رفتن and آمدن in Persian

In Brief

Persian uses رفتن (raftan, “to go”) and آمدن (āmadan, “to come”) for basic movement. Their present stems are irregular: رو (rav) and آ (ā), giving forms such as می‌روم (“I go”) and می‌آیم (“I come”). For an immediate command, use برو! (“Go!”) and بیا! (“Come!”).

Overview

رفتن and آمدن are two of the most useful Persian verbs. You need them to talk about going home, coming to a party, leaving for work, arriving from another city, and making plans. They also occur in many compound verbs and fixed expressions.

This is an A1 topic, but the two verbs do not follow the most obvious present-tense pattern. The infinitive (the dictionary form, like English “to go”) does not directly reveal the present stem. رفتن has the present stem رو, while آمدن has the present stem آ. Their past stems, by contrast, are easy to see: remove final ن from the infinitive to get رفت and آمد.

Persian verb endings normally show the subject, so subject pronouns are often left out. می‌روم can stand by itself and means “I go,” “I am going,” or, in a suitable context, “I will go.” English learners should therefore avoid adding من (“I”) to every sentence and should not expect Persian to mark the difference between “I go” and “I am going” in the same way English does.

How It Works

The four stems to remember

Infinitive	Meaning	Present stem	Past stem
رفتن (raftan)	to go	رو (rav)	رفت (raft)
آمدن (āmadan)	to come	آ (ā)	آمد (āmad)

The written form رو is conventionally transliterated rav when it is a stem. In actual words its pronunciation changes with the following ending: می‌روم is miravam, while برو is boro.

Present forms

The usual present form has three parts:

می‌ + present stem + personal ending

The prefix می‌ and the verb are joined with a half-space in standard Persian writing. The ending tells you who performs the action.

Person	رفتن — to go	آمدن — to come
من — I	می‌روم (miravam)	می‌آیم (miyāyam)
تو — you, singular informal	می‌روی (miravi)	می‌آیی (miyāyi)
او — he, she	می‌رود (miravad)	می‌آید (miyāyad)
ما — we	می‌رویم (miravim)	می‌آییم (miyāyim)
شما — you, plural or polite	می‌روید (miravid)	می‌آیید (miyāyid)
آنها — they	می‌روند (miravand)	می‌آیند (miyāyand)

Persian has no grammatical gender in these forms: او می‌آید can mean either “he is coming” or “she is coming.” Spoken Persian often shortens formal written forms. For example, می‌روم is commonly pronounced miram, می‌رود becomes mire, and می‌آیم may sound like miyām. Learn the standard forms first; the shortened forms are important for listening but need not be your starting point in writing.

The Persian present covers both the English simple present and present progressive in many ordinary contexts:

• هر روز به دانشگاه می‌روم. — “I go to university every day.”
• الان می‌آیم. — “I’m coming now.”

A present form can also describe a scheduled or intended future action when a time expression makes that meaning clear:

• فردا نمی‌آیم. — “I won’t come tomorrow.”
• امشب به خانه می‌رویم. — “We’re going home tonight.”

Negatives

For a negative present form, replace می‌ with نمی‌:

Positive	Negative
می‌روم — I go / I am going	نمی‌روم — I do not go / I am not going
می‌آید — he/she comes	نمی‌آید — he/she does not come
می‌رویم — we go	نمی‌رویم — we do not go
می‌آیند — they come	نمی‌آیند — they do not come

English needs an auxiliary such as “do” or “be” in these negatives; Persian does not. The negative marker belongs directly to the verb.

Past forms

The simple past is made from the past stem plus a personal ending. The third-person singular has no ending.

Person	رفتن — to go	آمدن — to come
من	رفتم (raftam)	آمدم (āmadam)
تو	رفتی (rafti)	آمدی (āmadi)
او	رفت (raft)	آمد (āmad)
ما	رفتیم (raftim)	آمدیم (āmadim)
شما	رفتید (raftid)	آمدید (āmadid)
آنها	رفتند (raftand)	آمدند (āmadand)

Add نـ to make the past negative: نرفتم (“I did not go”), نیامد (“he/she did not come”), and نیامدند (“they did not come”). With آمدن, the negative is written نیامد..., not نآمد....

