خواستن
khâstan
to want (modal)
verbA1
Quick Reference
khâs-TAN
to want (modal)
A1 — Absolute Beginner
خواستن pronounced by Elyar
What it means
خواستن (khâstan) means “to want, to wish, to desire.” It is also the modal verb for intention: “I want to go,” “I want to eat.” Foundation A1 verb, used dozens of times a day.
How to use it
- چای میخواهم (chây mikhâham) “I want tea”
- میخواهم بروم (mikhâham beravam) “I want to go”
- چه میخواهی؟ (che mikhâhi?) “What do you want?”
- نمیخواهم (nemikhâham) “I don’t want to”
Conjugation
- Infinitive: خواستن (khâstan)
- Present stem: خواه (khâh-)
- Past stem: خواست (khâst-)
- Present 1sg: میخواهم (mikhâham)
- Past 1sg: خواستم (khâstam)
- Subjunctive 1sg: بخواهم (bekhâham)
- Imperative 2sg: بخواه (bekhâh)
- Imperative 2pl: بخواهید (bekhâhid)
Cultural note
In Tehrani spoken Farsi, mikhâham collapses to mikhâm and bekhâham to bekhâm. You will hear “mikhâm beram” everywhere on the metro. The written form keeps the full khâh- spelling, which the silent خوا cluster preserves from Middle Persian.
References
Actually learning Persian, not just looking up words?
ZabanYar is a Persian app built for heritage learners, the people who can speak a little but want to read, write, and really get it. Free early access at launch.
Join the waitlist →Cultural Context
In Tehrani spoken Farsi, mikhâham collapses to mikhâm and bekhâham to bekhâm. You will hear "mikhâm beram" everywhere on the metro. The written form keeps the full khâh- spelling, which the silent خوا cluster preserves from Middle Persian.Connected Words