Yes-No Questions by Intonation | Farsi Grammar

The most natural Persian yes-no question often has exactly the same words as a statement. امروز کار می‌کنی. says “You are working today”; امروز کار می‌کنی؟ asks “Are you working today?” In speech, a question contour and the conversational context do the work. In writing, the Persian question mark ؟ makes the function explicit.

English normally moves or inserts an auxiliary—You are coming → Are you coming? Persian does neither. Keep the ordinary order described in Basic SOV Word Order and change the utterance into a question.

Statement and question keep one order

Function	Persian	What changes	Register
statement	سارا امروز می‌آید.	falling completion	all registers
neutral yes-no question	سارا امروز می‌آید؟	question contour and ؟	especially speech
confirmation question	سارا امروز می‌آید، درست است؟	tag requests confirmation	neutral/careful
surprised echo	امروز می‌آید؟	focus and wider pitch movement	conversation

There is no single compulsory melody for every speaker. A final rise is common in short neutral questions; a fall-rise can mark checking, reservation, or politeness. What is stable is that Persian does not use English-style auxiliary inversion.

فردا به دانشگاه می‌روی؟

fardâ be dâneshgâh mi-ravi?

Are you going to the university tomorrow? (neutral conversation; unchanged word order)

این اتوبوس از میدان آزادی می‌گذرد؟

in otobus az meydân-e Âzâdi mi-gozarad?

Does this bus pass Azadi Square? (neutral careful speech)

شما برای ساعت ده وقت گرفته‌اید؟

shomâ barâ-ye sâ'at-e dah vaqt gerefte-id?

Do you have an appointment for ten o'clock? (polite neutral)

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Build the affirmative sentence first, then keep every word in place and ask it. If you find yourself moving the verb before the subject, English is controlling the Persian.

Context tells the listener what is being checked

The same question can focus different pieces. امروز علی می‌آید؟ may check the day, the person, or the event. Stress and the previous turn locate the contrast; word order may also move an established topic earlier, but movement is not required merely because the clause is interrogative.

امروز علی می‌آید؟ من فکر می‌کردم فردا می‌آید.

emruz Ali mi-âyad? man fekr mi-kardam fardâ mi-âyad.

Is Ali coming today? I thought he was coming tomorrow. (neutral conversation; today is contrasted)

علی امروز می‌آید، نه رضا؟

Ali emruz mi-âyad, na Rezâ?

Is Ali coming today—not Reza? (conversation; person focus supplied by context)

The final phrase is an echo-like check. Everyday Persian often omits material that the conversation supplies; it does not need a special “do” auxiliary to hold the question together.

Short answers

The basic answers are بله “yes” and نه “no.” بله is neutral-polite; آره is (informal). Repeating the verb removes ambiguity and sounds more cooperative.

— امروز اداره باز است؟ — بله، تا ساعت چهار باز است.

— emruz edâre bâz ast? — bale, tâ sâ'at-e chahâr bâz ast.

— Is the office open today? — Yes, it is open until four. (polite neutral)

— شام خوردی؟ — آره، قبل از اومدن خوردم.

— shâm khordi? — âre, qabl az umadan khordam.

— Did you eat dinner? — Yeah, I ate before coming. (informal, regional: Tehran)

The colloquial infinitive اومدن is restricted here to the explicitly informal exchange. Standard writing uses آمدن.

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Use بله with strangers and in formal settings; use آره with familiar people. A short verb phrase after either answer confirms exactly what “yes” applies to.

Negative questions need a proposition-aware answer

In امروز نمی‌آیی؟ “Aren't you coming today?”, بله، می‌آیم confirms the positive proposition “I am coming,” while نه، نمی‌آیم confirms the negative one “I am not coming.” Speakers sometimes answer only چرا to contradict a negative assumption: چرا، می‌آیم “Actually, I am coming.”

— فردا نمی‌آیی؟ — چرا، می‌آیم؛ فقط کمی دیرتر.

— fardâ nemi-âyi? — cherâ, mi-âyam; faqat kami dir-tar.

— Aren't you coming tomorrow? — Actually, I am; just a little later. (neutral conversation; چرا rejects the negative expectation)

— فروشگاه هنوز باز نیست؟ — نه، امروز زود بسته شد.

— forushgâh hanuz bâz nist? — na, emruz zud baste shod.

— Isn't the shop open yet? — No, it closed early today. (neutral conversation; نه confirms the negative answer)

English yes after a negative question varies by dialect and can be confusing. Persian چرا is a useful explicit contradiction of the negative premise.

Punctuation and formal writing

Always use the Persian question mark ؟ in Persian text. A statement followed by ؟ is visually a question, but formal documents often prefer clause-initial آیا when a long sentence might otherwise be misread. That particle is the focus of the next page; ordinary conversation normally needs only intonation.

نتیجه‌ی آزمایش آماده شده؟

natije-ye âzmâyesh âmâde shode?

Is the test result ready? (careful conversation; present perfect used as current result)

Common Mistakes

1. Copying English “are ... going” into Persian

❌ هستی تو فردا به دانشگاه می‌روی؟

Incorrect — هستی cannot be inserted for English “are” when می‌روی is already the finite Persian verb.

✅ تو فردا به دانشگاه می‌روی؟

to fardâ be dâneshgâh mi-ravi?

Are you going to the university tomorrow?

2. Adding an invented equivalent of English do

❌ انجام می‌دهی دوست داری این فیلم را؟

Incorrect — Persian does not insert انجام دادن as a question auxiliary.

✅ این فیلم را دوست داری؟

in film râ dust dâri?

Do you like this film?

3. Answering a negative question without clarifying the proposition

❌ نمی‌آیی؟ بله، نمی.

Incorrect — bare نمی is an unfinished verbal prefix, not an answer.

✅ فردا نمی‌آیی؟ نه، نمی‌آیم.

fardâ nemi-âyi? na, nemi-âyam.

Aren't you coming tomorrow? No, I'm not.

4. Using a Latin question mark in Persian

❌ شما آماده هستید?

Incorrect Persian punctuation — use the RTL Persian question mark ؟.

✅ شما برای شروع آماده هستید؟

shomâ barâ-ye shoru' âmâde hastid?

Are you ready to begin?

Key Takeaways

A Persian statement becomes a yes-no question without word-order change.
Speech uses a question contour; writing uses ؟.
Context and focus determine which part is being checked.
Answer with بله/آره + positive verb or نه + negative verb; چرا contradicts a negative expectation.
Formal آیا is useful in writing but unnecessary in most casual questions.

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