My cousin’s kid in Tehran won’t go to sleep. My aunt doesn’t say “I sleep him.” She says خوابوندمش (khâbundam-esh), which roughly translates to “I put-him-to-sleep’d him.” That’s a causative verb. You take an action (sleeping) and turn it into making someone else do that action (putting someone to sleep). English uses a whole extra sentence for this. Farsi bolts a suffix onto the verb and calls it a day.
If you’ve been studying Farsi for a while and still can’t say “I made him leave” or “she got me to understand” or “they had it fixed,” this is the grammar point you’re missing. Textbooks usually bury farsi causative verbs in chapter 30, somewhere between the subjunctive and literary past tenses. But Iranians use them every day, in every conversation, without thinking about it.
What Causative Verbs Actually Do
A regular verb describes an action: خوابیدن (khâbidan, “to sleep”). A causative verb means “to MAKE someone do that action” or “to CAUSE that action to happen”: خواباندن (khâbândan, “to put to sleep / to make someone sleep”).
English handles this with helper verbs: “make,” “have,” “get,” “let.” Farsi has several strategies, and they range from elegant suffixes to compound verb constructions. Here’s each one, formal and street versions side by side.
Strategy 1: The -ândan Suffix (The Clean One)
This is the classic Persian causative. Take a simple verb’s past stem, add ـاندن (-ândan), and you’ve got a new verb that means “to cause (the original action).” It’s clean, productive, and the foundation of the whole system.
The formula: Past stem + -ândan = causative infinitive
| Base verb | Past stem | Causative (formal) | Causative (spoken Tehrani) |
|---|---|---|---|
| خوابیدن — khâbidan — “to sleep” | khâb | خواباندن — khâbândan — “to put to sleep” | خوابوندن — khâbundan |
| رسیدن — residan — “to arrive” | res | رساندن — resândan — “to deliver” | رسوندن — resundan |
| ترسیدن — tarsidan — “to be scared” | tars | ترساندن — tarsândan — “to scare someone” | ترسوندن — tersundan |
| چرخیدن — charkhidan — “to spin” | charkh | چرخاندن — charkhândan — “to spin something” | چرخوندن — charkhundan |
| رقصیدن — raghsidan — “to dance” | raghs | رقصاندن — raghsândan — “to make someone dance” | رقصوندن — raghsundan |
Notice the spoken pattern: -ândan becomes -undan in Tehrani. Every single time. This is one of those shifts that textbooks mention in a footnote and real life uses 100% of the time.
Using -ândan Causatives in Sentences
| Formal (ketâbi) | Colloquial (Tehrani) |
|---|---|
| بچه را خواباندم bachche râ khâbândam “I put the child to sleep” | بچه رو خوابوندم bachche ro khâbundam “I put the kid to sleep” |
| او را ترساندند u râ tarsândand “They scared him/her” | ترسوندنش tersundanesh “They scared him/her” |
| بسته را رساندم baste râ resândam “I delivered the package” | بسته رو رسوندم baste ro resundam “I delivered the package” |
These conjugate like any other verb. If you already know how Persian verb conjugation works, just treat the causative as a new infinitive and conjugate it normally.
Strategy 2: Kardan Constructions (The Flexible Workaround)
Not every verb plays nice with –ândan. Some causatives are formed with کردن (kardan, “to do/make”) paired with an adjective or a noun. If you’ve read about Farsi compound verbs, this pattern will feel familiar.
| State / adjective | Causative compound verb |
|---|---|
| تمیز — tamiz — “clean” | تمیز کردن — tamiz kardan — “to clean (make clean)” |
| بیدار — bidâr — “awake” | بیدار کردن — bidâr kardan — “to wake someone up” |
| عصبانی — asabâni — “angry” | عصبانی کردن — asabâni kardan — “to make someone angry” |
| خوشحال — khoshhâl — “happy” | خوشحال کردن — khoshhâl kardan — “to make someone happy” |
| ناراحت — nârâhat — “upset” | ناراحت کردن — nârâhat kardan — “to upset someone” |
These are everywhere. When my roommate in Milan eats my leftover ghormeh sabzi, I say ناراحتم کرد (nârâhatam kard, “he upset me”). I don’t think “hmm, this is a causative construction.” It just comes out. That’s the goal.
Kardan vs. Shodan: Cause It vs. It Happened
کردن (kardan) = you cause the change (active). شدن (shodan) = the change happens (passive/result).
| Causative (kardan) | Result (shodan) |
|---|---|
| تمیز کردم — tamiz kardam — “I cleaned it” | تمیز شد — tamiz shod — “It got clean” |
| عصبانیاش کردم — asabâni-ash kardam — “I made him angry” | عصبانی شد — asabâni shod — “He got angry” |
| بیدارش کردم — bidâr-esh kardam — “I woke him up” | بیدار شد — bidâr shod — “He woke up” |
Strategy 3: When You Need More Force
باعث شدن (bâ’es shodan): “to cause”
More formal, describes cause-and-effect.
| Formal | Colloquial |
|---|---|
| این باعث شد که او برود in bâ’es shod ke u beravad “This caused him to leave” | این باعث شد بره in bâ’es shod bere “This made him leave” |
مجبور کردن (majbur kardan): “to force”
| Formal | Colloquial |
|---|---|
| مرا مجبور کرد که بروم marâ majbur kard ke beravam “He forced me to go” | مجبورم کرد برم majburam kard beram “He forced me to go” |
Other useful verbs
- وادار کردن — vâdâr kardan — “to compel”
- گذاشتن — gozâshtan — “to let / allow” (گذاشتم بره, gozâshtam bere, “I let him go”)
Common Causatives You’ll Hear Every Day
| Farsi (spoken) | Transliteration | Meaning | Base verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| فهموندم بهش | fahmundam behesh | “I made him understand” | fahmidan |
| رسوندمش | resundamesh | “I gave him a ride” | residan |
| خندوندم | khandundam | “I made them laugh” | khandidan |
| گریوندم | geryundam | “I made them cry” | geristan |
| دووندمش | davundamesh | “I gave him the runaround” | davidan |
When to Use Which Strategy
- Clean past stem? → Try -ândan. Khâbidan → khâbândan.
- Adjective or state? → Use kardan. Tamiz kardan, asabâni kardan.
- Result without agent? → Use shodan. Tamiz shod.
- Someone FORCED it? → Use majbur kardan + subjunctive.
- Impersonal cause? → Use bâ’es shodan + ke + subjunctive.
- LET it happen? → Use gozâshtan + subjunctive.
Causatives That Don’t Look Like Causatives
- رساندن (resândan) — “to deliver.” From residan (to arrive).
- پوشاندن (pushândan) — “to dress someone.” From pushidan (to wear).
- نشاندن (neshândan) — “to seat someone.” From neshestan (to sit).
- سوزاندن (suzândan) — “to burn something.” From sukhtan (to burn).