Persian uses several distinct frames for English expressions with time, for, and since. ساعت هشت locates an event at eight. از ساعت نه تا پنج gives the boundaries of an interval. سه ماه است که ... measures a situation continuing to now, while سه ساعت طول کشید measures how much time a completed event occupied. هنوز says that a state continues or an expected event has not occurred yet.
These phrases often translate the same English prepositions, but they answer different questions. Choosing the frame from its time logic is more reliable than translating at, from, for, or still individually.
Four Time Questions
| Question | Persian frame | Example answer |
|---|---|---|
| At what time? | ساعت before the clock time | ساعت هشتونیم |
| From when until when? | از ... تا ... | از نه تا پنج |
| How long has it continued? | duration, then است که, then a present clause | دو سال است که کار میکنم |
| How long did it take? | event, duration, then طول کشیدن | جلسه دو ساعت طول کشید |
Clock Time with ساعت
To place an event at a clock time, Persian normally puts ساعت directly before the number: ساعت هفت، ساعت دهوربع، ساعت دو بعدازظهر. There is no required equivalent of English at. The whole time phrase commonly comes before the verb.
کلاس ساعت نه شروع میشود.
kelâs sâ'at-e noh shoru' mi-shavad.
The class starts at nine. (neutral standard)
قطار ساعت ششوچهل دقیقه حرکت میکند.
qatâr sâ'at-e shesh-o-chehel daqiqe harekat mi-konad.
The train leaves at 6:40. (formal-neutral schedule)
ساعت چند به خانه میرسی؟
sâ'at-e chand be khâne mi-rasi?
What time will you get home? (neutral singular)
In everyday Tehran speech, خونه and reduced verbs are normal: ساعت چند میرسی خونه؟ (informal, regional: Tehran). The clock frame itself stays ساعت چند.
حدود ساعت هفت میرسم خونه.
hodud-e sâ'at-e haft mi-rasam khune.
I'll get home around seven. (informal, regional: Tehran)
For quarter hours, half hours, and formal digital schedules, see Telling the Time.
Intervals with از ... تا
از marks the starting boundary and تا marks the endpoint: از دوشنبه تا چهارشنبه، از صبح تا شب، از ساعت نه تا پنج. When both endpoints are clock times, ساعت need not be repeated before the second one unless clarity requires it.
کتابخانه از ساعت هشت تا شش باز است.
ketâbkhâne az sâ'at-e hasht tâ shesh bâz ast.
The library is open from eight to six. (neutral schedule)
از شنبه تا چهارشنبه سر کار هستم.
az shanbe tâ chahârshanbe sar-e kâr hastam.
I'm at work from Saturday through Wednesday. (neutral)
دیروز از صبح تا شب باران بارید.
diruz az sobh tâ shab bârân bârid.
Yesterday it rained from morning until night. (neutral completed interval)
An از ... تا phrase gives boundaries; it does not by itself say whether the event is habitual, ongoing, past, or future. The verb and wider time context provide that viewpoint.
Ongoing Duration with است که
To say how long a situation has continued up to now, Persian commonly uses:
duration + است که + present-tense clause
Thus دو سال است که اینجا زندگی میکنم corresponds to English “I have lived / have been living here for two years.” Persian normally uses present میکنم, because the situation is still true now.
سه ماه است که در این محله زندگی میکنیم.
se mâh ast ke dar in mahalle zendegi mi-konim.
We have been living in this neighborhood for three months. (neutral; still continuing)
چند وقت است که فارسی میخوانید؟
chand vaqt ast ke Fârsi mi-khânid?
How long have you been studying Persian? (polite neutral)
خیلی وقت است که او را ندیدهام.
kheyli vaqt ast ke u râ na-dide-am.
I haven't seen him/her for a long time. (neutral; elapsed time since last occurrence)
The negative-perfect clause in the last example measures a non-occurrence continuing to now. With a positive continuing activity, the present is the usual default. A perfect can add completion or current-result meaning and should not be copied automatically from English.
Informal Tehran contracts است: چند وقته ...؟، دو ساله که ... (informal, regional: Tehran).
چند وقته تو این فروشگاه کار میکنی؟
chand vaqte tu in forushgâh kâr mi-koni?
How long have you been working at this shop? (informal, regional: Tehran)
خیلی وقته ازش خبر ندارم.
kheyli vaqte az-esh khabar na-dâram.
I haven't heard from him/her for a long time. (informal Iranian)
The full construction and its past-time variant are developed on Duration with است که.
Event Length with طول کشیدن
طول کشیدن measures the time occupied by an event or process. The event is the grammatical subject; the duration is a measure phrase, not an object. Only کشیدن conjugates.
جلسه یک ساعتونیم طول کشید.
jalase yek sâ'at-o-nim tul keshid.
The meeting lasted an hour and a half. (neutral completed event)
تعمیر گوشی معمولا دو روز طول میکشد.
ta'mir-e gushi ma'mulan do ruz tul mi-keshad.
Repairing a phone usually takes two days. (neutral expected duration)
از اینجا تا فرودگاه چقدر طول میکشد؟
az injâ tâ forudgâh cheqadar tul mi-keshad?
How long does it take from here to the airport? (neutral)
English can say “It took me two hours,” using dummy it and a person after took. Persian instead says دو ساعت طول کشید تا ... and puts the person on a finite endpoint verb.
