Verbal Prefixes in Persian

In Brief

Persian uses بر (bar-), در (dar-), فرو (foru-), and باز (bāz-) before verbs to express ideas such as up, out, down, back, or again. They can help you guess a verb's meaning, but the result is often a fixed vocabulary item: learn برداشتن as “to pick up,” not simply as the sum of بر and داشتن. With a true prefixed verb, markers such as می‌ normally follow the prefix: برمی‌دارم “I pick up.”

Overview

A prefix is an element attached to the beginning of a word. Persian has inherited several verbal prefixes that originally expressed direction. Four especially useful ones are بر, در, فرو, and باز. You meet them in ordinary verbs such as برداشتن “to pick up,” درآوردن “to take out,” فرو رفتن “to sink,” and بازگشتن “to return.”

At B1, these forms matter for both vocabulary and grammar. Their directional meanings are useful clues, but they do not provide a mechanical formula. Compare English “take off,” “take in,” and “take over”: the particle offers a hint, yet each whole expression must be learned. Persian prefixed verbs behave similarly. Some meanings remain transparent, while others have become figurative or idiomatic.

These verbs also overlap with Persian compound verbs, combinations in which a noun, adjective, or other nonverbal element works with a light verb (a common verb such as کردن “to do” that carries the tense and person). The boundary is not always obvious from an English translation. This article therefore treats spelling and conjugation as part of each verb's identity.

How It Works

The four main prefixes

Prefix	Romanization	Useful core image	Common verbs
بر	bar-	up, off, away	برداشتن “pick up”; برگشتن “come back”
در	dar-	in, into, through/out	درآمدن “come out; turn out”; درآوردن “take out; earn”
فرو	foru-	down, inward, into depth	فرو رفتن “sink”; فرو ریختن “collapse”
باز	bāz-	back, again; open	بازگشتن “return”; باز کردن “open”

The “core image” is only a memory aid. For example, برداشتن can mean “pick up,” “remove,” “take,” or even “choose,” depending on its object. درآوردن may describe taking clothes off, removing something, producing a sound, or earning money. Context selects the intended meaning.

Learn the base form and stems together

The infinitive (dictionary form, equivalent to English “to …”) does not always reveal every conjugated form directly. Persian verbs use a past stem and a present stem. In برداشتن, the past stem is برداشت and the present stem is بردار:

Function	Form	Example
Infinitive	برداشتن	to pick up / remove
Simple past, third person singular	برداشت	he/she picked up
Present, first person singular	برمی‌دارم	I pick up / am picking up
Negative present	برنمی‌دارم	I do not pick up
Command	بردار!	Pick it up!
Negative command	برندار!	Don’t pick it up!

This is why a useful vocabulary entry is not merely بر + داشتن. Record برداشتن، برداشت، بردار and its main meanings as one set.

Position of tense and negative markers

In established prefixed verbs, the imperfective marker می‌ (used for ongoing, repeated, and many present-tense forms) normally comes after the prefix. The negative form نمی‌ occupies the same position:

• برمی‌گردم — I return / I am returning
• برنمی‌گردم — I do not return
• درمی‌آورم — I take out / I earn
• درنمی‌آورم — I do not take out / earn
• فرومی‌رود — it sinks / goes down
• بازمی‌گردد — he/she returns

The half-space in forms such as می‌گردم and نمی‌آورم is standard modern spelling. In a joined prefixed verb, the whole written form may therefore look like برمی‌دارم. Do not insert an ordinary space inside it.

Past forms without می‌ simply retain the prefix: برداشت “picked up,” درآورد “took out,” and بازگشت “returned.” Past habitual or progressive forms insert می‌ after the prefix: برمی‌داشت “used to pick up / was picking up.”

True prefixed verbs and compound verbs

Not every form beginning with these syllables has exactly the same structure. Compare بازگشتن and باز کردن:

Type	Infinitive	Present example	What happens
Joined prefixed verb	بازگشتن	بازمی‌گردم	می‌ follows the attached prefix
Compound verb	باز کردن	باز می‌کنم	باز stays separate; می‌ attaches to the light verb
Two-word directional combination	فرو رفتن	فرو می‌رود / فرومی‌رود	spacing can vary by editorial convention

In باز کردن, باز means “open” and acts as the nonverbal part of a compound verb; it is not simply a productive “again” prefix. Similarly, باز کردن normally means “to open,” whereas دوباره انجام دادن means “to do again.” Never assume that باز + any verb automatically creates an English-style “re-” verb.

Modern sources vary in whether some combinations, especially those with فرو, are written joined or separately. Follow the spelling used by a reliable dictionary or the text you are studying, and remain consistent.

Meaning families

بر (bar-)

بر often suggests lifting, removing, or movement away. In برداشتن, that image is still visible: an object leaves a surface. In برگشتن, however, the practical meaning is simply “to come back/return.” Other words in this family must still be learned individually.

در (dar-)

در is especially unpredictable because “in” and “out” meanings coexist. درآمدن can mean “to come out,” “to fit/turn out in a certain way,” or “to enter a state”; درآوردن can mean “take out,” “take off,” “produce,” or “earn.” The noun درآمد means “income/earnings.”

فرو (foru-)

فرو retains a strong downward or inward image. It occurs in physical descriptions such as sinking, collapsing, or pushing something into something else. It is common in writing and formal speech, though familiar combinations such as فرو رفتن are not restricted to literary language.

باز (bāz-)

باز can evoke return or reversal in joined verbs such as بازگشتن. As a separate word, it also means “open” in در باز است “the door is open” and در را باز کردم “I opened the door.” In colloquial Persian, باز can additionally mean “again,” but that adverbial use should not be confused with every lexical verb beginning in باز.

