Persian نیست denies a present copular relation: این ساختمان مدرسه نیست denies an identity or classification, چای داغ نیست denies a property, and مریم در دفتر نیست denies presence at a location. The phrase before نیست determines what relation is being denied.
This page assumes that you already know the person-number forms of the negative copula. For the full paradigm, spelling, and agreement endings, use the specialist Verbs page Negative Copula نیست. Here the goal is choosing naturally among نیست، وجود ندارد، ندارم, and formal نمیباشد.
Start with the intended relation
| Relation denied | Neutral choice | Model |
|---|---|---|
| identity or classification | NP + نیست | او پزشک نیست |
| property or state | adjective + نیست | غذا سرد نیست |
| absence of a known person or thing from a location | location + نیست | مدیر اینجا نیست |
| nonexistence or unavailability in a setting | third-singular نیست; explicit وجود ندارد | اینجا بانک نیست |
| a person's lack of something | ندارم، ندارد... | وقت ندارم |
| official or bureaucratic denial | نمیباشد where the register genuinely calls for it | مجاز نمیباشد |
English be not and there is not do not map to one Persian form in every context. Persian asks whether the speaker is denying a relation, locating a known referent, reporting absence, or describing what a possessor lacks.
Identity and classification
A noun phrase before نیست denies that the subject belongs to a class or has an identity. Persian does not insert an article corresponding to English a.
این ساختمان مدرسه نیست؛ کتابخانه است.
in sâkhtemân madrese nist; ketâbkhâne ast.
This building is not a school; it is a library. (neutral; classification correction)
من صاحب این خودرو نیستم؛ فقط رانندهاش هستم.
man sâheb-e in khodro nistam; faqat rânande-ash hastam.
I am not the owner of this car; I am only its driver. (neutral; identity/role)
The negative sits after the entire predicate phrase صاحب این خودرو. It does not negate خودرو separately. The positive correction makes the intended contrast explicit.
Possessive مالِ also forms a copular predicate: این کیف مال من نیست “this bag is not mine.” This denies an ownership relation involving the subject این کیف; it differs from من کیف ندارم “I do not have a bag,” which makes من the possessor and denies possession.
این چتر مال من نیست؛ مال همکارم است.
in chatr mâl-e man nist; mâl-e hamkâr-am ast.
This umbrella is not mine; it belongs to my colleague. (careful conversation; possessive predicate)
Properties and states
An adjective before نیست denies a property or present state. The adjective remains unchanged; the grammatical subject controls agreement on the negative copula, not the nearest noun inside the predicate.
این چای سرد نیست؛ ولرم است.
in chây sard nist; velarm ast.
This tea is not cold; it is lukewarm. (neutral; property correction)
این خانمها پزشک نیستند؛ پرستارند.
in khânom-hâ pezeshk nistand; parastâr-and.
These women are not doctors; they are nurses. (neutral; plural subject, singular predicate noun)
In the second example, plural این خانمها requires نیستند. The singular-looking predicate noun پزشک does not choose the ending. Persian predicate nouns and adjectives do not acquire English-style agreement marking of their own.
Do not put verbal نمی directly on an adjective. نمیخسته is not “not tired.” The adjective needs a finite copula: خسته نیست. For the positive structure, see Predicative Adjectives and the Copula.
Location: a known referent is absent
With a known subject and a location predicate, نیست says that the person or thing is not there. Word order helps distinguish a known absent referent from existential absence.
مدیر امروز در دفتر نیست؛ از خانه کار میکند.
modir emruz dar daftar nist; az khâne kâr mi-konad.
The manager is not in the office today; she is working from home. (neutral; known person absent from a location)
کلید روی میز نیست؛ داخل کشو است.
kelid ru-ye miz nist; dâkhel-e keshu ast.
The key is not on the table; it is inside the drawer. (neutral; known object relocated)
Using ندارد here would mean “does not have,” requiring a possessor. مدیر در دفتر ندارد cannot express the manager's location because the office is not possessing or lacking the manager.
Existence and availability
Location-first اینجا بانک نیست naturally means “there is no bank here.” With services, tickets, space, or stock, third-singular نیست also reports unavailability. Formal وجود ندارد makes the existence claim explicit and is useful for abstract entities.
در این محله داروخانه نیست.
dar in mahalle dârukhâne nist.
There is no pharmacy in this neighborhood. (neutral; existential location)
برای پرواز صبح بلیت نیست؛ پرواز عصر جا دارد.
barâ-ye parvâz-e sobh belit nist; parvâz-e asr jâ dârad.
There are no tickets for the morning flight; the afternoon flight has seats. (neutral service context; availability)
چنین محدودیتی در قرارداد وجود ندارد.
chonin mahdudiyyati dar qarârdâd vojud na-dârad.
