Likes, Dislikes, and Preferences | Farsi Grammar

Persian has several everyday ways to express “like,” but they organize the participants differently. دوست داشتن treats the liked person or thing as an object: این کتاب را دوست دارم. خوشم آمدن presents the liker as an experiencer clitic and introduces the source of pleasure with از: از این کتاب خوشم می‌آید. بدم آمدن uses the same frame for aversion, while ترجیح دادن ranks one option over another.

The meanings overlap, but the syntax does not. Learn each as a complete frame rather than replacing English like with a single Persian word.

For the lexical role of داشتن in stored predicates, see Core Compounds with داشتن.

Four High-Value Frames

Frame	Structure	Typical meaning
دوست داشتن	liker + liked object + دوست داشتن	like, love, be fond of
خوشم آمدن از	stimulus with از + experiencer clitic + آمدن	find pleasant, take a liking to
بدم آمدن از	stimulus with از + experiencer clitic + آمدن	dislike, be repelled by
ترجیح دادن	preferred option + optional comparison + ترجیح دادن	prefer, give priority to

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First identify the experiencer frame. In من این موسیقی را دوست دارم, من is the subject. In من از این موسیقی خوشم می‌آید, the same person is indexed by ـم on خوش.

دوست داشتن with Noun Objects

دوست داشتن is a compound verb whose light verb داشتن carries person and tense: دوست دارم، دوست داری، دوست داشتیم. A particular, identifiable object normally takes را; a generic kind or nonspecific activity can remain unmarked.

من این محله‌ی قدیمی را خیلی دوست دارم.

man in mahalle-ye qadimi râ kheyli dust dâram.

I really like this old neighborhood. (neutral standard; specific object)

خواهرم موسیقی سنتی دوست دارد.

khâhar-am musiqi-ye sonnati dust dârad.

My sister likes traditional music. (neutral; generic kind without را)

وقتی بچه بودم، سبزیجات دوست نداشتم.

vaqti bachche budam, sabzijât dust na-dâshtam.

When I was a child, I didn't like vegetables. (neutral; generic dislike)

With a pronominal object, the clitic commonly attaches to دوست: دوستش دارم، دوستت داریم. This is one reason the expression should be stored as a unit.

همکار جدیدمان را دوست داریم؛ خیلی صبور است.

hamkâr-e jadid-emân râ dust dârim; kheyli sabur ast.

We like our new colleague; he/she is very patient. (neutral standard)

دوستت دارم، ولی الان باید بروم.

dust-at dâram, vali alân bâyad be-ravam.

I love you, but I have to go now. (intimate; دوست داشتن a person can be strong)

With a person, دوست داشتن ranges from affection to love according to context and degree words. Do not assume it always has the light force of English like.

دوست داشتن plus an Action

To say that someone likes doing an activity, Persian can use a nominalized infinitive as object: پیاده‌روی کردن را دوست دارم. In conversation, دوست دارم + subjunctive often expresses what one wants or would like to do, not merely a stable hobby.

آخر هفته‌ها آشپزی کردن را دوست دارم.

âkhar-e hafte-hâ âshpazi kardan râ dust dâram.

I like cooking on weekends. (neutral; activity as a nominal object)

دوست دارم امشب زودتر بخوابم.

dust dâram emshab zud-tar be-khâbam.

I'd like to go to bed earlier tonight. (neutral; desired action with subjunctive)

English uses like in both sentences, but Persian contrasts a liked activity with a desired event. Context sometimes blurs the line, so this is a meaning tendency, not an automatic formal test.

خوشم آمدن: Experiencing Pleasure

The everyday paradigm is خوشم می‌آید، خوشت می‌آید، خوشش می‌آید، خوشمان می‌آید، خوشتان می‌آید، خوششان می‌آید. The clitic identifies who experiences the positive reaction. The stimulus follows از, and آمدن ordinarily appears in the third singular in this frame.

از طراحی این کافه خوشم می‌آید.

az tarrâhi-ye in kâfe khosh-am mi-âyad.

I like the design of this café. (neutral standard; experiencer ـم)

از فیلم خوشتان آمد؟

az film khosh-etân âmad?

Did you like the movie? (polite standard; reaction to an experience)

بچه‌ها از هدیه‌شان خیلی خوششان آمد.

bachche-hâ az hediye-shân kheyli khosh-eshân âmad.

The children really liked their gift. (neutral; plural experiencer in ـشان)

The simple past خوشم آمد often describes the reaction after seeing, tasting, hearing, or trying something. Present خوشم می‌آید describes an ongoing preference. Tehran speech uses خوشم میاد، خوشت اومد؟، خوششون اومد (informal, regional: Tehran).

از این آهنگ خیلی خوشم میاد.

az in âhang kheyli khosh-am miyâd.

I really like this song. (informal, regional: Tehran)

بدم آمدن: Aversion, Not Simple Negation

بدم آمدن از mirrors the experiencer syntax of خوشم آمدن از: بدم می‌آید، بدت می‌آید، بدشان آمد. It generally conveys active dislike or aversion and can be stronger than neutral دوست نداشتن.

از بوی دود بدم می‌آید.

az bu-ye dud bad-am mi-âyad.

