خوابیدن khâbidan: to Sleep | Farsi Grammar

خوابیدن khâbidan means “sleep,” “go to sleep,” or “lie down,” depending on viewpoint and context. Its past stem is خوابید and its present stem is خواب: می‌خوابم، بخواب. The written و belongs to the spelling, but modern Iranian pronunciation is khâb-, without a separate v sound.

The verb is intransitive: the sleeper is the subject. To put another person to sleep or lay something down, Persian uses the causative خواباندن khâbândan. The perfect خوابیده است often describes a state holding now—“is asleep/is lying down”—rather than merely “has slept.”

Principal parts

Form	Persian	Reading	Use
infinitive	خوابیدن	khâbidan	sleep, lie down, fall asleep
past stem	خوابید	khâbid-	خوابیدم، می‌خوابیدم
present stem	خواب	khâb-	می‌خوابم، بخوابد
past participle	خوابیده	khâbide	خوابیده‌ام
imperative	بخواب؛ بخوابید	bekhâb; bekhâbid	singular; plural/polite
negative imperative	نخواب؛ نخوابید	nakhâb; nakhâbid	singular; plural/polite

High-value paradigm

Person	Present indicative	Simple past	Present perfect	Present subjunctive
I	می‌خوابم	خوابیدم	خوابیده‌ام	بخوابم
you (sg.)	می‌خوابی	خوابیدی	خوابیده‌ای	بخوابی
he/she/it	می‌خوابد	خوابید	خوابیده است	بخوابد
we	می‌خوابیم	خوابیدیم	خوابیده‌ایم	بخوابیم
you (pl./polite)	می‌خوابید	خوابیدید	خوابیده‌اید	بخوابید
they	می‌خوابند	خوابیدند	خوابیده‌اند	بخوابند

Negation is نمی‌خوابم، نخوابیدم، نخوابیده‌ام، نخوابم. The present indicative can express a habit or planned sleep, while the simple past can foreground either lying down or crossing into sleep.

شب‌های کاری معمولا پیش از یازده می‌خوابم.

shab-hâ-ye kâri ma'mulan pish az yâzdah mi-khâbam.

On work nights I usually go to sleep before eleven. (neutral standard; habitual/inchoative reading)

دیشب فقط چهار ساعت خوابیدیم و امروز خسته‌ایم.

dishab faqat chahâr sâ'at khâbidim va emruz khaste-im.

Last night we slept for only four hours, and today we are tired. (neutral; duration of sleep)

Falling asleep, sleeping, and lying down

Lexical meaning does not mark one fixed phase. With a punctual frame, خوابید often means “fell asleep/went to sleep.” With duration, it means “slept.” With a location or bodily condition, it can mean “lay down.”

بچه وسط قصه خوابید و کتاب هنوز روی پایش بود.

bachche vasat-e qesse khâbid va ketâb hanuz ru-ye pâ-yash bud.

The child fell asleep in the middle of the story, with the book still on their lap. (neutral; change into sleep)

به‌خاطر کمردرد کمی روی زمین خوابیدم.

be-khâter-e kamardard kami ru-ye zamin khâbidam.

Because of my back pain, I lay on the floor for a while. (neutral; reclining posture, not necessarily sleep)

If ambiguity matters, Persian adds خوابش برد “he/she fell asleep,” به خواب رفت (formal/literary), or دراز کشید “lay down.” Context normally makes the ordinary verb sufficient.

The stative perfect: current sleep or posture

خوابیده است has perfect morphology but often presents the state resulting from lying down or falling asleep. English normally uses a present: “is asleep/is lying down.”

آرام‌تر حرف بزن؛ مادربزرگ در اتاق کناری خوابیده است.

ârâm-tar harf bezan; mâdarbozorg dar otâq-e kenâri khâbide ast.

Speak more quietly; Grandma is asleep in the next room. (neutral standard; current result state)

از ظهر روی تخت خوابیده‌ام، ولی هنوز سرگیجه دارم.

az zohr ru-ye takht khâbide-am, vali hanuz sargije dâram.

I have been lying on the bed since noon, but I am still dizzy. (neutral; continuing posture)

The simple past خوابید profiles entry into the state; the perfect خوابیده است profiles the state as holding. Stative Perfects for Present Posture compares this pattern with نشسته است and ایستاده است.

💡

For “is asleep,” do not mechanically choose a present progressive. Persian conventionally treats sleep as the current result of falling asleep and often uses خوابیده است.

