Two ways to say "am, are, is"
Persian has a full verb هستم، هستی، است... and a set of short endings that attach to the word before them. Both mean the same. The short forms are more common in speech and in ordinary writing; the full forms are a little more careful or emphatic. Like every Persian verb, "to be" comes at the end of the sentence.
- من خسته هستم. (man khaste hastam) — I am tired.
- من خسته*ام.* (man khaste-am) — I am tired.
All forms
| Person | Full form | After a consonant: خوب (good) | After final ه: خسته (tired) | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| من | هستم | خوبم (khubam) | خستهام (khaste-am) | نیستم (nistam) |
| تو | هستی | خوبی (khubi) | خستهای (khaste-i) | نیستی |
| او | است | خوب است (khub ast) | خسته است | نیست (nist) |
| ما | هستیم | خوبیم (khubim) | خستهایم (khaste-im) | نیستیم |
| شما | هستید | خوبید (khubid) | خستهاید (khaste-id) | نیستید |
| آنها | هستند | خوبند (khuband) | خستهاند (khaste-and) | نیستند |
Spelling rules:
- After a consonant the ending joins directly: خوبم، معلمم (moallemam, I am a teacher).
- After a final silent ه (the vowel e) the ending starts with ا and is separated by a half-space: خستهام، گرسنهایم.
- After ا or و, است often shortens to ـست: کجاست؟ (kojāst) — Where is it?
- است itself does not attach after a consonant in writing: خوب است.
است and هست
است is the ordinary "is". هست means "is there, is present, exists", or stresses that something really is so:
- هوا سرد است. — The weather is cold.
- علی خانه هست؟ — Is Ali (at) home?
- نیست is the negative of both: علی خانه نیست. — Ali is not home.
Negative and question
The negative is one word, نیستم، نیستی، نیست..., again at the end. A yes/no question uses the same order with rising intonation and a question mark:
- ما ایرانی نیستیم. — We are not Iranian.
- شما خسته*اید؟* — Are you tired?
Colloquial ـه for است
In speech است after a consonant becomes ـه (e): خوب است → خوبه (khube), گران است → گرونه (gerune). Use these only in conversation or chat, not in formal writing.
Watch out as an English speaker
- The verb goes last, never in the middle: ✗ من هستم خسته. / ✓ من خسته هستم.
- "Not" is part of the verb, not a separate word: ✗ من نه خسته هستم. / ✓ من خسته نیستم.
- Physical feelings of cold and heat use a different structure: ✗ من سرد هستم. (means "I am a cold person") / ✓ سردم است. (sardam ast; colloquial سردمه).
- After final ه, the ending needs the ا and a half-space: ✗ خستهم / ✓ خستهام.
Example dialogue
سلام، خوبی؟ — Hi, are you well?
خوبم، ممنون. تو هم خوبی؟ — I'm fine, thanks. Are you well too?
نه، خیلی خوب نیستم. خستهام. — No, I'm not very well. I'm tired.
مریم کجاست؟ — Where is Maryam?
خانه است. — She is at home.