Five short words organize many of the first Persian sentences you will need: در “in/at,” به “to,” از “from,” با “with,” and برای “for.” They are prepositions: they normally come before a noun phrase or independent pronoun. Thus Persian says در اتاق “in the room” and با سارا “with Sara,” not the reverse order.
These translations are starting points, not permanent equations. English “in” can describe a location or a destination, while Persian normally distinguishes static در from goal به. English “for” also covers several relationships for which Persian may use برای, به, or a verb-specific pattern. Learn the relation expressed in the whole phrase.
The five-way map
| Preposition | Core question | Core relation | Example phrase |
|---|---|---|---|
| در | where? | static location | در اداره “at the office” |
| به | where to? | goal or recipient | به دانشگاه “to the university” |
| از | where from? | source or separation | از تبریز “from Tabriz” |
| با | with whom/what? | accompaniment or means | با دوستم “with my friend” |
| برای | for whom/what purpose? | beneficiary or purpose | برای مادرم “for my mother” |
The complement may be a bare noun, a modified noun phrase, a name, or an independent pronoun. The preposition remains at the left edge of that whole complement.
کلیدها در کشوی پایین هستند.
kelid-hâ dar keshu-ye pâin hastand.
The keys are in the bottom drawer. (neutral standard)
بعد از کار به کتابخانه میروم.
ba'd az kâr be ketâbkhâne mi-ravam.
After work, I am going to the library. (neutral standard)
این قطار از مشهد میآید.
in qatâr az mashhad mi-âyad.
This train comes from Mashhad. (neutral standard)
امروز با خواهرم ناهار میخورم.
emruz bâ khâhar-am nâhâr mi-khoram.
Today I am having lunch with my sister. (neutral standard)
این گلها برای معلممان هستند.
in gol-hâ barâ-ye mo'allem-emân hastand.
These flowers are for our teacher. (neutral standard)
Prepositions come before complete noun phrases
A Persian preposition does not attach only to the first noun. It takes the complete following phrase as its complement: با دوست قدیمی سارا “with Sara's old friend,” برای بچههای همسایه “for the neighbors' children.” Any ezâfe links remain inside that complement.
با دوست قدیمی سارا صحبت کردم.
bâ dust-e qadimi-ye sârâ sohbat kardam.
I spoke with Sara's old friend. (neutral standard)
برای بچههای همسایه کیک پختیم.
barâ-ye bachche-hâ-ye hamsâye keyk pokhtim.
We baked a cake for the neighbors' children. (neutral standard)
English places possessors and many adjectives before the noun, so the internal order looks unfamiliar. First build the Persian noun phrase head-first, using ezâfe, and then place the preposition before the complete result.
Some location expressions contain a relational noun such as کنار “side/beside” or روی “surface/on.” These use ezâfe: کنار پنجره is pronounced kenâr-e panjare. Their structure is developed on Spatial Nouns with Ezâfe.
A preposition may be selected by the verb
Meaning alone does not always let you choose a preposition. Some Persian verbs and light-verb constructions conventionally select one. You say به کسی زنگ زدن “to call someone,” از کسی پرسیدن “to ask someone,” and با کسی صحبت کردن “to speak with someone.” English may use no preposition in “call someone,” but Persian still requires به.
صبح به پزشک زنگ زدم.
sobh be pezeshk zang zadam.
I called the doctor in the morning. (neutral standard)
از مسئول ایستگاه پرسیدیم.
az mas'ul-e istgâh porsidim.
We asked the station attendant. (neutral standard)
باید با مدیر صحبت کنم.
bâyad bâ modir sohbat konam.
I need to speak with the manager. (neutral standard)
There is no reliable English shortcut here. Record a new verb together with its complement pattern. Later, the dedicated page on verb–preposition valency will expand this system; at A1, treat these three combinations as lexical units.
