میآیی؟ — When are you coming? |
| کجا | kojā | where | کجا کار میکنی؟ — Where do you work? |
| چرا | cherā | why | چرا خستهای؟ — Why are you tired? |
| چطور (formal چگونه) | chetor, chegune | how | چطور آمدی؟ — How did you come? |
| چند | chand | how many | چند سال داری؟ — How old are you? |
| چقدر | cheghadr | how much | این چقدر است؟ — How much is this? |
| کدام | kodām | which | کدام اتوبوس؟ — Which bus? |
کی (who) and کِی (when) are spelled the same without vowel marks. Pronunciation and context separate them.
With است several words contract: چیست (chist, what is), کیست (kist, who is), کجاست (kojāst, where is).
Word order stays the same
The question word takes the place of the answer. Compare:
- علی فردا میآید. — Ali is coming tomorrow.
- علی کِی میآید؟ — When is Ali coming?
چند and کدام take a singular noun
- چند بچه دارید؟ — How many children do you have?
- کدام کتاب را میخواهی؟ — Which book do you want?
Or-questions
Use یا (yā, or): چای میخوری یا قهوه؟ — Will you have tea or coffee?
Watch out as an English speaker
- No fronting and no "do": ✗ چه تو میخواهی؟ / ✓ تو چه میخواهی؟
- "What is your name?" is not word-for-word: ✗ چه اسمت است؟ / ✓ اسمت چیست؟
- Singular after چند, as after numbers: ✗ چند کتابها داری؟ / ✓ چند کتاب داری؟
- آیا in conversation sounds like a newsreader: ✗ آیا خستهای؟ (to a friend) / ✓ خستهای؟
Example dialogue
ببخشید، ایستگاهِ مترو کجاست؟ — Excuse me, where is the metro station?
کدام ایستگاه؟ — Which station?
ایستگاهِ انقلاب. چطور میتوانم به آنجا بروم؟ — Enqelab station. How can I get there?
مستقیم بروید، دست چپ است. — Go straight on, it is on the left.