I dislike the smell of smoke. (neutral standard; active aversion)

چرا از رانندگی در شب بدت می‌آید؟

cherâ az rânandegi dar shab bad-at mi-âyad?

Why do you dislike driving at night? (neutral singular)

من قهوه دوست ندارم، اما از بوش بدم نمیاد.

man qahve dust na-dâram, ammâ az bu-sh bad-am nemiyâd.

I don't like coffee, but I don't mind its smell. (informal Tehran; نبودنِ aversion is weaker than liking)

The final sentence shows that بدم نمی‌آید is often a mild positive: “I don't dislike it / I wouldn't mind.” It is not logically identical to enthusiastic خیلی دوست دارم.

ترجیح دادن: Ranking Alternatives

ترجیح دادن is neutral to formal and makes comparison explicit. The preferred noun may take را, and the less preferred alternative commonly follows به: چای را به قهوه ترجیح می‌دهم. Formal edited prose also uses بر, as in این روش را بر روش قبلی ترجیح می‌دهیم. In ordinary speech, the comparison is often omitted when obvious.

برای صبحانه چای را به قهوه ترجیح می‌دهم.

barâ-ye sobhâne chây râ be qahve tarjih mi-daham.

For breakfast, I prefer tea to coffee. (neutral standard; explicit comparison)

کدام مسیر را ترجیح می‌دهید؟

kodâm masir râ tarjih mi-dahid?

Which route do you prefer? (polite neutral)

ترجیح می‌دهم فردا صبح حرکت کنیم.

tarjih mi-daham fardâ sobh harekat konim.

I prefer that we leave tomorrow morning. (neutral; finite subjunctive complement)

اگر انتخاب با من باشد، قطار را ترجیح می‌دهم.

agar entekhâb bâ man bâshad, qatâr râ tarjih mi-daham.

If the choice is mine, I prefer the train. (neutral)

Object Marking and Information Structure

را does not mean “liked.” It marks an identifiable or specific direct object. Compare generic غذای تند دوست ندارم “I don't like spicy food” with specific این غذای تند را دوست ندارم “I don't like this spicy dish.” With خوشم آمدن, the stimulus is instead introduced by از, so adding را copies the wrong frame.

غذای خیلی شیرین دوست نداریم.

ghazâ-ye kheyli shirin dust na-dârim.

We don't like very sweet food. (generic kind)

این دسر را دوست نداریم؛ زیادی شیرین است.

in deser râ dust na-dârim; ziyâdi shirin ast.

We don't like this dessert; it's too sweet. (specific object)

A Short Dialogue

— از این رستوران خوشت می‌آید؟ — آره، غذاش رو دوست دارم، ولی از موسیقی بلندش بدم میاد. — پس دفعه‌ی بعد جای آروم‌تری رو ترجیح میدی؟ — حتما.

— az in restorân khosh-at mi-âyad? — âre, ghazâ-sh ro dust dâram, vali az musiqi-ye boland-esh bad-am miyâd. — pas daf'e-ye ba'd jâ-ye ârum-tari ro tarjih mi-di? — hatman.

— Do you like this restaurant? — Yeah, I like its food, but I dislike its loud music. — So next time you'd prefer somewhere quieter? — Definitely. (mostly informal Tehran; first question is careful speech)

Common Mistakes

1. Omitting از with خوشم آمدن

❌ من این فیلم خوشم آمد.

Malformed — the stimulus of خوشم آمدن is introduced by از; من is optional because ـم already identifies the experiencer.

✅ از پایان فیلم خوشم آمد.

az pâyân-e film khosh-am âmad.

I liked the ending of the movie.

2. Conjugating آمدن for the experiencer

❌ ما از نمایشگاه خوشمان آمدیم.

Malformed in the experiencer construction — ـمان marks us; آمدن remains third singular.

✅ ما از بخش عکس نمایشگاه خوشمان آمد.

mâ az bakhsh-e aks-e namâyeshgâh khosh-emân âmad.

We liked the photography section of the exhibition.

3. Marking the از phrase with را

❌ از این کتاب را خوشم می‌آید.

Malformed — از already introduces the stimulus; را cannot mark that same prepositional phrase.

✅ این کتاب را دوست دارم.

in ketâb râ dust dâram.

I like this book. (specific object with دوست داشتن)

4. Using از for the less preferred option

❌ قطار را از اتوبوس ترجیح می‌دهم.

Malformed in the standard comparison frame — the less preferred alternative follows به.

✅ قطار را به اتوبوس ترجیح می‌دهم.

qatâr râ be otobus tarjih mi-daham.

I prefer the train to the bus.

Key Takeaways

دوست داشتن takes a direct object; specific objects commonly take را, while generic kinds may remain unmarked.
خوشم آمدن از and بدم آمدن از encode the experiencer with a clitic and the stimulus with از.
دوست نداشتن is neutral lack of liking; بدم آمدن commonly expresses stronger aversion; بدم نمی‌آید can mean “I wouldn't mind.”
ترجیح دادن ranks options; an explicit less preferred alternative commonly follows به, with بر also established in formal prose.
A finite subjunctive after دوست دارم or ترجیح می‌دهم presents a desired or preferred action, not a noun-like object.

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