دوست داشتن dust dâshtan: to Like or Love | Farsi Grammar

دوست داشتن is the ordinary Persian compound verb for “to like” and “to love.” It takes people, things, and activities as objects: این موسیقی را دوست دارم “I like this music,” دوستت دارم “I love/like you.” It can also introduce a desired action: دوست دارم سفر کنم “I would like to travel.”

The English division between “like” and “love” is not built into this Persian verb. Degree, object, relationship, and context supply intensity. The construction is also morphologically unusual because stative present دوست دارم normally has no می‌, and its ordinary subjunctive uses داشته باشم rather than بدارم.

Principal parts of the whole predicate

Form	Persian	Romanization	Use/register
infinitive	دوست داشتن	dust dâshtan	to like/love
present	دوست دارم	dust dâram	I like/love; neutral
past	دوست داشتم	dust dâshtam	I liked/loved
past participle	دوست داشته	dust dâshte	دوست داشته‌ام
subjunctive	دوست داشته باشم	dust dâshte bâsham	that I like/love
imperative	دوست داشته باش	dust dâshte bâsh	love/like; marked advice or exhortation
negative imperative	دوست نداشته باش	dust nadâshte bâsh	do not like/love; contextually restricted

The dictionary form contains داشتن, but the expression is not freely interpreted as “have a friend.” In دوست داشتن, دوست is the fixed nonverbal component. By contrast, دوست داشتن can literally mean “to have a friend” only when syntax supplies a separate noun phrase such as یک دوست داشتن “to have a friend”; context and object structure distinguish the two. Elevated or literary Persian also has دوست بدارم / دوست بدار, but neutral modern usage prefers دوست داشته باشم / دوست داشته باش.

این محله را دوست دارم چون همه‌چیز نزدیک است.

in mahalle râ dust dâram chun hame-chiz nazdik ast.

I like this neighborhood because everything is nearby. (neutral standard)

مادربزرگم باغچه‌ی کوچک خانه‌اش را خیلی دوست داشت.

mâdarbozorg-am bâghche-ye kuchek-e khâne-ash râ kheyli dust dâsht.

My grandmother loved the little garden at her house. (neutral narrative)

High-value paradigm

Person	Present	Simple past	Present perfect	Present subjunctive
I	دوست دارم	دوست داشتم	دوست داشته‌ام	دوست داشته باشم
you (sg.)	دوست داری	دوست داشتی	دوست داشته‌ای	دوست داشته باشی
he/she/it	دوست دارد	دوست داشت	دوست داشته است	دوست داشته باشد
we	دوست داریم	دوست داشتیم	دوست داشته‌ایم	دوست داشته باشیم
you (pl./polite)	دوست دارید	دوست داشتید	دوست داشته‌اید	دوست داشته باشید
they	دوست دارند	دوست داشتند	دوست داشته‌اند	دوست داشته باشند

Negation is دوست ندارم، دوست نداشتم، دوست نداشته‌ام، دوست نداشته باشم. Prefix نـ goes on داشتن/بودن, not on دوست. Modern neutral Persian does not normally say دوست نمی‌دارم; that imperfective form is literary, archaizing, or deliberately elevated.

هیچ‌وقت غذاهای خیلی شیرین را دوست نداشته‌ام.

hich-vaqt ghazâ-hâ-ye kheyli shirin râ dust nadâshte-am.

I have never liked very sweet foods. (neutral standard)

مهم است کودک خودش را دوست داشته باشد.

mohem ast kudak khod-ash râ dust dâshte bâshad.

It is important for a child to love themself. (neutral standard; subjunctive)

The full behavior of داشتن is explained on داشتن dâshtan: to Have. In this lexical compound, its stative present is especially stable.

Noun objects and را

A specific person or thing normally takes را: مریم را دوست دارم، این فیلم را دوست دارم. A generic kind or nonspecific substance can be bare: موسیقی سنتی دوست دارم، قهوه دوست ندارم. The contrast is not animate versus inanimate; it is whether the object is presented as identifiable and specific.

قهوه‌ی تلخ دوست ندارم، ولی این قهوه را دوست دارم.

qahve-ye talkh dust nadâram, vali in qahve râ dust dâram.

I don't like bitter coffee in general, but I like this coffee. (neutral; generic versus specific)

پدرم موسیقی کلاسیک ایرانی را خیلی دوست دارد.

pedar-am musiqi-ye kelâsik-e irâni râ kheyli dust dârad.

My father really likes Iranian classical music. (neutral standard)

Unlike English “like,” دوست داشتن does not introduce its liked object with a preposition. به مریم علاقه دارم “I am interested in/fond of Maryam” is a different predicate whose noun علاقه governs به.

💡

With دوست داشتن, an identifiable liked object is direct: این کتاب را دوست دارم. Do not copy English “fond of” as a Persian از or به phrase.

Object clitics attach to دوست

Pronominal objects very commonly attach to the nonverbal component: دوستت دارم “I love/like you,” دوستش داریم “we like him/her/it,” دوستشان داشتند “they loved/liked them.” Tense and subject agreement remain on داشتن.

نگران نباش؛ همه دوستت داریم و کنارت هستیم.

negarân nabâsh; hame dust-at dârim va kenâr-at hastim.

Don't worry; we all love you and are here for you. (neutral spoken standard)

این کافه خلوت است؛ برای همین دوستش دارم.

in kâfe khalvat ast; barâ-ye hamin dust-ash dâram.