Causative خواباندن

خواباندن khâbândan is the causative partner: “put someone to sleep, lay someone/something down.” It has past stem خواباند and present stem خوابان. The caused participant is a direct object and normally takes را when specific.

پدر بچه را خواباند و بعد ظرف‌ها را شست.

pedar bachche râ khâbând va ba'd zarf-hâ râ shost.

The father put the child to bed and then washed the dishes. (neutral; direct causative)

برای عکس‌برداری باید بیمار را به پهلو بخوابانید.

barâ-ye aks-bardâri bâyad bimâr râ be pahlu be-khâbânid.

For the scan, you must lay the patient on their side. (formal medical instruction)

Do not confuse intransitive خوابید “slept/lay down” with transitive خواباند “put to sleep/laid down.” The causative is lexicalized and common, not an optional object added to خوابیدن.

Frequent compounds

خواب ماندن means “oversleep,” while خواب رفتن can describe a limb going numb. In خواب دیدن, noun خواب means “dream” and دیدن is the verb; it is not a tense of خوابیدن.

امروز خواب ماندم و جلسه‌ی اول را از دست دادم.

emruz khâb mândam va jalase-ye avval râ az dast dâdam.

I overslept today and missed the first meeting. (neutral conversation; خواب ماندن)

آن‌قدر روی پایم نشستم که پایم خواب رفت.

ân-qadr ru-ye pâ-yam neshastam ke pâ-yam khâb raft.

I sat on my leg so long that it went numb. (neutral conversation; خواب رفتن)

Tehran speech

Everyday Tehran commonly has می‌خوابم، می‌خوابی، می‌خوابه، می‌خوابیم، می‌خوابین، می‌خوابن (informal: Tehran). Causative خواباندن often becomes خوابوندن. These forms are natural in speech but do not replace the standard written stems.

— هنوز بیداره؟ — نه، تازه خوابیده؛ بیدارش نکن.

— hanuz bidâre? — na, tâze khâbide; bidâr-ash nakon.

— Is he or she still awake? — No, they just fell asleep; don't wake them. (informal: Tehran)

من بچه رو می‌خوابونم؛ تو چراغ‌های پذیرایی رو خاموش کن.

man bachche ro mi-khâbunam; to cherâgh-hâ-ye pazirâyi ro khâmush kon.

I'll put the child to bed; you turn off the living-room lights. (informal: Tehran; causative خوابوندن)

Common Mistakes

1. Adding the past-stem ending to a present form

❌ او معمولا زود می‌خوابیدد.

Incorrect — present uses خواب plus the third-person ending; خوابید is the past stem.

✅ او شب‌هایی که ورزش می‌کند زودتر می‌خوابد.

u shab-hâ-yi ke varzesh mi-konad zud-tar mi-khâbad.

On nights when he or she exercises, they go to sleep earlier.

2. Giving intransitive خوابیدن a direct object

❌ دیشب بچه را زود خوابیدم.

Incorrect — putting another person to sleep requires causative خواباندن.

✅ دیشب بچه را زود خواباندم تا استراحت کند.

dishab bachche râ zud khâbândam tâ esterâhat konad.

Last night I put the child to bed early so they could rest.

3. Attaching است to the past stem

❌ الان بیمار خوابید است.

Incorrect — the current-state perfect requires participle خوابیده before است.

✅ الان بیمار آرام روی تخت خوابیده است.

alân bimâr ârâm ru-ye takht khâbide ast.

The patient is now lying peacefully on the bed.

4. Blending the simple verb with خواب ماندن

❌ امروز خوابید ماندم و دیر رسیدم.

Incorrect — “oversleep” is the lexical compound خواب ماندن.

✅ امروز نیم ساعت خواب ماندم و به اتوبوس نرسیدم.

emruz nim sâ'at khâb mândam va be otobus na-residam.

Today I overslept by half an hour and missed the bus.

5. Separating the standard prefix

❌ من اینجا خوب نمی خوابم.

Incorrect standard orthography — نمی‌ and خوابم require a ZWNJ.

✅ من روی این تشک خیلی خوب نمی‌خوابم.

man ru-ye in toshak kheyli khub nemi-khâbam.

I do not sleep very well on this mattress.

Key Takeaways

Memorize خوابیدن — خوابید — خواب — خوابیده; written و is not pronounced as a separate consonant.
Context distinguishes falling asleep, duration of sleep, and lying down.
خوابیده است often describes a current state; simple past خوابید profiles entry into it.
Transitive causative خواباندن means put someone to sleep or lay something down.
خواب ماندن، خواب رفتن, and خواب دیدن are separate lexical combinations.

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