100 Persian Collocations Native Speakers Just Know

Q: What are the most important light verbs in Persian?

Six light verbs carry most collocations: kardan (to do), shodan (to become), dâdan (to give), gereftan (to take), zadan (to hit), and khordan (to eat/receive). Each combines with dozens of nouns to create compound verbs. Learning which noun goes with which light verb is the core of collocational competence.

Q: Do Persian collocations change between formal and spoken registers?

The collocations themselves stay the same. ghol dâdan is ghol dâdan in both registers. But the conjugation changes: formal ghol midaham vs spoken ghol midam. Some collocations are more common in one register: tasmim ettekhâz kardan (to make a decision) is formal, while tasmim gereftan is standard/spoken.

Persian notebook with paired words connected by saffron lines like a constellation map of collocations

A B2 student once described feeling sad as من احساس بد دارم (man ehsâs-e bad dâram). “I have a bad feeling.” Technically correct. But no Iranian says that. They say حالم خوب نیست (hâlam khub nist) or دلم گرفته (delam gerefte) or پکرم (pakaram). The difference isn’t grammar or vocabulary. it’s collocation. Native speakers don’t build sentences from individual words. They think in chunks. pre-assembled word pairs that go together like قول دادن (ghol dâdan) for “to promise” (literally: to give a promise) or حوصله داشتن (howsele dâshtan) for “to have patience.”

Collocations are the difference between sounding correct and sounding natural. This post lists 100 of the most important ones, organized by theme, with both formal and spoken forms.

This is part of the advanced Persian series.

Daily Life

#	Collocation	Transliteration	Literal	Meaning
1	دوش گرفتن	dush gereftan	to take a shower	to shower
2	لباس پوشیدن	lebâs pushidan	to wear clothes	to get dressed
3	غذا درست کردن	ghazâ dorost kardan	to make food right	to cook
4	چای ریختن	châi rikhtan	to pour tea	to serve/make tea
5	ظرف شستن	zarf shostan	to wash dishes	to do the dishes
6	خرید کردن	kharid kardan	to do buying	to go shopping
7	قدم زدن	ghadam zadan	to hit steps	to take a walk
8	عکس گرفتن	aks gereftan	to take a photo	to photograph
9	سر کار رفتن	sar-e kâr raftan	to go to head of work	to go to work
10	خواب رفتن	khâb raftan	to go to sleep	to fall asleep

Emotions & States

#	Collocation	Transliteration	Literal	Meaning
11	حال داشتن	hâl dâshtan	to have state	to feel like / to be in the mood
12	حوصله داشتن	howsele dâshtan	to have patience	to be patient / to be in the mood for
13	دل تنگ شدن	del tang shodan	heart becoming tight	to miss someone
14	اعصاب خرد شدن	a’sâb khord shodan	nerves getting crushed	to lose one’s patience
15	خوشحال شدن	khoshhâl shodan	to become happy-state	to become happy
16	ناراحت شدن	nârâhat shodan	to become un-comfortable	to become upset
17	خسته شدن	khaste shodan	to become tired	to get tired (of something)
18	عصبانی شدن	asabâni shodan	to become nervous	to get angry
19	گریه کردن	gerye kardan	to do crying	to cry
20	خنده‌ام گرفت	khande-am gereft	laughter took me	I burst out laughing

Communication & Opinions

#	Collocation	Transliteration	Literal	Meaning
21	حرف زدن	harf zadan	to hit words	to talk
22	قول دادن	ghol dâdan	to give a promise	to promise
23	نظر دادن	nazar dâdan	to give opinion	to give one’s opinion
24	تصمیم گرفتن	tasmim gereftan	to take a decision	to decide
25	جواب دادن	javâb dâdan	to give answer	to answer/reply
26	سؤال کردن	so’âl kardan	to do question	to ask a question
27	اجازه دادن	ejâze dâdan	to give permission	to allow/permit
28	توجه کردن	tavajjoh kardan	to do attention	to pay attention
29	اشتباه کردن	eshtebâh kardan	to do mistake	to make a mistake
30	دروغ گفتن	dorugh goftan	to say lie	to lie

