To Go and To Come in Persian

Overview

The verbs رفتن (raftan, to go) and آمدن (āmadan, to come) are two of the most essential and frequently used verbs in Persian. Both are irregular, meaning their present stems differ significantly from their infinitives. At the A1 level, mastering these two verbs opens up countless practical sentences about movement, plans, and daily activities.

رفتن has the present stem رو (rav-): می‌روم (miravam, I go). آمدن has the present stem آ (ā-): می‌آیم (miyāyam, I come). Both verbs also appear in many compound expressions and idioms, making them building blocks for a much larger vocabulary.

How It Works

رفتن (raftan, to go):

Person	Present	Past	Subjunctive
من	می‌روم miravam	رفتم raftam	بروم beravam
تو	می‌روی miravi	رفتی rafti	بروی beravi
او	می‌رود miravad	رفت raft	برود beravad
ما	می‌رویم miravim	رفتیم raftim	برویم beravim
شما	می‌روید miravid	رفتید raftid	بروید beravid
آن‌ها	می‌روند miravand	رفتند raftand	بروند beravand

آمدن (āmadan, to come):

Person	Present	Past	Subjunctive
من	می‌آیم miyāyam	آمدم āmadam	بیایم biyāyam
تو	می‌آیی miyāyi	آمدی āmadi	بیایی biyāyi
او	می‌آید miyāyad	آمد āmad	بیاید biyāyad

Colloquial: می‌روم → میرم, می‌آید → میاد, بیا → بیا (imperative: come!)

Examples in Context

Persian	English	Note
کجا می‌روی؟	Where are you going?	Common question
بیا اینجا!	Come here!	Imperative
فردا نمی‌آیم.	I won't come tomorrow.	Negative
باید برویم.	We must go.	Modal + subjunctive
دیروز نیامد.	He/She didn't come yesterday.	Past negative
از کجا می‌آیی؟	Where are you coming from?	Origin
به مدرسه می‌روم.	I go to school.	Destination with به
داره میاد!	He/She is coming!	Colloquial continuous
بریم!	Let's go!	Colloquial invitation
برگشتم.	I came back.	Compound: بر + گشتن

Common Mistakes

Confusing present and past stems

• Wrong: می‌رفتم for "I go" (this means "I used to go")
• Right: می‌روم for "I go"
• Why: رفت is the past stem, رو is the present stem. Using the wrong stem changes the tense.

Forgetting the ب in subjunctive of آمدن

• Wrong: باید آیم (missing ب)
• Right: باید بیایم
• Why: The subjunctive requires ب: بیایم (not آیم).

Practice Tips

1. Practice the daily movement script: صبح از خانه می‌روم (I leave home in the morning), به محل کار می‌روم (I go to work), شب به خانه برمی‌گردم (I return home at night).
2. Master the imperative: برو (go!), بیا (come!), نرو (don't go!), نیا (don't come!).
3. Use these verbs with different prepositions: به (to), از (from), تا (until/to) to practice direction.

Related Concepts

• Simple Present Tense — the tense framework for these verbs