Persian directions combine command verbs with paths and landmarks: از این خیابان مستقیم بروید و سر چهارراه به چپ بپیچید “Go straight along this street and turn left at the intersection.” The route is easiest to follow when each command contains one action, one spatial anchor, and a clear sequence word.
Use a familiar singular command with someone addressed as تو. Use ـید forms with شما, either for one person politely or for several people. Directions to a stranger normally use the polite forms.
The route-building map
| Job | Useful Persian material | Example fragment |
|---|---|---|
| starting point or path | از اینجا، از پل، از جلوی بانک | از پل رد شوید |
| destination | به میدان، به ایستگاه | به میدان بروید |
| landmark | کنار نانوایی، روبهروی پارک | کنار نانوایی بایستید |
| sequence | اول، بعد، سپس، وقتی رسیدید | بعد به راست بپیچید |
| positive command | بروید، بپیچید، ادامه بدهید | do the action |
| prohibitive | نروید، وارد نشوید | do not do the action |
از این خیابان مستقیم بروید و سر چهارراه به چپ بپیچید.
az in khiyâbân mostaqim be-ravid va sar-e chahâr-râh be chap be-pichid.
Go straight along this street and turn left at the intersection. (polite singular/plural; neutral directions)
از جلوی بانک رد شوید؛ داروخانه سمت راست است.
az jelow-e bânk rad shavid; dârukhâne samt-e râst ast.
Pass the bank; the pharmacy is on the right. (polite standard; landmark followed by location)
The first از identifies the stretch to follow; the second identifies a landmark you pass. به چپ gives the direction of turning. Persian keeps these complements before the command verb.
Familiar commands and polite ـید commands
The familiar singular often has بـ + present stem: برو، بپیچ، بگیر، بنویس. Many compound commands put the imperative marking on their light verb: ادامه بده، صبر کن، وارد شو. Polite or plural commands add ـید: بروید، بپیچید، بگیرید، ادامه بدهید، صبر کنید، وارد شوید.
از پل رد شو و کنار نانوایی منتظرم باش.
az pol rad show va kenâr-e nânvâyi montazer-am bâsh.
Cross the bridge and wait for me beside the bakery. (familiar singular; neutral conversation)
تا میدان ادامه بدهید و آنجا از کسی بپرسید.
tâ meydân edâme be-dahid va ânjâ az kasi be-porsid.
Continue to the square and ask someone there. (polite standard instruction)
The polite form does not automatically sound formal or distant; it is the ordinary safe choice with an unfamiliar adult. لطفا softens the social force but does not replace the imperative. For form details, see Polite and Plural Imperatives in ـید.
به marks a goal; از marks a source or route
Use به for the endpoint of motion: به ایستگاه بروید “go to the station.” Use از for an origin, opening, or path traversed: از در اصلی وارد شوید “enter through the main door,” از پل رد شوید “cross the bridge.”
به انتهای کوچه بروید و از در سبز وارد حیاط شوید.
be entehâ-ye kuche be-ravid va az dar-e sabz vâred-e hayât shavid.
Go to the end of the alley and enter the courtyard through the green door. (polite standard; goal with به and route with از)
از ایستگاه مترو تا موزه ده دقیقه پیاده بروید.
az istgâh-e metro tâ muze dah daqiqe piyâde be-ravid.
Walk for ten minutes from the metro station to the museum. (polite standard; source–endpoint route)
تا marks an endpoint or extent: تا موزه, تا آخر خیابان. Persian often says ده دقیقه پیاده بروید, placing duration and manner before the final verb. Movement versus Location: به and در develops the spatial contrast.
Landmarks are relational phrases
Useful landmark expressions include کنارِ “beside,” روبهرویِ “opposite,” جلویِ “in front of,” پشتِ “behind,” سمتِ راست/چپِ “to the right/left of,” and سرِ کوچه/چهارراه “at the alley entrance/intersection.” Their ezâfe connects the spatial noun to its landmark.
روبهروی پارک بایستید؛ تاکسی همانجا توقف میکند.
rube-ru-ye pârk be-istid; tâksi hamân-jâ tavaqqof mi-konad.
Wait opposite the park; the taxi stops right there. (polite standard; landmark with ezâfe)
بعد از سوپرمارکت، کوچهی دوم سمت راست را بگیرید.
ba'd az supermârket, kuche-ye dovvom samt-e râst râ be-girid.
After the supermarket, take the second alley on the right. (polite standard; ordinal and landmark)
The instruction سمت راست را بگیرید is idiomatic route language. A literal word-for-word English translation of گرفتن as only “take in the hand” would miss this extended use.