No such restriction exists in the contract. (formal; explicit nonexistence)
وجود ندارد is not required for every “there is no” sentence. It is heavier and explicitly existential; اینجا بانک نیست is the natural everyday choice. Conversely, formal argument often prefers وجود ندارد for claims about evidence, laws, relationships, or abstract constraints.
Possession uses ندارم
When a person or entity is the possessor, use the negative of داشتن: ندارم، ندارد.... This is not interchangeable with existential نیست, although English may use there isn't to describe the same practical problem.
من امروز پول نقد ندارم، اما کارت بانکی دارم.
man emruz pul-e naqd na-dâram, ammâ kârt-e bânki dâram.
I don't have cash today, but I have a bank card. (neutral; possession)
این اتاق پنجره ندارد، ولی نورش کافی است.
in otâq panjare na-dârad, vali nur-ash kâfi ast.
This room has no window, but it has enough light. (neutral; room as possessor)
Compare the second sentence with در این اتاق پنجره نیست “there is no window in this room.” Both can describe one room, but their structures differ: اتاق پنجره ندارد attributes lack to the room; در اتاق پنجره نیست denies existence within a location. See بودن versus داشتن.
Present form, future time
The present negative copula can describe a future absence when a time phrase supplies the future frame. Persian need not copy English will not be with an explicit future auxiliary.
فردا صبح در دفتر نیستم؛ بعدازظهر تماس بگیرید.
fardâ sobh dar daftar nistam; ba'd-az-zohr tamâs be-girid.
I will not be at the office tomorrow morning; call in the afternoon. (polite neutral; present form with future-time reference)
Nothing about نیستم itself is future. فردا صبح establishes the relevant scheduled interval.
نیست versus formal نمیباشد
نمیباشد occurs in regulations, contracts, and institutional notices (formal/administrative). It can deny the same copular relation as نیست, but it is not a universally more polite or more correct replacement. Clear contemporary prose and ordinary service conversations normally prefer نیست.
— برای فردا اتاق خالی دارید؟ — متأسفانه اتاق خالی نیست، اما برای پسفردا موجود است.
— barâ-ye fardâ otâq-e khâli dârid? — mota'assefâne otâq-e khâli nist, ammâ barâ-ye pas-fardâ mowjud ast.
— Do you have a room available for tomorrow? — Unfortunately, no room is available, but one is available for the day after tomorrow. (polite service encounter; neutral نیست)
استفاده از این بلیت در روزهای تعطیل مجاز نمیباشد.
estefâde az in belit dar ruz-hâ-ye ta'til mojâz nemi-bâshad.
Use of this ticket is not permitted on holidays. (formal/administrative notice)
In the service exchange, replacing نیست with نمیباشد would sound needlessly bureaucratic, not more respectful. In the regulation, مجاز نمیباشد matches conventional administrative style, although مجاز نیست remains grammatical and often clearer.
Common Mistakes
1. Using ندارد for a person's location
❌ سارا امروز در کتابخانه ندارد.
Incorrect for the intended location claim — ندارد means ‘does not have’ and would require a possessed object; ‘Sara is not at the library’ takes نیست.
✅ سارا امروز در کتابخانه نیست.
Sârâ emruz dar ketâbkhâne nist.
Sara is not at the library today.
2. Applying verbal نمی to an adjective
❌ این مسیر نمیکوتاه است.
Incorrect — کوتاه is an adjective, so the negative finite predicate is نیست.
✅ این مسیر کوتاه نیست.
in masir kutâh nist.
This route is not short.
3. Adding a positive copula after نیست
❌ این صندلی خالی نیست است.
Incorrect — نیست already is the finite negative copula; do not add positive است.
✅ این صندلی خالی نیست.
in sandali khâli nist.
This seat is not free.
4. Matching agreement to the predicate noun
❌ این خانمها پزشک نیست.
Incorrect in the intended ordinary human-plural reading — agreement follows plural subject خانمها, not singular predicate پزشک.
✅ این خانمها پزشک نیستند.
in khânom-hâ pezeshk nistand.
These women are not doctors.
5. Treating نمیباشد as universally superior
❌ مامان، شام آماده نمیباشد؟
Incorrect register choice in an ordinary family question — نمیباشد is bureaucratic rather than naturally polite here.
✅ مامان، شام آماده نیست؟
mâmân, shâm âmâde nist?
Mom, isn't dinner ready? (neutral family conversation)
Key Takeaways
- Use نیست after a noun, adjective, or location predicate to deny identity, property, or whereabouts.
- Agreement follows the grammatical subject, not a nearby predicate noun.
- Location-first third-singular نیست commonly expresses nonexistence or unavailability; formal وجود ندارد makes existence explicit.
- Use ندارم/ندارد when a possessor lacks something.
- نمیباشد belongs to formal administrative style; it is not automatically politer or better than نیست.
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