Commands

An imperative is a form used to give a command or invitation. The everyday singular forms are highly useful:

Addressee	رفتن	آمدن
تو — informal singular	برو! (boro!) — Go!	بیا! (biyā!) — Come!
شما — plural or polite	بروید! (beravid!) — Go!	بیایید! (biyāyid!) — Come!

For a negative command, use نـ rather than بـ:

• نرو! (naro!) — Don’t go!
• نیا! (nayā!) — Don’t come!
• نروید! — Don’t go! (plural or polite)
• نیایید! — Don’t come! (plural or polite)

Commands can sound abrupt without context, just as in English. A friendly tone, لطفاً (“please”), or a polite plural form can soften them: لطفاً بیایید داخل. — “Please come in.”

After باید and other trigger words

After باید (“must; should”), Persian normally uses the subjunctive (a verb form used after ideas such as necessity, desire, or possibility). For these verbs, the forms begin with بـ:

Person	رفتن	آمدن
I	بروم (beravam)	بیایم (biyāyam)
you, singular	بروی (beravi)	بیایی (biyāyi)
he/she	برود (beravad)	بیاید (biyāyad)
we	برویم (beravim)	بیاییم (biyāyim)
you, plural/polite	بروید (beravid)	بیایید (biyāyid)
they	بروند (beravand)	بیایند (biyāyand)

Thus باید برویم means “We must go,” not “we must we-go” or “we must to go.” English uses an unchanged verb after “must”; Persian still marks the person on the main verb.

Examples in Context

Persian	Romanization	English	Note
کجا می‌روی؟	kojā miravi?	Where are you going?	Informal singular question
هر روز سرِ کار می‌روم.	har ruz sar-e kār miravam.	I go to work every day.	Habitual present
الان به خانه می‌رویم.	alān be khāne miravim.	We’re going home now.	Action happening now
او با مترو می‌آید.	u bā metro miyāyad.	He/She comes by metro.	با introduces the means of transport
بیا اینجا!	biyā injā!	Come here!	Informal singular command
لطفاً بیایید داخل.	lotfan biyāyid dākhel.	Please come in.	Polite or plural command
فردا نمی‌آیم.	fardā nemiyāyam.	I won’t come tomorrow.	Present form with future meaning
چرا دیروز نیامدی؟	cherā diruz nayāmadi?	Why didn’t you come yesterday?	Negative simple past
ساعت هشت رفتند.	sā'at-e hasht raftand.	They left at eight.	رفتن can mean “leave” in context
مریم از شیراز آمد.	Maryam az Shirāz āmad.	Maryam came from Shiraz.	Origin with از
باید برویم.	bāyad beravim.	We must go.	Subjunctive after باید
می‌خواهم به ایران بروم.	mikhāham be Irān beravam.	I want to go to Iran.	Subjunctive after “I want”
نرو؛ هنوز زود است.	naro; hanuz zud ast.	Don’t go; it’s still early.	Negative command
کی برمی‌گردی؟	key barmigardi?	When are you coming back?	Persian often uses “return” rather than آمدن

Common Mistakes

Building the present directly from the infinitive

• Wrong: می‌رفتم for “I go.”
• Right: می‌روم.
• Why: The present stem of رفتن is رو, not رفت. می‌رفتم is a real form, but it means “I was going” or “I used to go,” so the stem choice changes the tense.

Treating آمدن as regular in the present

• Wrong: می‌آدم for standard “I come.”
• Right: می‌آیم.
• Why: The standard present stem is آ, followed by ی before endings: می‌آیم، می‌آیی، می‌آید. Do not build the present from past stem آمد.

Using آمدن whenever English says “come”

• Misleading: می‌آیم به خانه when speaking from somewhere else and simply announcing departure.
• Natural choice: به خانه می‌روم. — “I’m going home.”
• Why: Persian, like English, normally chooses “come” when movement is toward the speaker, listener, or a viewpoint treated as the destination. Choose the viewpoint first; dictionary equivalence alone is not enough.

Using the indicative after باید

• Wrong: باید می‌رویم.
• Right: باید برویم.
• Why: باید normally requires the subjunctive form برویم, without می‌.

Adding an English-style infinitive after a modal expression

• Wrong: باید رفتن for “we must go.”
• Right: باید برویم.
• Why: Persian marks the intended subject on the second verb. The dictionary form رفتن cannot simply replace English “go” after “must.”