Standard forms and everyday Tehran forms
The five written forms are neutral throughout Iranian Persian. Everyday Tehran speech also has common alternatives and reductions. These are (informal: Tehran), not mistakes and not default spellings for an essay.
| Standard | Informal Tehran | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| در خانه | توی خونه | in the house |
| به او | بهش | to him/her |
| از آنجا | از اونجا | from there |
| با او | باهاش | with him/her |
| برای من | واسه من | for me |
کتابم توی خونهست؛ فردا میارمش.
ketâb-am tu-ye khune-st; fardâ mi-âram-ash.
My book is at home; I'll bring it tomorrow. (informal: Tehran)
این بسته واسه توئه؛ اون یکی رو با پیک بفرست.
in baste vâse to-e; un yeki ro bâ peyk be-ferest.
This package is for you; send the other one by courier. (informal: Tehran)
The second sentence shows why register labels matter: واسه، اون، رو are perfectly natural in conversation, but a formal version would be این بسته برای تو است؛ آن یکی را با پیک بفرست. Compact forms such as بهش and باهاش are covered systematically on Clitics on Prepositions.
را is different
را follows a specific direct object: نامه را خواندم “I read the letter.” It does not come before a noun and does not mean “to” or “for.” Calling it a postposition describes its position, while به، از، با، برای are prepositions. See The Postposition را: First Orientation.
کیک را برای پدرم پختم.
keyk râ barâ-ye pedar-am pokhtam.
I baked the cake for my father. (neutral standard)
Here را marks کیک as the specific direct object; برای پدرم expresses the beneficiary. They cannot exchange jobs.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting the preposition after its noun
❌ فردا دانشگاه به میروم.
Incorrect — به precedes its complement.
✅ فردا به دانشگاه میروم.
fardâ be dâneshgâh mi-ravam.
I am going to the university tomorrow.
2. Copying an English verb's complement directly
❌ پزشک را زنگ زدم.
Incorrect for ‘I called the doctor’ — زنگ زدن selects به, not a direct object with را.
✅ به پزشک زنگ زدم.
be pezeshk zang zadam.
I called the doctor.
3. Dropping ezâfe inside a relational phrase
❌ کنار پنجره
kenâr panjare
Incorrect reading — کنار links to its complement with -e.
✅ کنار پنجره یک صندلی است.
kenâr-e panjare yek sandali ast.
There is a chair beside the window.
4. Treating را as a preposition meaning “to”
❌ سارا را رفتم.
Incorrect for ‘I went to Sara’ — را marks direct objects, not destinations.
✅ به خانهی سارا رفتم.
be khâne-ye sârâ raftam.
I went to Sara's house.
Key Takeaways
- Put در، به، از، با، برای before their complete complement.
- Use در for location, به for a goal, از for a source, با for accompaniment, and برای for a beneficiary or purpose.
- Learn verb-selected combinations such as به کسی زنگ زدن as units.
- Keep standard and colloquial choices distinct: در خانه versus (informal: Tehran) توی خونه.
- را follows a direct object and is not an English-style preposition.
Now practice Farsi
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Spatial Nouns with EzâfeA1 — Build Persian location phrases with روی، زیر، کنار، جلوی، and پشت by linking each relational noun to its reference point with ezâfe.
- The Postposition را: First OrientationA1 — Recognize را as a postposition after a specific direct-object phrase, pronounce it râ in standard Persian, and distinguish it from English to or for.
- Movement versus Location: به and درA2 — Choose به for a destination and در for a static setting, while recognizing motion verbs that omit به and colloquial توی for location.
- Source and Separation with ازA2 — Use از for physical sources, separation, comparison, cause, material, information sources, and common verb-governed complements.
- Accompaniment and Instrument with باA2 — Use با for companions, instruments, means, manner, and adversative relationships, including standard pronouns and colloquial باهاش-type forms.
- Purpose and Beneficiary with برایA2 — Use برای for beneficiaries, intended users, and purposes, extend it with اینکه to goal clauses, and choose standard or colloquial pronominal forms.