دیدن didan: to See | Farsi Grammar

دیدن didan means “see,” and in suitable contexts “meet, watch, or experience.” Its past stem is دید, but its present stem is بین: می‌بینم، ببین. The stem change is basic and must be memorized.

As a perception verb, دیدن is transitive. A specific person or thing normally takes را, while an indefinite sight may remain unmarked. When what is perceived is a whole event, Persian uses a finite clause rather than an English-style infinitive: دیدم که در باز شد “I saw that the door opened.”

Principal parts

Form	Persian	Reading	Use
infinitive	دیدن	didan	dictionary form
past stem	دید	did-	دیدم، می‌دیدم
present stem	بین	bin-	می‌بینم، ببیند
past participle	دیده	dide	دیده‌ام
imperative	ببین؛ ببینید	bebin; bebinid	singular; plural/polite
negative imperative	نبین؛ نبینید	nabin; nabinid	singular; plural/polite

ببین is also a discourse marker in conversation: “look,” “listen,” or “here is the point.” It does not always command literal visual attention. Written argument usually replaces this interpersonal use with a more explicit transition.

High-value paradigm

Person	Present indicative	Simple past	Present perfect	Present subjunctive
I	می‌بینم	دیدم	دیده‌ام	ببینم
you (sg.)	می‌بینی	دیدی	دیده‌ای	ببینی
he/she/it	می‌بیند	دید	دیده است	ببیند
we	می‌بینیم	دیدیم	دیده‌ایم	ببینیم
you (pl./polite)	می‌بینید	دیدید	دیده‌اید	ببینید
they	می‌بینند	دیدند	دیده‌اند	ببینند

Negation is نمی‌بینم، ندیدم، ندیده‌ام، نبینم. Past imperfective می‌دیدم means “I was seeing/used to see,” not present “I see.” The present perfect often reports life experience: این فیلم را دیده‌ام “I have seen this film.”

از این پنجره کوه دماوند را می‌بینیم.

az in panjare kuh-e damâvand râ mi-binim.

We can see Mount Damavand from this window. (neutral standard; continuing visual access)

من این مستند را قبلا دیده‌ام، ولی پایانش یادم نیست.

man in mostanad râ qablan dide-am, vali pâyân-ash yâd-am nist.

I have seen this documentary before, but I don't remember its ending. (neutral; experiential perfect)

What is seen: noun objects and را

An identified object normally takes را: همسایه‌مان را دیدم. With an indefinite nonspecific object, را is absent: پرنده‌ای دیدم “I saw a bird.” This is ordinary Persian specificity marking, not a special animate-object rule.

صبح در ایستگاه یکی از استادهای قدیمی‌ام را دیدم.

sobh dar istgâh yeki az ostâd-hâ-ye qadimi-am râ didam.

This morning I saw one of my former professors at the station. (neutral standard; specific person)

در راه خانه پرنده‌ای با بال زخمی دیدیم.

dar râh-e khâne parande-i bâ bâl-e zakhmi didim.

On the way home we saw a bird with an injured wing. (neutral; newly introduced indefinite object)

For an appointment or social meeting, کسی را دیدن is ordinary. Formal professional prose may prefer با کسی دیدار کردن or به پزشک مراجعه کردن. English see a doctor does not always map to literal پزشک را دیدن: the latter foregrounds meeting or catching sight of the doctor, not the institutional act of consulting one.

Perceiving an event

Persian normally presents the perceived event as a finite clause. Overt که is common in careful prose; conversation can omit it when the relation is transparent.

دیدم که چراغ راهرو ناگهان خاموش شد.

didam ke cherâgh-e râhro nâgahân khâmush shod.

I saw that the hallway light suddenly went out. (neutral; completed perceived event)

از بالکن دیدیم بچه‌ها در حیاط بازی می‌کنند.

az bâlkon didim bachche-hâ dar hayât bâzi mi-konand.

From the balcony we saw the children playing in the yard. (neutral conversation; finite ongoing complement without که)

Alternatively, the perceived participant can be the object of دیدن, followed by a که clause describing it: بچه‌ها را دیدم که می‌دویدند. This is not an English bare-infinitive construction; both Persian verbs remain finite.

رضا را دیدم که از ساختمان بیرون می‌آمد.

rezâ râ didam ke az sâkhtemân birun mi-âmad.

I saw Reza coming out of the building. (neutral; matrix object plus finite descriptive clause)

See Perception Verbs with Finite Complements for viewpoint and tense choices.