Writing every subject pronoun

• Overexplicit: من می‌روم و من فردا می‌آیم.
• More natural: می‌روم و فردا می‌آیم. — “I’m going, and I’ll come tomorrow.”
• Why: The endings ـم already identify “I.” Use من when you need emphasis or contrast: من می‌روم، نه او (“I’m going, not him/her”).

Usage Notes

Destination, origin, and route

A destination commonly takes به (“to”): به مدرسه می‌روم (“I go to school”). An origin takes از (“from”): از تبریز آمدیم (“We came from Tabriz”). In everyday speech, به is often omitted before familiar destinations, especially خانه: both به خانه می‌روم and خانه می‌روم occur.

For transport, use با: با اتوبوس آمدم (“I came by bus”). To say that you go on foot, پیاده می‌روم is natural. Persian does not need a separate verb matching every English contrast between “walk,” “ride,” and “drive”; the manner can be supplied separately.

“Go” can imply “leave”

When no destination is stated, رفتن often means “to leave”: علی رفت can mean “Ali left.” Similarly, کی می‌روی؟ may ask “When are you leaving?” Context determines whether English translates it as “go” or “leave.”

Standard writing and everyday speech

Formal writing and careful speech retain forms such as می‌روم، می‌رود، می‌آیم. Conversation frequently has می‌رم، می‌ره، میام. These spellings are common in messages and dialogue but are not the best default for formal writing. Also notice that transliteration cannot capture every accent exactly; prioritize recognizing the Persian script.

Present forms for plans

Persian often uses the present with a future-time phrase: هفتهٔ بعد می‌رویم اصفهان (“We’re going to Isfahan next week”). This resembles English planned-present usage, but Persian uses it very freely. A separate future construction exists, yet it is less necessary in everyday conversation than an English learner may expect.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of this at A1, but these verbs appear in several broader patterns.

The explicit future

The formal future uses a present form of خواستن plus the unchanged past stem:

• خواهم رفت — I will go
• خواهی آمد — you will come
• خواهند رفت — they will go

This construction is useful in formal speech and writing. In ordinary conversation, فردا می‌روم is often more natural than فردا خواهم رفت. Note the unusual order: the future auxiliary changes for person, while رفت or آمد stays unchanged.

Perfect and progressive forms

The past participles (forms used to build perfect tenses) are رفته and آمده:

• رفته‌ام — I have gone
• آمده‌اند — they have come

Persian also has explicit progressive constructions with داشتن (“to have”), such as دارم می‌روم (“I am going right now”). The ordinary present می‌روم remains enough in many contexts, so do not assume English “be + -ing” must always become the explicit Persian progressive.

Compound verbs and expressions

رفتن and آمدن combine with other words to create meanings that cannot always be translated word for word:

Expression	Literal idea	Usual meaning
به دنیا آمدن	come into the world	to be born
پیش آمدن	come forward	to happen; arise
از دست رفتن	go from the hand	to be lost; be wasted
رفت‌وآمد کردن	do going-and-coming	to commute; travel back and forth

For “come back,” learners usually need برگشتن (“to return”), not a literal combination built from English “come.” Learn compound verbs as whole units, including their usual prepositions.

Viewpoint can shift in reported situations

The choice between “go” and “come” depends on the viewpoint adopted by the speaker. If you are inviting someone toward your location, بیا is natural. If both people are discussing movement toward a third place, either verb may be possible depending on whether that place is treated as the conversational center. This is similar to English, but the two languages do not choose identically in every reported context; pay attention to whole phrases rather than translating the verb in isolation.

Practice Tips

1. Learn four anchor forms: say می‌روم، می‌آیم، رفتم، آمدم aloud until the present-stem and past-stem contrast feels automatic. Then replace the first-person endings with the other five endings.
2. Practice with a map and a viewpoint: point to where you are, then describe movement with به ... می‌روم and از ... می‌آیم. Move the imagined speaker and decide whether the same trip is now “going” or “coming.”
3. Make a three-time diary: write one sentence about yesterday with رفتم/آمدم, one about today with می‌روم/می‌آیم, and one about tomorrow using a present form plus فردا. This reinforces how context supplies the time meaning.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Simple Present Tense — explains می‌, personal endings, and the basic present pattern used by both verbs.