How to Ask Questions in Farsi: Words, Patterns, and What Iranians Actually Say

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Change Your Tone, and You’ve Already Asked a Question

Most languages have some kind of grammatical machinery for forming questions. Word order flips, auxiliary verbs, special particles. Persian has all that too. technically (see UT Austin’s Persian reference for the formal rules). But in practice, Iranians skip most of it.

This guide is part of our Complete Persian Grammar series.

Want to know how to ask questions in Farsi? Start here: take any statement, raise your intonation at the end (you can hear question intonation on Forvo), and congratulations. you’ve formed a question. That’s not an oversimplification. That’s literally how most yes/no questions work in spoken Persian.

“Raft” (رفت) with falling intonation = “He/she went.” Same word, rising intonation = “He/she went?” Done.

Obviously there’s more to it than that. But the fact that the simplest form of question-asking requires zero grammatical changes should tell you something: Persian questions are friendlier than you expect. I covered the basic building blocks in my beginner’s guide to Persian, but here we’re going deep on questions specifically.

Yes/No Questions: Intonation Does the Heavy Lifting

In formal written Persian, there’s a particle called aya (آیا) that marks yes/no questions. You put it at the beginning of the sentence. like “aya raft?” (آیا رفت؟). “Did he/she go?”

Here’s the honest truth: almost nobody uses “aya” in conversation. It sounds stiff. Bureaucratic. Like you’re writing a legal document. I’d estimate I use it maybe once a month, and only when I’m being deliberately formal or sarcastic.

In real spoken Farsi, yes/no questions rely entirely on intonation:

• Umadi. (اومدی) ↘. You came. (statement)
• Umadi? (اومدی؟) ↗. You came? / Did you come?
• Ghaza khordid. (غذا خوردید) ↘. You ate. (statement)
• Ghaza khordid? (غذا خوردید؟) ↗. Did you eat?
• Farsi balad-i. (فارسی بلدی) ↘. You know Farsi.
• Farsi balad-i? (فارسی بلدی؟) ↗. Do you know Farsi?

The word order stays identical. The grammar stays identical. Only the melody of your voice changes. For English speakers, this feels almost too easy. you keep waiting for the catch. There isn’t one.

The Eight Question Words You Need

When you move beyond yes/no into specific information questions, you need question words. Persian has eight essential ones, and they tend to sit in the position of the answer within the sentence. not at the beginning, like in English. Though in casual speech, Iranians put them wherever feels natural.

Understanding Farsi sentence structure helps a lot here, because the default SOV order affects where question words land.

Ki (کی). who

• Ki umad? (کی اومد؟). Who came?
• Ba ki harf mizadi? (با کی حرف می‌زدی؟). Who were you talking to? (Literally: with who were you talking?)
• In ki-ye? (این کیه؟). Who is this?

Che/chi (چه/چی). what

“Che” is the formal version, “chi” is spoken. You’ll use “chi” 99% of the time.

• Chi shod? (چی شد؟). What happened?
• Chi mikhai? (چی می‌خوای؟). What do you want?
• In chi-ye? (این چیه؟). What is this?

Koja (کجا). where

• Koja-i? (کجایی؟). Where are you?
• Koja miri? (کجا میری؟). Where are you going?
• Az koja umadi? (از کجا اومدی؟). Where did you come from?

Key (کی). when

Yes, “ki” (who) and “key” (when) sound similar but have different vowels. Ki has a short “i” sound; key has more of an “ey” diphthong. Context usually makes it obvious which one is meant.

• Key umadi? (کی اومدی؟). When did you come?
• Key tamum mishe? (کی تموم میشه؟). When does it end?
• Ta key inji? (تا کی اینجی؟). Until when are you here?

Chera (چرا). why

• Chera narafti? (چرا نرفتی؟). Why didn’t you go?
• Chera? (چرا؟). Why? (Can stand alone. very common.)
• Chera injuri mikoni? (چرا اینجوری می‌کنی؟). Why are you acting like this?

Chand (چند). how many / how much

• Chand-ta mikhai? (چندتا می‌خوای؟). How many do you want?
• In chand-e? (این چنده؟). How much is this?
• Chand sal-et-e? (چند سالته؟). How old are you? (Literally: how many years is yours?)

Chetor (چطور). how

• Chetor-i? (چطوری؟). How are you? (This is THE standard casual greeting.)
• Chetor anjamesh bdam? (چطور انجامش بدم؟). How should I do it?
• Hava chetor-e? (هوا چطوره؟). How’s the weather?

Kodum (کدوم). which

• Kodum-o mikhai? (کدومو می‌خوای؟). Which one do you want?
• Kodum behtar-e? (کدوم بهتره؟). Which is better?
• Kodum rang-o dust dari? (کدوم رنگو دوست داری؟). Which color do you like?

Tag Questions: How Iranians Really Confirm Things

This is something textbooks barely mention (though MSU’s Persian textbook does cover it), but it’s everywhere in real Persian. Iranians love tag questions. little words tacked onto the end of a sentence to turn it into a confirmation-seeking question.

The most common ones:

Na? (نه؟). right? / no?