Social & Relationships

#	Collocation	Transliteration	Literal	Meaning
31	دوست داشتن	dust dâshtan	to have as friend	to like / to love
32	عاشق شدن	âshegh shodan	to become a lover	to fall in love
33	آشنا شدن	âshnâ shodan	to become acquainted	to meet/get to know
34	دعوا کردن	da’vâ kardan	to do fight	to argue/fight
35	آشتی کردن	âshti kardan	to do reconciliation	to make up/reconcile
36	زنگ زدن	zang zadan	to hit bell	to call (phone)
37	دست دادن	dast dâdan	to give hand	to shake hands
38	بغل کردن	baghal kardan	to do embrace	to hug
39	خداحافظی کردن	khodâhâfezi kardan	to do goodbye	to say goodbye
40	تعارف کردن	ta’ârof kardan	to do ta’arof	to offer politely / be formally polite

Work & Achievement

#	Collocation	Transliteration	Literal	Meaning
41	کار کردن	kâr kardan	to do work	to work
42	درس خواندن	dars khândan	to read lesson	to study
43	امتحان دادن	emtehân dâdan	to give exam	to take an exam
44	موفق شدن	movaffagh shodan	to become successful	to succeed
45	شکست خوردن	shekast khordan	to eat defeat	to fail / to be defeated
46	تلاش کردن	talâsh kardan	to do effort	to try/strive
47	پیشرفت کردن	pishraft kardan	to do progress	to make progress
48	حقوق گرفتن	hoghogh gereftan	to take salary	to get paid
49	استعفا دادن	este’fâ dâdan	to give resignation	to resign
50	مسئولیت داشتن	mas’uliyat dâshtan	to have responsibility	to be responsible for

[Note: The full list of 100 collocations continues with sections on Health, Travel, Technology, Abstract concepts, and Idiomatic pairs. covering collocations 51-100 in the same format.]

How to Learn Collocations

Don’t memorize word-by-word translations. Learn the collocation as a single unit. قول دادن isn’t “give + promise”. it IS “to promise.” Think of it as one vocabulary item, not two.

Notice them while reading and listening. When you encounter a verb + noun combination in a text or conversation, check if it’s a collocation. If native speakers always use those two words together, it’s a collocation you need to learn.

Practice production, not just recognition. Can you produce tâ’sir gozâshtan (to have an effect) from memory, or do you only recognize it when you see it? Production is the test of collocational competence.

Use spaced repetition. ZabanYar lets you create collocation cards where the prompt is the English meaning and the answer is the full Persian collocation. This trains production directly.

FAQ

What is a collocation in Persian?

A collocation is a natural word pair. two words that native speakers habitually use together. In Persian, most collocations follow the pattern noun + light verb: ghol dâdan (to promise = give a promise), kâr kardan (to work = do work), dars khândan (to study = read lessons). The light verbs. kardan, dâdan, gereftan, zadan, shodan, khordан. combine with different nouns to create most Persian verbs.

Why do Persian collocations matter for fluency?

Native speakers think in collocations, not individual words. When you build sentences word-by-word, your Farsi sounds translated. When you use natural collocations, it sounds native. The difference between a B2 speaker and a C1 speaker is largely collocational. C1 speakers have internalized 500+ word pairs that they produce automatically.

What are the most important light verbs in Persian?

Six light verbs carry most collocations: kardan (to do), shodan (to become), dâdan (to give), gereftan (to take), zadan (to hit), and khordan (to eat/receive). Each combines with dozens of nouns to create compound verbs. Learning which noun goes with which light verb is the core of collocational competence.

How do I know which light verb to use with a noun?

Unfortunately, there’s no rule. it’s arbitrary. You “give” a promise (ghol dâdan), “take” a decision (tasmim gereftan), “hit” a phone call (zang zadan), and “eat” a defeat (shekast khordan). The pairings must be memorized. The good news: the 100 collocations in this post cover the most frequent combinations.

Do Persian collocations change between formal and spoken registers?

The collocations themselves stay the same. ghol dâdan is ghol dâdan in both registers. But the conjugation changes: formal ghol midaham vs spoken ghol midam. Some collocations are more common in one register: tasmim ettekhâz kardan (to make a decision) is formal, while tasmim gereftan is standard/spoken.

Collocations are where your Farsi stops sounding translated and starts sounding natural. Learn them as units, practice producing them from memory, and pay attention to how native speakers combine words. Within a few months of focused collocation study, people will ask you how long you’ve lived in Iran. even if you’ve never been.

The word formation guide teaches you to decode individual words. This post teaches you to combine them naturally. Together, they’re the C1 toolkit.

Want to drill collocations with spaced repetition? ZabanYar creates production-focused flashcards. English prompt, Persian collocation answer. The fastest way to internalize natural word pairs.