Sequence instructions explicitly
Use اول for the first step, بعد for the ordinary next step, and سپس in formal written procedures. A وقتی ... clause can identify the landmark at which the next action begins.
اول فرم را پر کنید، بعد شمارهی پیگیری را یادداشت کنید.
avval form râ por konid, ba'd shomâre-ye peygiri râ yâddâsht konid.
First fill out the form, then write down the tracking number. (polite standard; practical instructions)
وقتی به میدان رسیدید، از کنار مسجد به سمت بازار بروید.
vaqti be meydân residid, az kenâr-e masjed be samt-e bâzâr be-ravid.
When you reach the square, go toward the bazaar past the mosque. (polite standard; landmark triggers the next step)
In a recipe, form, or route, repeat the command ending on each finite predicate. Persian can coordinate shared material, but an A2 instruction is safer when every step has an unmistakable action.
Prohibitives warn against the wrong move
The ordinary negative command uses نـ rather than affirmative بـ: نرو، نپیچ، نگیرید. With compound predicates, negate the light verb: وارد نشوید، عجله نکنید. A prohibition is different from a negative factual sentence such as نمیروید “you do not go/are not going.”
وارد کوچهی اول نشوید؛ آن کوچه بنبست است.
vâred-e kuche-ye avval na-shavid; ân kuche bon-bast ast.
Don't enter the first alley; it is a dead end. (polite standard; prohibitive warning)
از خیابان رد نشو؛ همین طرف منتظر بمان.
az khiyâbân rad na-show; hamin taraf montazer be-mân.
Don't cross the street; wait on this side. (familiar singular; safety instruction)
The full pattern and irregular negative forms are explained on Negative Imperative with نـ.
A direction exchange
— ببخشید، کتابخانهی مرکزی کجاست؟ — مستقیم بروید، از چراغ راهنمایی رد شوید و بعد به راست بپیچید. ساختمان آجری روبهروی پارک است.
— be-bakhshid, ketâbkhâne-ye markazi kojâst? — mostaqim be-ravid, az cherâgh-e râhnamâyi rad shavid va ba'd be râst be-pichid. sâkhtemân-e âjori rube-ru-ye pârk ast.
— Excuse me, where is the central library? — Go straight, pass the traffic light, and then turn right. The brick building is opposite the park. (polite everyday exchange)
The speaker uses plural-form commands for polite singular address. The final descriptive sentence confirms the destination with a visible landmark rather than adding another command.
Common Mistakes
1. Using the infinitive as a command
❌ تا میدان مستقیم رفتن.
Incorrect — رفتن is an infinitive and does not address the listener.
✅ تا میدان انقلاب مستقیم بروید.
tâ meydân-e Enqelâb mostaqim be-ravid.
Go straight as far as Enghelab Square. (polite singular/plural)
2. Mixing polite شما with a singular command
❌ شما از پلهها برو بالا.
Incorrect for polite شما — use the plural/polite command بروید.
✅ شما از پلهها به طبقهی بالا بروید.
shomâ az pelle-hâ be tabaqe-ye bâlâ be-ravid.
Go upstairs using the stairs. (polite singular/plural)
3. Using به for a source or path opening
❌ به در اصلی وارد ساختمان شوید.
Incorrect — the route into the building is through/from the main door, expressed with از.
✅ از در اصلی وارد ساختمان شوید.
az dar-e asli vâred-e sâkhtemân shavid.
Enter the building through the main door.
4. Keeping affirmative بـ in a negative command
❌ به کوچهی باریک بنروید.
Incorrect — the prohibitive replaces affirmative بـ with نـ: نروید.
✅ به کوچهی باریک نروید؛ راه بسته است.
be kuche-ye bârik na-ravid; râh baste ast.
Don't go into the narrow alley; the road is closed.
Key Takeaways
- Use familiar singular imperatives with تو and ـید commands with polite or plural شما.
- Put route complements before the command: به marks a goal, از a source or path, and تا an endpoint.
- Anchor directions to landmarks with کنار، روبهروی، جلوی، سرِ and clear ezâfe.
- Sequence steps with اول، بعد، سپس، وقتی رسیدید.
- Form prohibitives with نـ, not affirmative بـ, and keep address level consistent.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Affirmative Imperative with بA2 — Build familiar singular commands from the Persian present stem, including simple, prefixed, and compound verbs.
- Polite and Plural Imperatives in یدA2 — Use the shared ـید imperative to address several people or one person politely, and soften requests naturally.
- Negative Imperative with نA2 — Form Persian prohibitions with نـ, place negation correctly in simple and compound verbs, and control their social force.
- 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.