چهل دقیقه طول کشید تا به ایستگاه برسیم.
chehel daqiqe tul keshid tâ be istgâh be-resim.
It took us forty minutes to reach the station. (neutral; finite endpoint clause)
See طول کشیدن for Duration for event subjects, endpoint clauses, and mood.
هنوز: Still and Not Yet
هنوز signals that a state continues beyond an expected boundary or that an expected event has not happened up to the reference time. With a positive continuing predicate it commonly means “still”; with a negative predicate it commonly means “not yet.”
هنوز در دفتر هستم.
hanuz dar daftar hastam.
I'm still at the office. (neutral; continuing state)
اتوبوس هنوز نرسیده است.
otobus hanuz na-reside ast.
The bus hasn't arrived yet. (neutral; expected event has not occurred)
هنوز داری روی همون گزارش کار میکنی؟
hanuz dâri ru-ye hamun gozâresh kâr mi-koni?
Are you still working on that same report? (informal Iranian; surprised continuation)
Position before the predicate or its focused constituent is common. Moving هنوز can change emphasis, but it does not replace a duration phrase: هنوز اینجا هستم says continuation, whereas سه ساعت است که اینجا هستم measures it.
Minimal Contrasts
دو سال است که روی این طرح کار میکنم.
do sâl ast ke ru-ye in tarh kâr mi-konam.
I have been working on this project for two years. (ongoing to now)
کار روی این طرح دو سال طول کشید.
kâr ru-ye in tarh do sâl tul keshid.
Work on this project took two years. (completed bounded event)
دو سال آنجا کار کردم و بعد به اصفهان رفتم.
do sâl ânjâ kâr kardam va ba'd be Esfahân raftam.
I worked there for two years and then moved to Isfahan. (finished interval)
The first situation continues. The second packages the project as an event with a total duration. The third simply places a finished activity over a measured interval.
A Short Dialogue
— چند وقته منتظری؟ — از ساعت سه اینجام. — تاکسی هنوز نرسیده؟ — نه، گفتن ده دقیقه دیگه میرسه. — از اینجا تا ترمینال چقدر طول میکشه؟ — بدون ترافیک حدود بیست دقیقه.
— chand vaqte montazeri? — az sâ'at-e se injâm. — tâksi hanuz na-reside? — na, goftan dah daqiqe dige mi-rese. — az injâ tâ terminâl cheqadar tul mi-keshe? — bedun-e terâfik hodud-e bist daqiqe.
— How long have you been waiting? — I've been here since three. — Hasn't the taxi arrived yet? — No, they said it'll arrive in ten minutes. — How long does it take from here to the terminal? — About twenty minutes without traffic. (informal Iranian)
Common Mistakes
1. Adding a literal preposition before clock time
⚠️ جلسه در ساعت پنج شروع میشود.
jalase dar sâ'at-e panj shoru' mi-shavad.
The meeting starts at five. Grammatical but needlessly marked for an ordinary schedule; در ساعت fits specially formal or contrastive contexts.
✅ جلسه ساعت پنج شروع میشود.
jalase sâ'at-e panj shoru' mi-shavad.
The meeting starts at five.
2. Copying the English perfect into a continuing frame
⚠️ سه ماه است که اینجا کار کردهام.
se mâh ast ke injâ kâr karde-am.
It has been three months that I have worked here. Grammatically interpretable with a result-focused reading, but not the neutral way to say the job has continued for three months.
✅ سه ماه است که اینجا کار میکنم.
se mâh ast ke injâ kâr mi-konam.
I have been working here for three months.
3. Making the person conjugate طول کشیدن
❌ من یک ساعت طول کشیدم تا آماده شوم.
Malformed English transfer — the duration construction is impersonal or takes the event as subject.
✅ یک ساعت طول کشید تا آماده شوم.
yek sâ'at tul keshid tâ âmâde shavam.
It took me an hour to get ready.
4. Using هنوز without negative polarity for “not yet”
❌ اتوبوس هنوز رسید.
Malformed for ‘the bus has not arrived yet’ — هنوز requires a negative predicate for non-occurrence up to now.
✅ اتوبوس هنوز نرسیده است.
otobus hanuz na-reside ast.
The bus has not arrived yet.
Key Takeaways
- Use ساعت + time for a clock point and از ... تا ... for two interval boundaries.
- Use duration + است که + present for a situation continuing to now; informal Tehran contracts this to چند وقته / دو ساله که.
- Use طول کشیدن for an event's total duration; the event, not the person, is its subject.
- Positive هنوز usually means “still”; negative هنوز ... نـ usually means “not yet.”
- A finished interval uses an appropriate past form rather than the present-oriented است که frame.
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- Telling the TimeA2 — Ask and tell clock time in Iranian Persian with ساعت, minute expressions, نیم, ربع, and formal or colloquial schedules.
- Duration with است کهB1 — Use مدت است که and چند وقت است که to measure situations continuing to the present, and contrast them with finished past durations.
- طول کشیدن for DurationB1 — Use طول کشیدن to say how long an event takes, choose its event subject, and build finite تا clauses for reaching an endpoint.
- Time and Frequency AdverbsA1 — Place امروز, فردا, همیشه, گاهی, and معمولا naturally and match them to the intended time and frequency.