What it means
خیانت کردن (khianat kardan) is the compound verb meaning to betray, to commit infidelity, to break trust. It is the verbal form of خیانت (khianat, betrayal). Where the noun names the act, the verb does it: in Persian sentences about marriages that broke and friendships that ended, khianat kardan is the predicate that carries the accusation.
The verb takes the preposition به (be, to) for the person betrayed: کسی به همسرش خیانت کرد (kasi be hamsarash khianat kard, someone betrayed their spouse). It can also take در (dar, in) for the domain of the betrayal: خیانت در امانت (khianat dar amanat, betrayal in fiduciary trust). The two prepositions point at different angles of the same breach.
How to use it
Conjugate kardan normally and leave khianat unchanged. The noun does not inflect; only the light verb takes person, tense, and aspect.
oun be doustash khianat kard.
He betrayed his friend.
او به دوستش خیانت کرد.
man hargez be to khianat nemikonam.
I will never betray you.
من هرگز به تو خیانت نمیکنم.
be vatanash khianat karde bud.
He had betrayed his homeland.
به وطنش خیانت کرده بود.
Compound verb structure
Persian builds most of its verbal vocabulary through compound verbs: a noun or adjective plus a light verb, usually کردن (kardan, to do) or شدن (shodan, to become). Khianat kardan is a textbook example. The noun خیانت (khianat) carries the lexical meaning; کردن (kardan) carries the grammar (tense, person, mood). Only the light verb conjugates. The noun stays fixed.
Past: خیانت کرد (khianat kard, he or she betrayed). Present: خیانت میکند (khianat mikonad, he or she betrays). Subjunctive: خیانت کند (khianat konad, may he or she betray). Negative: خیانت نکرد (khianat nakard, he or she did not betray).
The pair خیانت کردن and خیانت دیدن (khianat kardan, khianat didan, to betray and to be betrayed) is a useful active and passive contrast. Persian often forms passives this way, swapping the light verb rather than adding morphology.
Where it comes from
Khianat is Arabic, from the root خ-و-ن (kh-w-n, to be unfaithful). The light verb کردن is native Persian, from Old Persian kr-, the same root that gives English create through Latin and a thousand other Indo-European verbs of making. The compound pattern is how Persian has absorbed most of its Arabic vocabulary into active verbal use: take the Arabic noun, attach a Persian light verb, conjugate the verb. This pattern is so productive that beginners can build new verbs on the fly once they learn the move.
In our voice
Learning khianat kardan teaches you the compound-verb engine that powers Persian. Master this one and dozens of similar verbs (kar kardan, sohbat kardan, eshq varzidan) snap into place with the same logic.
References
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