Health and Body States | Farsi Grammar

Persian describes bodily experience through several conventional frames. سردم است means “I am cold,” with the experiencer encoded by ـم. سرم درد می‌کند makes the body part the subject of “hurt.” سرم درد گرفته است highlights the onset of pain, while سرما خورده‌ام is the lexical expression “I have caught a cold.” حالم خوب نیست gives a general assessment without naming one symptom.

English often begins all of these with I have or I am. Persian chooses the construction according to the type of state: temperature experience, ongoing body-part pain, onset, illness category, or overall condition. Learn the whole frame and then replace the experiencer, body part, duration, or severity.

The general clitic syntax is developed on Experiencer Clitics. This page concentrates on the everyday health frames in which those clitics occur.

The core health map

Experience	Persian frame	Structural center	Register
feeling cold	سردم است	adjective + experiencer clitic + copula	careful standard
feeling cold	سردمه	same frame with reduced copula	informal Tehran
ongoing pain	سرم درد می‌کند	possessed body part + درد کردن	neutral
pain has started	سرم درد گرفته است	درد گرفتن marks onset/result	neutral
having a cold	سرما خورده‌ام	lexical compound سرما خوردن	neutral
general condition	حالم خوب نیست	possessed حال + predicate	neutral

Temperature states: سردم است

In سردم است, ـم identifies the person who experiences the cold. Replace it with the other pronominal clitics: سردت است، سردش است، سردمان است، سردتان است، سردشان است. The adjective does not agree for gender or number.

پنجره را می‌بندید؟ کمی سردم است.

panjare râ mi-bandid? kami sard-am ast.

Would you close the window? I'm a little cold. (polite careful speech)

اگه سردته، ژاکت منو بپوش.

age sard-ete, zhâket-e man-o bepush.

If you're cold, put on my jacket. (informal, regional: Tehran)

بعد از پیاده‌روی گرممان شد و پنجره را باز کردیم.

ba'd az piyâde-ravi garm-emân shod va panjare râ bâz kardim.

After the walk we got warm and opened the window. (neutral; change of temperature)

The contrast between سردم است and سردم شد is aspectual: the first locates a current state; the second reports entry into that state.

💡

The experiencer clitic does not mean ordinary possession here. سردم است is not “my cold exists”; the construction as a whole assigns the sensation to me.

Ongoing pain versus pain onset

The most flexible everyday frame is body part + possessive clitic + درد کردن: سرم درد می‌کند، دندانش درد می‌کند، زانویم درد می‌کند. The body part is grammatically prominent; the clitic identifies whose body it is.

از صبح سرم درد می‌کند و نور اذیتم می‌کند.

az sobh sar-am dard mi-konad va nur aziyyat-am mi-konad.

My head has hurt since this morning, and light bothers me. (neutral symptom description)

وقتی از پله بالا می‌روم، زانویم درد می‌کند.

vaqti az pelle bâlâ mi-ravam, zânu-yam dard mi-konad.

My knee hurts when I climb stairs. (neutral)

درد گرفتن adds an inceptive or result reading: pain began and is now present. The affected body part still carries the possessor.

وسط جلسه کمرم درد گرفت و مجبور شدم بایستم.

vasat-e jalase kamar-am dard gereft va majbur shodam be-istam.

My back started hurting during the meeting, and I had to stand up. (onset event)

از دیشب گلویش درد گرفته است.

az dishab galu-yash dard gerefte ast.

His or her throat has been hurting since last night. (current result of onset; careful standard)

Do not treat درد کردن and درد گرفتن as free synonyms. Habitual or repeated pain favors درد می‌کند; a newly emerging pain favors درد گرفت/گرفته است.

سرما خوردن is one lexical predicate

سرما خوردن means “catch a cold.” The light verb is خوردن, but there is no literal act of eating. Conjugate the verb while keeping سرما stable: سرما خوردم، سرما خورده‌ام، سرما نخورده‌ام.

فکر می‌کنم سرما خورده‌ام؛ گلویم می‌سوزد و سرفه می‌کنم.

fekr mi-konam sarmâ khorde-am; galu-yam mi-suzad va sorfe mi-konam.

I think I've caught a cold; my throat burns and I'm coughing. (neutral careful speech)

بچه سرما خورده، برای همین امروز مهدکودک نمی‌ره.

bachche sarmâ khorde, barâ-ye hamin emruz mahd-e kudak nemi-re.

