Persian regularly turns verbal material into adjectives. Past-stem forms in ـه, such as بسته “closed” and شکسته “broken,” commonly describe a result state. Present-stem formations such as جوشان “boiling” and فریبنده “deceptive/alluring” often describe an ongoing activity or an entity that characteristically produces an effect.
These words behave like adjectives once they modify a noun or serve as a predicate: they follow a noun through ezâfe, do not agree for gender or number, and can be modified where their meaning permits. Their verbal origin still matters, however, because a form such as بسته can invite a state reading while a longer verbal construction such as بسته شده است reports an event or completed change.
The main source patterns
| Source | Formation | Examples | Typical interpretation | Productivity/register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| past stem | past stem + ه | بسته، شکسته، پخته | result state | participial formation is productive; adjectival readings depend on the verb and context |
| present stem | stem + ان | جوشان، سوزان، لرزان | ongoing activity or vivid property | lexically selective; neutral to literary |
| present stem | stem + نده | فریبنده، کشنده | agentive or effect-producing | productive in formal and technical vocabulary |
| compound verbal base | nonverbal element + participial element | یخزده، نگرانکننده | lexicalized state or caused effect | productive, spelling must be checked |
The labels “past” and “present” identify the stem source, not tense inside the noun phrase. پنجرهی شکسته does not by itself say when the breaking happened. It presents “broken” as a property of the window.
Past participles as result-state adjectives
The common past participle is based on the past stem plus ه: بست + ه → بسته, شکست + ه → شکسته, پخت + ه → پخته. As an attributive adjective, it follows the noun with ezâfe. As a predicate, it follows the subject without ezâfe and takes a copula.
پنجرهی شکسته را فردا عوض میکنیم.
panjare-ye shekaste râ fardâ evaz mi-konim.
We will replace the broken window tomorrow. (attributive result state)
در بسته است، ولی کلید روی میز است.
dar baste ast, vali kelid ru-ye miz ast.
The door is closed, but the key is on the table. (predicative state)
غذای پخته را در یخچال گذاشتم.
ghazâ-ye pokhte râ dar yakhchâl gozâshtam.
I put the cooked food in the refrigerator. (attributive)
The adjective describes the condition that results from closing, breaking, or cooking. English uses many parallel participles, but English adjective position comes before the noun; Persian uses noun + ezâfe + participle.
State versus passive or perfect event
Compare در بسته است “the door is closed” with در بسته شده است “the door has been/was closed.” The first contains an adjective plus copula and foregrounds the current state. The second contains the passive or change-of-state sequence بسته شده است and foregrounds a completed event leading to that state.
در هنگام تحویل بسته بود.
dar hengâm-e tahvil baste bud.
The door was closed at the time of delivery. (state; no event asserted)
در ورودی پیش از رسیدن مهمانها بسته شده بود.
dar-e vorudi pish az residan-e mehmân-hâ baste shode bud.
The entrance door had been closed before the guests arrived. (completed event/result)
An explicit agent phrase or event time strongly favors the verbal reading. A plain adjective plus است/بود can remain ambiguous in isolation, and there is no honest one-word diagnostic for every example. Context decides whether the speaker cares about the resulting condition, the event, or both. The full contrast is treated on Result State versus Perfect Event.
Present-stem participial adjectives
Forms in ـان often portray an activity as unfolding or vividly characteristic. They are not freely created from every verb in ordinary speech; many are established lexical items. جوشان is common with liquids, سوزان with intense heat, and لرزان with a voice, hand, or body that trembles.
آب جوشان را آرام داخل قوری بریز.
âb-e jushân râ ârâm dâkhel-e quri beriz.
Pour the boiling water slowly into the teapot. (neutral instruction)
با صدای لرزان خبر را خواند.
bâ sedâ-ye larzân khabar râ khând.
She read the news in a trembling voice. (neutral/literary-neutral)
زیر آفتاب سوزان منتظر اتوبوس ماندیم.
zir-e âftâb-e suzân montazer-e otobus mândim.
We waited for the bus under the scorching sun. (vivid written or spoken description)
The ـنده family typically profiles an agent, instrument, or cause. Some forms are adjectives, some nouns, and many can do both. فریبنده describes something that attracts by deceiving; کشنده can mean “lethal” or serve as a noun in an appropriate technical context.
ظاهر سادهی این پیشنهاد فریبنده است.
zâher-e sâde-ye in pishnehâd faribande ast.
The simple appearance of this proposal is deceptive. (formal-neutral)
این ماده برای ماهیها کشنده است.
in mâdde barâ-ye mâhi-hâ koshande ast.