This café is quiet; that's why I like it. (neutral spoken standard)

دوستم by itself is ambiguous in writing: it can be دوست + ـم “my friend,” or the object-bearing piece “like me” awaiting a finite داشتن form. The clause and discourse normally resolve it: isolated دوستم دارد is ordinarily “he/she loves me,” while دوستم آمد is “my friend came.” In a context with an already understood possessed object, دوستم دارد can instead mean “my friend has it,” so the string is not absolutely unambiguous. See Clitics inside Light-Verb Constructions.

Desired actions: a subjunctive complement

دوست داشتن followed by a finite subjunctive often means “would like/prefer to.” With the same subject, Persian normally omits the subject pronoun in the second clause: دوست دارم بروم “I would like to go.” With a different subject, name it: دوست دارم تو هم بیایی “I would like you to come too.” که is possible but often omitted in everyday neutral Persian.

دوست دارم تابستان یک دوره‌ی عکاسی بگذرانم.

dust dâram tâbestân yek dowre-ye akkâsi begozarânam.

I would like to take a photography course this summer. (neutral standard; same subject)

دوست داریم شما هم در مراسم شرکت کنید.

dust dârim shomâ ham dar marâsem sherkat konid.

We would like you to take part in the ceremony too. (polite neutral; different subject)

دوست ندارم بچه‌ها این خبر را از دیگران بشنوند.

dust nadâram bachche-hâ in khabar râ az digarân beshnavand.

I don't want the children to hear this news from other people. (neutral standard)

This desiderative use overlaps with خواستن, but دوست دارم often frames a preference or polite wish, while می‌خواهم can sound more direct and goal-oriented. Neither is automatically more formal. Compare the broader system on خواستن khâstan: to Want.

💡

A noun object expresses liking or love: این شهر را دوست دارم. A following finite subjunctive expresses a desired event: دوست دارم در این شهر بمانم.

Degree and the “like/love” continuum

خیلی and بسیار strengthen the feeling; واقعا emphasizes sincerity; زیاد دوست نداشتن means “not like very much”; اصلا دوست نداشتن means “not like at all.” خیلی is neutral in speech, while بسیار is more formal. For unmistakably intense romantic love, Persian can use عاشق کسی بودن, but speakers also routinely say دوستت دارم to partners and family.

این نسخه را بیشتر از نسخه‌ی قبلی دوست دارم.

in noskhe râ bishtar az noskhe-ye qabli dust dâram.

I like this version more than the previous one. (neutral standard)

من هیچ فیلم ترسناکی را دوست ندارم.

man hich film-e tarsnâki râ dust nadâram.

I don't like any horror films. (neutral standard)

English learners sometimes seek a one-to-one switch where bare دوست داشتن means “like” and intensified خیلی دوست داشتن means “love.” Real usage is not that mechanical. A parent can say بچه‌هایم را خیلی دوست دارم with unambiguously deep love; a customer can say the same structure about a dessert with enthusiastic liking.

Tehran conversational forms

Everyday Tehran speech (informal, regional: Tehran) keeps دوست دارم / داری but reduces third and plural endings: دوست داره، دوست داریم، دوست دارین، دوست دارن. Object را becomes رو/ـو, while object clitics remain highly frequent.

دوست دارم یه روز با قطار برم شمال.

dust dâram ye ruz bâ qatâr beram shomâl.

I'd like to go north by train one day. (informal, regional: Tehran)

این آهنگو دوست دارین یا عوضش کنم؟

in âhango dust dârin yâ avaz-ash konam?

Do you like this song, or should I change it? (informal, regional: Tehran; polite/plural)

Do not add می‌ merely to make the form look like another present tense. Literary دوست می‌دارم exists, but it is an intentional elevated choice, not ordinary conversation.

Common Mistakes

1. Adding present می‌ to the ordinary stative form

❌ من این کتاب را می‌دوست دارم.

Incorrect — ordinary present دوست داشتن uses bare دارم.

✅ من داستان‌های کوتاه این نویسنده را دوست دارم.

man dâstân-hâ-ye kutâh-e in nevisande râ dust dâram.

I like this writer's short stories.

2. Giving the liked person a preposition

❌ من به همکار جدیدم دوست دارم.

Incorrect — a specific liked person is a direct object with را.

✅ من همکار جدیدم را خیلی دوست دارم.

man hamkâr-e jadid-am râ kheyli dust dâram.

I like my new colleague very much.

3. Using an infinitive instead of a finite desired action

❌ دوست دارم فردا به موزه رفتن.

Incorrect — the desired event requires a person-marked subjunctive.

✅ دوست دارم فردا نمایشگاه تازه‌ی موزه را ببینم.

dust dâram fardâ namâyeshgâh-e tâze-ye muze râ bebinam.

I would like to see the museum's new exhibition tomorrow.

4. Joining the two words

❌ غذای تند دوست‌ندارم.

Incorrect standard spacing — دوست and the negative light verb remain separate words.

✅ غذای خیلی تند دوست ندارم.

ghazâ-ye kheyli tond dust nadâram.

I don't like very spicy food.

Key Takeaways

دوست داشتن means both “like” and “love”; context and degree determine intensity.
Its ordinary present is دوست دارم, without می‌; its subjunctive is دوست داشته باشم.
Specific liked objects take را, while generic kinds can remain bare.
Object clitics attach naturally to دوست: دوستت دارم، دوستش داریم.
A following subjunctive expresses a preferred event: دوست دارم بروم.

Now practice Farsi

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Farsi →