ایستادن istâdan means “stand, stand up, stop.” Its past stem is ایستاد and its present stem is ایست: میایستم، بایست. The singular imperative بایست is pronounced be-ist and must not be confused with literary/formal modal بایست bâyest “it was necessary.”
Like other posture verbs, ایستادن can profile entry into a posture or the posture that results. Simple past ایستاد often means “stood up/stopped”; perfect ایستاده است commonly means “is standing.” Vehicles and machines can also be subjects when the verb means “come to a stop.”
Principal parts
| Form | Persian | Reading | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | ایستادن | istâdan | stand; stop |
| past stem | ایستاد | istâd- | ایستادم، میایستادم |
| present stem | ایست | ist- | میایستم، بایستد |
| past participle | ایستاده | istâde | ایستادهام |
| imperative | بایست؛ بایستید | be-ist; be-istid | singular; plural/polite |
| negative imperative | نایست؛ نایستید | na-ist; na-istid | singular; plural/polite |
With the vowel-initial stem, prefixes produce established spellings: میایستـ، بایستـ، نایستـ. Do not insert a space between بـ and ایست, and do not pronounce command بایست like modal bâyest.
High-value paradigm
| Person | Present indicative | Simple past | Present perfect | Present subjunctive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | میایستم | ایستادم | ایستادهام | بایستم |
| you (sg.) | میایستی | ایستادی | ایستادهای | بایستی |
| he/she/it | میایستد | ایستاد | ایستاده است | بایستد |
| we | میایستیم | ایستادیم | ایستادهایم | بایستیم |
| you (pl./polite) | میایستید | ایستادید | ایستادهاید | بایستید |
| they | میایستند | ایستادند | ایستادهاند | بایستند |
Negation is نمیایستم، نایستادم، نایستادهام، نایستم. Notice that negative simple past is نایستادم, not a form built with نمی unless past imperfective “was not standing/used not to stand” is intended.
در مترو معمولا نزدیک در میایستم.
dar metro ma'mulan nazdik-e dar mi-istam.
On the metro I usually stand near the door. (neutral standard; habitual posture)
لطفا پشت خط زرد بایستید.
lotfan posht-e khatt-e zard be-istid.
Please stand behind the yellow line. (polite standard command)
Standing up and standing somewhere
The subject takes the posture; location is expressed by a locative phrase. کنار پنجره ایستادم can mean “I stood/stopped by the window,” while از جا بلند شدم makes “stood up” explicit.
با ورود استاد همه از جا بلند شدند و ایستادند.
bâ vorud-e ostâd hame az jâ boland shodand va istâdand.
When the professor entered, everyone rose and stood. (formal-neutral; transition into posture)
مردی با چتر قرمز جلوی ورودی ایستاد و منتظر ماند.
mardi bâ chatr-e qermez jelow-ye vorudi istâd va montazer mând.
A man with a red umbrella stopped by the entrance and waited. (neutral narrative)
English stand can take a direct object in “stand the bottle upright.” Persian simple ایستادن is intransitive; the causative is ایستاندن (formal/less frequent), while ordinary speech prefers چیزی را عمودی گذاشتن or کسی را نگه داشتن according to meaning.
ایستاده است: present posture
The perfect often describes a result state holding now. ایستاده است normally means “is standing,” while simple past ایستاد marks standing up or stopping.
مأمور کنار در ایستاده است و کارتها را بررسی میکند.
ma'mur kenâr-e dar istâde ast va kârt-hâ râ barrasi mi-konad.
The officer is standing by the door and checking the cards. (neutral standard; current posture)
بیش از یک ساعت است که جلوی باجه ایستادهایم.
bish az yek sâ'at ast ke jelow-ye bâje istâde-im.
We have been standing in front of the counter for more than an hour. (careful standard; continuing posture)
This interpretation belongs to the broader pattern described in Stative Perfects for Present Posture.
Stopping vehicles, mechanisms, and processes
An inanimate subject can cease moving or operating: اتوبوس ایستاد، ساعت ایستاد، کار ایستاد. The cause may be expressed with بهدلیل or بر اثر. To stop something deliberately, use a transitive predicate such as متوقف کردن or نگه داشتن.