Examples in Context

Persian	English	Note
کتاب را برداشت.	He/She picked up the book.	برداشتن with a direct object
لطفاً این لیوان‌ها را از روی میز بردار.	Please remove these glasses from the table.	Command form بردار
چرا تلفن را برنمی‌داری؟	Why aren’t you answering the phone?	Literally “pick up the phone”; idiomatic meaning
فردا به تهران برمی‌گردیم.	We are returning to Tehran tomorrow.	Common برگشتن
کفش‌هایت را دربیاور.	Take off your shoes.	Colloquial command of درآوردن
چقدر درآمد داری؟	How much do you earn?	درآمد is the noun “income”
از کیفش یک نامه درآورد.	He/She took a letter out of the bag.	Physical removal
این صدا را چطور درمی‌آوری؟	How do you make that sound?	Extended meaning: produce
سنگ در آب فرو رفت.	The stone sank into the water.	Downward/inward movement
سقف ناگهان فرو ریخت.	The roof suddenly collapsed.	فرو ریختن
او پس از ده سال به زادگاهش بازگشت.	He/She returned to their hometown after ten years.	Formal/written بازگشتن
لطفاً پنجره را باز کن.	Please open the window.	Compound verb, not “do again”
در باز مانده بود.	The door had been left open.	باز is an adjective here

Common Mistakes

Treating the meaning as a sum of two parts

• Wrong approach: translating درآوردن in every sentence as “bring in.”
• Right approach: choose its established contextual meaning: کفش را درآورد means “he/she took off the shoe.”
• Why: a prefix offers a directional clue, but the whole verb is a lexical unit (a vocabulary item with its own meanings).

Putting می‌ before an attached prefix

• Wrong: می‌بردارم
• Right: برمی‌دارم
• Why: in the established verb برداشتن, می‌ comes between بر and the present stem دار.

Using the same rule for باز کردن

• Wrong: بازمی‌کنم when you mean “I open.”
• Right: باز می‌کنم
• Why: باز کردن is conventionally a two-part compound verb. Its verbal marker attaches to کردن, while باز remains separate.

Assuming باز always means “again”

• Wrong: این تمرین را باز کردم for “I did this exercise again.”
• Right: این تمرین را دوباره انجام دادم.
• Why: باز کردن means “to open.” Use دوباره or another established expression when an independent “again” is needed.

Ignoring the present stem

• Wrong: trying to build the present of درآوردن directly from آوردن without learning the form.
• Right: learn درآوردن → درمی‌آورم.
• Why: Persian present and past stems must be learned; spelling and sound changes cannot always be guessed safely from an English gloss.

Usage Notes

برگشتن is the ordinary conversational choice for “to return”: کی برمی‌گردی؟ “When are you coming back?” بازگشتن and forms such as بازگشت are frequent in formal prose, news, narration, and official announcements. Both are current Persian, but they do not always feel equally conversational.

Spoken Persian changes pronunciation and sometimes spelling in informal writing. For example, standard در بیاور “take it out” is commonly pronounced and informally written دربیار. Learners should recognize the spoken form while using standard spelling in formal writing.

Pronunciation can also hide the internal structure. The vowels of بر and در may be reduced in quick speech, and می‌آورد flows together naturally. Listening for the entire verb is more reliable than trying to hear each historical piece separately.

Finally, dictionary spelling and editorial house style may differ for borderline forms. Joined spellings such as فرومی‌رود and separated spellings such as فرو می‌رود can both be encountered. This variation does not normally change the meaning or conjugation.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

The four prefixes are no longer fully productive rules that freely combine with every verb. Their historical directional force survives most clearly in established vocabulary. Advanced reading therefore rewards attention to word families, not invention by analogy. Once you know فرو رفتن, related forms such as فرورفتگی “indentation/depression” become easier to recognize, but they still deserve their own dictionary check.

Prefixed verbs can also develop abstract meanings far from physical motion. از عهدهٔ کاری برآمدن means “to manage/accomplish a task”; به نظر رسیدن and many other Persian expressions likewise show that literal component-by-component translation is unreliable. With درآوردن, the object and surrounding phrase are decisive:

• پول درآوردن — to earn money
• صدا درآوردن — to make/produce a sound
• لباس را درآوردن — to take off clothing
• چیزی را از کیف درآوردن — to take something out of a bag

There is also a grammatical contrast between a lexical prefix and an independent adverb. In بازگشت, باز belongs to the established verb “return.” In باز هم پرسید “he/she asked yet again,” باز is an independent adverb, reinforced by هم. Recognizing this difference explains why spacing and marker placement are not uniform.

In formal writing you may encounter nominal forms derived from these verbs: برداشت can mean “interpretation,” “withdrawal,” or “harvest”; درآمد means “income”; بازگشت means “return”; and فرورفتگی means “indentation.” A familiar prefix may suggest the family, but syntax tells you whether the form is functioning as a verb or a noun.

Practice Tips

1. Build families, not equations. Make one card for each whole verb, then list two or three common meanings and its present stem: درآوردن — درآور — take out, take off, earn.
2. Transform one sentence through several forms. Start with کتاب را برداشت, then make کتاب را برمی‌دارد, کتاب را برنمی‌دارد, and کتاب را بردار! This fixes the position of می‌ and نـ.
3. Collect real objects and collocations. Note what commonly appears with each verb: پول درآوردن, کفش درآوردن, به خانه برگشتن, در آب فرو رفتن. The object or prepositional phrase often reveals the intended meaning faster than the prefix does.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Compound Verbs — reviews how Persian builds many verbal meanings from more than one element.