رفتن

رفتن is the simplest verb of motion in Persian. Master its conjugation and you can navigate half of an Iranian conversation.

What it actually means

رفتن means “to go” in Persian. It is the basic, no-frills motion verb covering everything from walking to a destination, to leaving a place, to traveling by any means. Where English splits movement across “go,” “leave,” “head out,” and “depart,” Persian usually just reaches for رفتن. Iranian conversation is dense with it: “می‌رم” (I’m going), “بریم” (let’s go), “رفت” (he/she went), “می‌خوام برم” (I want to go). The verb is irregular: past stem رفت (raft-) plus present stem رو (rav-). Once you internalize that split, the whole conjugation pattern locks in. Compound verbs built from رفتن include راه رفتن (to walk, literally “road-go”), بیرون رفتن (to go out), and بالا رفتن (to climb, “to go up”).

How to say it

Conjugation: present stem رو (rav-) plus the imperfective marker می gives می‌روم / می‌روی / می‌رود (mirvam / miravi / miravad) in formal Persian. In Tehrani speech the وَ ridges down to ī, producing می‌رم / می‌ری / می‌ره. The past stem رفت (raft-) is invariant: رفتم (raftam, I went), رفتی (raftī, you went), رفت (raft, he/she went).

In a sentence

Cultural note

رفتن is the foundational motion verb of Persian, traceable to Old Iranian *raft- (“to go, to depart”). Iranian leaving rituals are elaborate: a guest never just says “I’m leaving” without softening it. The standard phrase is “اجازه می‌دید برم؟” (do you give me permission to leave?), and the host responds with “زود رفتی” (you went so soon) even when the guest stayed three hours. The word رفتن sits inside this whole social grammar of leaving. Compound verbs deepen the picture: راه رفتن (to walk) literally fuses “road” and “go,” reflecting Persian’s habit of building action from physical metaphors. Knowing رفتن unlocks dozens of these compounds.

Related

You will use this verb constantly alongside کردن (to do), بودن (to be), and داشتن (to have). For the broader picture of how Persian builds verbs, read our guide to Persian compound nouns.