اتوبوس چند متر جلوتر ایستاد و دو مسافر پیاده شدند.
otobus chand metr jelow-tar istâd va do mosâfer piyâde shodand.
The bus stopped a few meters farther ahead, and two passengers got off. (neutral; intransitive stopping)
بعد از قطع برق، دستگاه ناگهان ایستاد.
ba'd az qat'-e barq, dastgâh nâgahân istâd.
After the power cut, the machine suddenly stopped. (formal-neutral)
راننده اتوبوس را کنار درمانگاه نگه داشت.
rânande otobus râ kenâr-e darmângâh negah dâsht.
The driver stopped the bus beside the clinic. (neutral; transitive نگه داشتن)
Extended frames
در برابر کسی/چیزی ایستادن means “stand against/resist,” and پای حرف خود ایستادن means “stand by one's word.” These frames are lexical and require their particles.
اعضای گروه پای تصمیم مشترکشان ایستادند.
a'zâ-ye goruh pâ-ye tasmim-e moshtarak-eshân istâdand.
The group members stood by their joint decision. (formal-neutral; پای چیزی ایستادن)
Tehran speech: وایستادن and وایسادن
Everyday Tehran often uses وایستادن, commonly reduced further to وایسادن (informal: Tehran). Frequent forms include وایمیستم “I stand/wait,” وایساده “standing,” and command وایسا “stand/wait.” These are not spellings for edited standard prose.
یه لحظه وایسا؛ بند کفشم باز شده.
ye lahze vâysâ; band-e kafsh-am bâz shode.
Wait a moment; my shoelace has come undone. (informal: Tehran)
چرا جلوی در وایسادی؟ بیا داخل.
cherâ jelow-ye dar vâysâdi? biyâ dâkhel.
Why are you standing by the door? Come inside. (informal: Tehran; past-shaped form with a current-posture reading)
Common Mistakes
1. Building the present from ایستاد
❌ نگهبان هر شب اینجا میایستادد.
Incorrect — present forms use ایست; ایستاد belongs to the past system.
✅ نگهبان هر شب کنار ورودی میایستد.
negahbân har shab kenâr-e vorudi mi-istad.
The guard stands beside the entrance every night.
2. Attaching است to the past stem
❌ راننده الان کنار ماشین ایستاد است.
Incorrect — current posture requires participle ایستاده before است.
✅ راننده کنار ماشین ایستاده است و تلفنی حرف میزند.
rânande kenâr-e mâshin istâde ast va telefoni harf mi-zanad.
The driver is standing beside the car and talking on the phone.
3. Using intransitive ایستادن with an object
❌ راننده اتوبوس را جلوی مدرسه ایستاد.
Incorrect — deliberate transitive stopping requires نگه داشتن or متوقف کردن.
✅ راننده اتوبوس را جلوی مدرسه متوقف کرد.
rânande otobus râ jelow-ye madrese motavaqqef kard.
The driver stopped the bus in front of the school.
4. Separating the affirmative prefix
❌ لطفا کنار دیوار ب ایستید.
Incorrect — standard imperative بایستید is written as one word.
✅ لطفا تا باز شدن درها همینجا بایستید.
lotfan tâ bâz shodan-e dar-hâ hamin-jâ be-istid.
Please stand here until the doors open.
5. Mixing colloquial stem and standard ending
❌ آنها دم در وایمیستهاند.
Incorrect — finite وایمیسته cannot take an added standard perfect ending.
✅ آنها کنار ورودی ایستادهاند.
ân-hâ kenâr-e vorudi istâde-and.
They are standing beside the entrance. (standard)
Key Takeaways
- Memorize ایستادن — ایستاد — ایست — ایستاده.
- Command بایست is pronounced be-ist, unlike modal بایست bâyest.
- ایستاده است usually describes current posture; ایستاد presents standing up or stopping.
- Inanimate subjects can stop with ایستادن; deliberate transitive stopping uses متوقف کردن or نگه داشتن.
- Tehran وایستادن/وایسادن، وایساده، وایسا belongs to informal speech.
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