💡

Do not search for a Persian equivalent of English I saw him leave by inserting an infinitive. Choose a finite event clause, and decide whether the perceived person is its subject or the object of دیدن.

Passive and lexical compounds

The compositional passive is دیده شدن “be seen.” Finite marking goes on شدن; the participle دیده remains unchanged.

تابلو از آن سوی میدان هم دیده می‌شود.

tâblo az ân su-ye meydân ham dide mi-shavad.

The sign can also be seen from the other side of the square. (formal-neutral passive)

Some compounds contain دیدن but are lexical predicates rather than ordinary vision. خواب دیدن means “dream”; آسیب دیدن means “be harmed/damaged,” an undergoer compound whose partner is آسیب زدن “damage.”

در سیل به چند خانه‌ی روستا آسیب جدی رسید، اما مدرسه آسیب ندید.

dar seyl be chand khâne-ye rustâ âsib-e jeddi resid, ammâ madrese âsib na-did.

Several village houses were seriously affected by the flood, but the school was not damaged. (formal-neutral; lexical آسیب دیدن)

دیشب خواب عجیبی دیدم و هنوز جزئیاتش یادم مانده است.

dishab khâb-e ajibi didam va hanuz joz'iyyât-ash yâd-am mânde ast.

Last night I had a strange dream, and I still remember its details. (neutral; lexical خواب دیدن)

Tehran speech

Everyday Tehran reduces the third-person endings: می‌بینم، می‌بینی، می‌بینه، می‌بینیم، می‌بینین، می‌بینن (informal: Tehran). The command ببین is unchanged, and ببینم often functions conversationally as “let me see” or “let me think.”

— فردا می‌بینمت؟ — آره، عصر جلوی سینما می‌بینمت.

— fardâ mi-binam-at? — âre, asr jelow-e sinemâ mi-binam-at.

— Will I see you tomorrow? — Yeah, I'll see you outside the cinema in the evening. (informal: Tehran; object clitic)

ببین، من نمیگم تقصیر تو بوده؛ فقط میگم دوباره چک کنیم.

bebin, man nemigam taqsir-e to bude; faqat migam dobâre chek konim.

Look, I'm not saying it was your fault; I'm just saying we should check again. (informal: Tehran; discourse-marker ببین)

Common Mistakes

1. Using دید as a present stem

❌ من از اینجا کوه را می‌دیدمم.

Incorrect — this adds a second first-person ending to past imperfective می‌دیدم; present uses بین.

✅ من از پشت‌بام برج میلاد را می‌بینم.

man az posht-bâm borj-e milâd râ mi-binam.

I can see Milad Tower from the rooftop.

2. Double-marking a specific object

❌ دیروز سارا را را در دانشگاه دیدم.

Incorrect — a specific object takes one را, not two.

✅ دیروز سارا را جلوی دانشکده دیدم.

diruz sârâ râ jelow-e dâneshkade didam.

Yesterday I saw Sara outside the faculty building.

3. Using an infinitive for a perceived event

❌ دیدم بچه‌ها در حیاط دویدن.

Incorrect — the perceived event needs a finite verb.

✅ دیدم بچه‌ها با عجله از حیاط بیرون دویدند.

didam bachche-hâ bâ ajale az hayât birun davidand.

I saw the children run hurriedly out of the yard.

4. Building the passive with a long infinitive

❌ این نوشته از دور دیدن می‌شود.

Incorrect — the passive base is the participle دیده, followed by finite شدن.

✅ نوشته‌ی روی دیوار از دور خوب دیده نمی‌شود.

neveshte-ye ru-ye divâr az dur khub dide nemi-shavad.

The writing on the wall cannot be seen well from far away.

5. Mixing colloquial and standard endings

❌ آن‌ها هر روز همدیگر را می‌بینه‌اند.

Incorrect — finite می‌بینه cannot take an additional perfect ending ـاند.

✅ آن‌ها تقریبا هر روز همدیگر را می‌بینند.

ân-hâ taqriban har ruz hamdigar râ mi-binand.

They see each other almost every day. (standard)

Key Takeaways

Memorize دیدن — دید — بین — دیده, with imperative ببین and negative نبین.
Specific perceived objects normally take را; indefinite newly introduced objects may not.
Perceived events are finite clauses, optionally introduced by که, not infinitives.
Compositional passive is دیده شدن; compounds such as آسیب دیدن and خواب دیدن are lexical units.
Tehran می‌بینه، می‌بینن is coherent informal morphology; standard prose uses می‌بیند، می‌بینند.

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