This is the Persian equivalent of “, right?” It goes at the end of almost anything.

• Farda miai, na? (فردا میای، نه؟). You’re coming tomorrow, right?
• Ghaza khoob bud, na? (غذا خوب بود، نه؟). The food was good, right?

Mage na? (مگه نه؟). isn’t it? / right?

Slightly more emphatic than plain “na.” It implies you expect agreement.

• In behtar-e, mage na? (این بهتره، مگه نه؟). This is better, isn’t it?
• Goft miad, mage na? (گفت میاد، مگه نه؟). He said he’s coming, didn’t he?

Mage (مگه) at the start. expresses surprise

“Mage” at the beginning flips the meaning to surprise or disbelief. It’s like saying “wait, really?”

• Mage narafti? (مگه نرفتی؟). Wait, you didn’t go? (I thought you went!)
• Mage nemidusti? (مگه نمی‌دونستی؟). You mean you didn’t know?

For more on how Farsi pronouns interact with these question patterns. especially the formal/informal “you” distinction. my pronoun guide breaks that down.

Polite Questions vs. Direct Questions

Register matters in Persian. How you ask a question changes depending on who you’re talking to. This isn’t just about vocabulary. it’s about entire sentence patterns.

Direct (with friends, family):

• Chi mikhai? (چی می‌خوای؟). What do you want?
• Koja miri? (کجا میری؟). Where are you going?
• Begu dige! (بگو دیگه!). Just tell me already!

Polite (with strangers, elders, formal situations):

• Mitunam beporsam…? (می‌تونم بپرسم…؟). May I ask…?
• Bebakhshid, mishe beporsam…? (ببخشید، میشه بپرسم…؟). Excuse me, could I ask…?
• Momken-e begid…? (ممکنه بگید…؟). Would it be possible for you to say…?
• Lotfan mige koja-st? (لطفاً میگه کجاست؟). Could you please tell me where it is?

The jump between these registers is significant. Using direct forms with someone you should be polite to is a real social mistake in Iran. not just grammatically wrong, but culturally rude. When in doubt, go more formal. Iranians will tell you “rahat bash” (be comfortable / be casual) when they want you to drop the formality.

Spoken Persian Shortcuts for Questions

In fast spoken Tehran Farsi, questions get compressed. Here are the most common shortcuts:

• “Chi shod?” becomes “chi shod?”. this one stays the same, it’s already short
• “Che khabar?” (چه خبر؟). What’s new? (Greeting. very common)
• “Chikar mikoni?” (چیکار می‌کنی؟). What are you doing? (Chikar = che kar, compressed)
• “Halet khub-e?” (حالت خوبه؟). Are you okay? (Dropping the “aya” that would be there in formal Persian)
• “Mikhai?” (می‌خوای؟). You want? / Want some? (The ultimate minimal question)

Single-word questions are totally normal in casual Farsi. “Chera?” alone means “why?” “Koja?” alone means “where?” “Key?” alone means “when?” No additional words needed. context fills in everything else.

Common Mistakes When Asking Questions in Farsi

After years of teaching, these are the patterns I see English speakers repeat:

Putting question words first every time. English puts “where” at the start: “Where did you go?” Persian can do this, but the more natural spoken form often puts it where the answer would go: “Rafti koja?” (رفتی کجا?) is just as natural as “Koja rafti?” Flexibility here is a feature, not a bug.

Overusing “aya.” If you learned from a textbook, you might stick “aya” in front of everything. Stop. It’s formal to the point of sounding robotic in conversation.

Forgetting intonation patterns. Written exercises don’t teach you the rising melody of a Persian question. Without it, your questions sound like statements. This is the single biggest reason to practice with a real speaker. Our Persian intonation guide breaks down exactly how question rises, sarcasm patterns, and emphasis work.

Mixing up ki and key. “Ki umad?” (who came?) vs “key umadi?” (when did you come?). The vowel difference is small but the meaning difference is huge. Pay attention to context, and exaggerate the vowel distinction until it becomes natural.

Practice These 10 Questions Until They’re Automatic

If you memorize nothing else from this post, drill these ten. They cover probably 70% of the questions you’ll ask in daily Farsi conversation:

1. Chetori? (چطوری؟). How are you?
2. Koja-i? (کجایی؟). Where are you?
3. Chi shod? (چی شد؟). What happened?
4. Chera? (چرا؟). Why?
5. In chi-ye? (این چیه؟). What is this?
6. In chand-e? (این چنده؟). How much is this?
7. Farsi balad-i? (فارسی بلدی؟). Do you know Farsi?
8. Mikhai? (می‌خوای؟). Do you want (some)?
9. Koja miri? (کجا میری؟). Where are you going?
10. Halet khub-e? (حالت خوبه؟). Are you okay?

Say them out loud. Record yourself. The intonation patterns need to live in your mouth, not just your head.

If you want real-time feedback on your pronunciation and natural question flow, come practice with me on Preply. we’ll run through real conversations until these question patterns feel like second nature.

And for the bigger picture of how Persian verbs work in questions and statements alike, check out my Farsi verb conjugation hub.

For the full grammar roadmap, head to the Persian Grammar Guide.