This substance is lethal to fish. (technical/formal)
Lexicalization limits prediction
A transparent form may develop a specialized meaning. آینده historically belongs to a participial pattern but now commonly functions as the noun/adjective “future”; راننده is normally the noun “driver,” not a freely interpreted adjective “driving.” Conversely, خندان is an established adjective “smiling/cheerful.” Learners must check actual lexical use rather than attaching ـان or ـنده to every present stem.
کودک خندان برای دوربین دست تکان داد.
kudak-e khandân barâ-ye durbin dast takân dâd.
The smiling child waved at the camera.
رانندهی اتوبوس جلوی ایستگاه منتظر بود.
rânande-ye otobus jelow-e istgâh montazer bud.
The bus driver was waiting in front of the stop. (راننده is a noun here)
Compounds and spelling
Modern Persian forms useful compound participial adjectives such as یخزده “frozen/frostbitten” and نگرانکننده “worrying.” Their internal boundary commonly takes a ZWNJ, while a following plural noun does not force any change in the adjective.
لولههای یخزده ترک خورده است.
lule-hâ-ye yakh-zade tark khorde ast.
The frozen pipes have cracked. (formal/careful standard; invariant adjective)
نتیجههای آزمایش نگرانکننده است.
natije-hâ-ye âzmâyesh negarân-konande ast.
The test results are worrying. (formal/careful standard)
The singular predicate agreement shown with these inanimate plurals is a separate property of Persian; یخزده and نگرانکننده themselves remain invariant.
A short dialogue
چرا این پنجره باز نمیشود؟
cherâ in panjare bâz nemi-shavad?
Why won't this window open? (careful spoken standard)
قفلش شکسته است؛ تعمیرکار خبر کردهام.
qofl-ash shekaste ast; ta'mirkâr khabar karde-am.
Its lock is broken; I've called a repair technician. (result state)
The reply uses شکسته است to diagnose the present condition, not to narrate who broke the lock.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting the participial adjective before the noun
❌ شکسته پنجره را عوض کردیم.
Incorrect neutral adjective order — participial adjectives normally follow the noun through ezâfe.
✅ پنجرهی شکسته را عوض کردیم.
panjare-ye shekaste râ evaz kardim.
We replaced the broken window.
2. Dropping ezâfe before an attributive participle
❌ آب جوشان را بردار.
âb jushân râ bardâr
Incorrect reading for ‘take the boiling water’ — جوشان is linked attributively by ezâfe.
✅ آب جوشان را از روی اجاق بردار.
âb-e jushân râ az ru-ye ojâq bardâr.
Take the boiling water off the stove.
3. Treating every past participle plus copula as an eventive passive
✅ در بسته است.
dar baste ast.
The door is closed. (present state)
✅ در بسته شده است.
dar baste shode ast.
The door has been closed. (completed change/passive event)
Both are grammatical. The mistake is forcing an eventive passive reading onto the first construction without supporting context.
4. Inventing a new ـان form mechanically
❌ بچه خوابان روی مبل است.
Incorrect invented adjective — ordinary Persian uses خواب or خوابیده for the intended state, depending on meaning.
✅ بچه روی مبل خوابیده است.
bachche ru-ye mobl khâbide ast.
The child is asleep on the sofa.
Key Takeaways
- Past-stem + ـه forms commonly describe a result state; present-stem ـان/ـنده forms tend toward ongoing or agentive meanings.
- Participial adjectives follow ordinary adjective syntax and never agree with their noun.
- بسته است foregrounds a state; بسته شده است foregrounds a completed change or passive event.
- Many present participles are lexicalized, so new forms cannot be coined by a fully automatic rule.
- Compound forms require dictionary-level spelling care, especially around ZWNJ boundaries.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Adjectives after Nouns with EzâfeA1 — Build neutral Persian attributive phrases with the noun first, an audible ezâfe linker, and one or more following adjectives.
- Attributive versus Predicative Meaning ShiftsB1 — Choose between an adjective inside an ezâfe noun phrase and an adjective asserted as a predicate, including shifts in classification, state, and discourse focus.
- Past Participle in هA2 — Build Persian past participles by adding ه to the past stem, then use them in perfect forms, compound predicates, and adjectival result descriptions.
- Participles as Resultative AdjectivesA2 — Use Persian past participles such as شکسته, بسته, and نشسته as invariant result-state adjectives and distinguish states from perfect or passive events.
- Result State versus Perfect EventB1 — Distinguish Persian state predicates such as در باز است from perfect change-of-state and passive clauses such as در باز شده است.
- Compound Adjectives with ParticiplesB1 — Learn how Persian builds adjectives such as دلشکسته and شناختهشده, how their internal meanings differ, and when spelling reveals an adjective rather than a verb phrase.