فروختن forukhtan means “sell”: a seller transfers an item to a buyer, normally in exchange for money. Its past stem is فروختـ forukht- but its present stem is فروشـ forush-. That alternation appears in ordinary forms such as فروختم “I sold,” میفروشم “I sell,” and بفروش “sell!”
The same written form فروش is also the noun “sale, selling.” Syntax distinguishes them: فروش خانه is the noun phrase “the sale of the house,” while خانه را میفروشد contains the present verbal stem plus an ending. Related words such as فروشنده “seller” and فروشی “for sale” belong to this same lexical family.
Principal parts and core paradigm
| Item | Persian | Reading | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | فروختن | forukhtan | to sell |
| past stem | فروختـ | forukht- | فروختم، میفروختم |
| present stem | فروشـ | forush- | میفروشم، بفروشم |
| past participle | فروخته | forukhte | perfect and passive |
| imperative | بفروش؛ بفروشید | be-forush; be-forushid | sell |
| negative imperative | نفروش؛ نفروشید | na-forush; na-forushid | do not sell |
| Person | Present indicative | Simple past | Present perfect | Present subjunctive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | میفروشم | فروختم | فروختهام | بفروشم |
| you (sg.) | میفروشی | فروختی | فروختهای | بفروشی |
| he/she/it | میفروشد | فروخت | فروخته است | بفروشد |
| we | میفروشیم | فروختیم | فروختهایم | بفروشیم |
| you (pl./polite) | میفروشید | فروختید | فروختهاید | بفروشید |
| they | میفروشند | فروختند | فروختهاند | بفروشند |
Negatives select the appropriate stem: نمیفروشم، نفروختم، نفروختهام، نفروشم. The negative command نفروش replaces affirmative بـ with نـ; it is not نبفروش. The general stem system is introduced on The Present Stem.
این فروشگاه هر روز نان محلی و پنیر تازه میفروشد.
in forushgâh har ruz nân-e mahalli-o panir-e tâze mi-forushad.
This shop sells local bread and fresh cheese every day. (neutral standard; present stem فروش)
سال گذشته دوچرخهی قدیمیام را به یکی از همکارانم فروختم.
sâl-e gozashte docharkhe-ye qadimi-am râ be yeki az hamkârân-am forukhtam.
Last year I sold my old bicycle to one of my colleagues. (neutral standard; simple past)
امیدوارم مجبور نشوند خانه را زیر قیمت بفروشند.
omidvâram majbur na-shavand khâne râ zir-e qeymat be-forushand.
I hope they are not forced to sell the house below its value. (neutral; present subjunctive)
Seller, item, buyer, and price
The seller is the subject. The item sold is the direct object and normally takes را when specific. The buyer is introduced by به, not marked as the direct object. A price can appear with به قیمت, به مبلغ, به ... تومان, or colloquial ... تومن.
صاحب مغازه میز چوبی را به یک مشتری قدیمی به قیمت مناسبی فروخت.
sâheb-e maghâze miz-e chubi râ be yek moshtari-ye qadimi be qeymat-e monâsebi forukht.
The shopkeeper sold the wooden table to a longtime customer at a fair price. (neutral standard)
When the item is nonspecific, را may be absent: کتاب دستدوم میفروشند “they sell secondhand books.” English permits a double-object order in “sell me the car”; Persian instead keeps the item as object and marks the buyer with به: ماشین را به من بفروش.
اگر دیگر به دوربین نیاز نداری، آن را به من بفروش.
agar digar be durbin niyâz na-dâri, ân râ be man be-forush.
If you no longer need the camera, sell it to me. (neutral singular command)
Passive فروخته شدن
The regular passive is فروخته + شدن. The merchandise becomes the grammatical subject, and the seller can be omitted or introduced in formal prose by از سوی or توسط. In conversation, speakers often prefer an active clause with an unspecified third-plural subject.