The child has a cold, so they're not going to daycare today. (informal, regional: Tehran; copula omitted after perfect)

This phrase names an everyday illness category; it is not a diagnosis of cause or severity.

General condition with حال

حالم خوب نیست means “I don't feel well” broadly. حالم بهتر است tracks improvement. حالم بد شد reports deterioration or a sudden episode. Because حال can also mean mood or condition, context determines whether the problem is physical, emotional, or both.

امروز حالم خوب نیست؛ ترجیح می‌دهم در خانه بمانم.

emruz hâl-am khub nist; tarjih mi-daham dar khâne bemânam.

I don't feel well today; I'd rather stay home. (neutral standard)

بعد از کمی استراحت حالم بهتر شد.

ba'd az kami esterâhat hâl-am behtar shod.

I felt better after resting for a while. (neutral)

یهو حالم بد شد و نشستم.

yehu hâl-am bad shod va neshastam.

I suddenly felt unwell and sat down. (informal conversation)

Speaking to a doctor

With a clinician, replace vague حالم بد است with location, onset, duration, frequency, and severity when you can. Careful standard is appropriate, but ordinary health vocabulary is not impolite.

سه روز است تب دارم و شب‌ها بیشتر سرفه می‌کنم.

se ruz ast tab dâram va shab-hâ bishtar sorfe mi-konam.

I have had a fever for three days, and I cough more at night. (clear doctor register)

درد از مچ دستم شروع می‌شود و تا آرنجم می‌رود.

dard az moch-e dast-am shoru' mi-shavad va tâ âranj-am mi-ravad.

The pain starts at my wrist and travels to my elbow. (precise clinical description)

به این دارو حساسیت دارم و الان داروی دیگری مصرف می‌کنم.

be in dâru hassâsiyyat dâram va alân dâru-ye digari masraf mi-konam.

I am allergic to this medicine, and I am currently taking another medication. (doctor register)

These frames help communication; they do not replace professional medical evaluation.

A short appointment dialogue

— چه مشکلی دارید؟ — از دیروز گوشم درد می‌کند و کمی هم تب دارم. — درد ناگهانی شروع شد؟ — بله، دیشب درد گرفت.

— che moshkeli dârid? — az diruz gush-am dard mi-konad va kami ham tab dâram. — dard nâgahâni shoru' shod? — bale, dishab dard gereft.

— What seems to be the problem? — My ear has hurt since yesterday, and I also have a slight fever. — Did the pain start suddenly? — Yes, it started last night. (doctor–patient dialogue)

Common Mistakes

1. Copying English “I am cold” as a property statement

⚠️ من آدم سردی هستم.

man âdam-e sardi hastam.

I am a cold person. (well formed, but describes personality rather than the immediate sensation)

✅ لطفا بخاری را روشن کنید؛ سردم است.

lotfan bokhâri râ rowshan konid; sard-am ast.

Please turn on the heater; I'm cold.

2. Leaving the body-part possessor unexpressed

⚠️ سر درد می‌کند.

sar dard mi-konad.

A/the head hurts. (grammatical only with an established possessor; insufficient when reporting your own symptom from scratch)

✅ از صبح پشت سرم درد می‌کند.

az sobh posht-e sar-am dard mi-konad.

The back of my head has hurt since this morning.

3. Translating “catch a cold” with شدن

❌ بعد از سفر سرما شدم.

Incorrect lexical predicate — Iranian Persian uses سرما خوردن for catching a cold.

✅ بعد از سفر سرما خوردم و دو روز استراحت کردم.

ba'd az safar sarmâ khordam va do ruz esterâhat kardam.

I caught a cold after the trip and rested for two days.

4. Using درد گرفتن for a permanent habitual statement

⚠️ هر زمستان زانویم درد گرفت.

har zemestân zânu-yam dard gereft.

Every winter my knee started hurting. (possible only as a bounded narrative pattern; not the neutral present habit)

✅ زانویم معمولا در هوای سرد درد می‌کند.

zânu-yam ma'mulan dar havâ-ye sard dard mi-konad.

My knee usually hurts in cold weather.

Key Takeaways

Temperature sensations commonly use adjective + experiencer clitic: سردم است / سردمه.
Ongoing body-part pain uses درد کردن; onset or newly present pain uses درد گرفتن.
سرما خوردن is one lexical predicate meaning “catch a cold.”
حال gives a broad condition frame; a doctor needs more precise location, onset, duration, and severity.
Body-part clitics identify whose body is affected; they are not optional when ownership is not otherwise recoverable.

Now practice Farsi

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Farsi →