آپارتمان کوچک طبقهی سوم در کمتر از یک هفته فروخته شد.
âpârtemân-e kuchek-e tabaqe-ye sevvom dar kamtar az yek hafte forukhte shod.
The small third-floor apartment was sold in under a week. (neutral written standard; passive)
هنوز هیچیک از تابلوهای نمایشگاه فروخته نشده است.
hanuz hich-yek az tâblo-hâ-ye namâyeshgâh forukhte na-shode ast.
None of the exhibition’s paintings has been sold yet. (formal-neutral; negative perfect passive)
See Passive in Present and Past for the full tense pattern.
فروش as a noun and in lexical predicates
Noun فروش appears in several established predicates whose argument structure differs from simple فروختن:
- به فروش گذاشتن: put something up for sale; the owner controls the listing.
- به فروش رساندن: sell/market successfully (formal/commercial); transitive.
- به فروش رفتن: sell, find buyers; the merchandise is subject.
- فروش رفتن: sell well/in a quantity; common in commercial reporting.
- فروشی بودن: be for sale; neutral.
مالک تصمیم گرفته است مغازه را به فروش بگذارد.
mâlek tasmim gerefte ast maghâze râ be forush be-gozârad.
The owner has decided to put the shop up for sale. (formal-neutral; به فروش گذاشتن)
این مدل به دلیل مصرف کم انرژی خوب فروش میرود.
in model be dalil-e masraf-e kam-e enerzhi khub forush mi-ravad.
This model sells well because it uses little energy. (commercial/neutral; فروش رفتن)
Tehran speech
Everyday Tehran reduces third-person and polite/plural endings: میفروشه، میفروشین، میفروشن (informal, regional: Tehran). The past stem remains فروختـ, with فروختن serving as colloquial third plural. Object را becomes رو or ـو.
این صندلیها رو دونهای چند میفروشین؟
in sandali-hâ ro dune-i chand mi-forushin?
How much are you selling these chairs for apiece? (informal, regional: Tehran)
Common Mistakes
1. Building the present from فروخت
❌ این غرفه هر روز میوهی تازه میفروختد.
Incorrect — present ‘sells’ uses stem فروش plus third-singular ـد.
✅ این غرفه هر روز میوهی فصل را با قیمت مناسب میفروشد.
in ghorfe har ruz mive-ye fasl râ bâ qeymat-e monâseb mi-forushad.
This stall sells seasonal fruit at a fair price every day.
2. Marking the buyer as the direct object
❌ من همسایه را دوچرخه فروختم.
Incorrect — the bicycle is the object, while the buyer requires به.
✅ من دوچرخهی اضافه را به همسایهمان فروختم.
man docharkhe-ye ezâfe râ be hamsâye-mân forukhtam.
I sold the spare bicycle to our neighbor.
3. Omitting the participial ـه in the passive
❌ خانهی باغ دیروز فروخت شد.
Incorrect — the passive requires participle فروخته before شدن.
✅ خانهی باغ پس از چند ماه فروخته شد.
khâne-ye bâgh pas az chand mâh forukhte shod.
The garden house was sold after several months.
4. Giving the merchandise an English active reading
❌ این مدل جدید خودش خوب میفروشد.
Incorrect for ‘this model sells well’ — the product takes فروش رفتن, not active فروختن.
✅ این مدل جدید در فروشگاههای کوچک هم خوب فروش میرود.
in model-e jadid dar forushgâh-hâ-ye kuchek ham khub forush mi-ravad.
This new model sells well even in small shops.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize فروختن — فروخت — فروش — فروخته, with بفروش and نفروش.
- Merchandise is the direct object; the buyer takes به, and price has its own phrase.
- Passive فروخته شدن foregrounds the item sold.
- Noun فروش builds distinct predicates: به فروش گذاشتن، به فروش رساندن، فروش رفتن.
- Keep Tehran میفروشه/میفروشن separate from standard میفروشد/میفروشند.
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