خواندن khândan: to Read or Call | Farsi Grammar

خواندن khândan most often means “read,” but established uses also include “recite,” “sing,” and (formal/literary) “call, name, consider.” Its past stem is خواندـ khând- and its present stem is خوانـ khân-. The written و is historical and silent: both stems begin with the sound khâ-, not khvâ-.

That silent letter is a real difficulty, not a rule you can infer from ordinary spelling. It remains visible throughout the standard paradigm—می‌خوانم، بخوان، خوانده—and in words such as خواننده “reader/singer.” Everyday Tehran speech additionally changes â to u: می‌خونم mi-khunam.

Principal parts and pronunciation

Item	Persian	Reading	Main use
infinitive	خواندن	khândan	to read, recite, sing; call/name
past stem	خواندـ	khând-	خواندم، می‌خواندم
present stem	خوانـ	khân-	می‌خوانم، بخوانم
past participle	خوانده	khânde	perfect and passive
imperative	بخوان؛ بخوانید	be-khân; be-khânid	read/recite
negative imperative	نخوان؛ نخوانید	na-khân; na-khânid	do not read/recite

💡

The spelling خوا does not normally signal khvâ in forms of خواندن. Learn the whole written sequence as representing khâ: می‌خوانم mi-khânam.

High-value paradigm

Person	Present indicative	Simple past	Present perfect	Present subjunctive
I	می‌خوانم	خواندم	خوانده‌ام	بخوانم
you (sg.)	می‌خوانی	خواندی	خوانده‌ای	بخوانی
he/she/it	می‌خواند	خواند	خوانده است	بخواند
we	می‌خوانیم	خواندیم	خوانده‌ایم	بخوانیم
you (pl./polite)	می‌خوانید	خواندید	خوانده‌اید	بخوانید
they	می‌خوانند	خواندند	خوانده‌اند	بخوانند

Negation is نمی‌خوانم، نخواندم، نخوانده‌ام، نخوانم. Present indicative می‌خواند and past imperfective می‌خواند are identical in third-person singular writing; time context distinguishes “reads” from “was reading/used to read.”

هر صبح پیش از شروع کار خبرهای اقتصادی را می‌خوانم.

har sobh pish az shoru'-e kâr khabar-hâ-ye eqtesâdi râ mi-khânam.

Every morning before work, I read the economic news. (neutral standard; present indicative)

این مقاله را دیشب خواندم و چند نکته یادداشت کردم.

in maqâle râ dishab khândam-o chand nokte yâddâsht kardam.

I read this article last night and noted several points. (neutral standard; simple past)

هنوز پیام آخر گروه را نخوانده‌ام.

hanuz payâm-e âkhar-e goruh râ na-khânde-am.

I still haven’t read the group’s latest message. (neutral standard; negative present perfect)

Reading, studying, reciting, and singing

With written material, خواندن is transitive. A specific text takes را, while an indefinite activity can remain unmarked: کتاب می‌خوانم “I read books/am reading a book.” With a school subject or language, فارسی خواندن can mean “study Persian,” especially in educational contexts. درس خواندن is the ordinary compound “study,” not merely “read a lesson.”

تا بچه‌ها آماده شوند، این دو صفحه را بلند بخوان.

tâ bachche-hâ âmâde shavand, in do safhe râ boland be-khân.

Read these two pages aloud while the children get ready. (neutral singular command)

خواهرم شب‌ها در کتابخانه درس می‌خواند.

khâhar-am shab-hâ dar ketâb-khâne dars mi-khânad.

My sister studies at the library in the evenings. (neutral standard; درس خواندن)

آواز خواندن means “sing,” and شعر خواندن may be “read” or “recite poetry” depending on the setting. نماز خواندن is the established expression “perform/say one’s prayers.” The nonverbal element and context select the sense; the verb table alone cannot.

در پایان برنامه یکی از مهمان‌ها آواز محلی خواند.

dar pâyân-e barnâme yeki az mehmân-hâ âvâz-e mahalli khând.

At the end of the program, one of the guests sang a local song. (neutral standard; آواز خواندن)

“Call” and “name” are restricted senses

In (formal/literary) Persian, کسی را چیزی خواندن means “call, name, characterize someone/something as something.” The object being characterized takes را, followed by the label or predicate. This construction remains current in essays, reviews, and elevated speech, but it is not the ordinary verb for making a telephone call. Use تماس گرفتن or زنگ زدن for that.

منتقدان این رمان را نقطه‌ی عطفی در کار نویسنده خواندند.

montaqedân in român râ noqte-ye atfi dar kâr-e nevisande khândand.

Critics called this novel a turning point in the writer’s career. (formal)

The compound فراخواندن “summon, call upon” is also (formal). Ordinary conversation instead uses expressions such as صدا کردن “call out to/summon” and زنگ زدن “phone.”

💡

When خواندن means “call/name,” its syntax resembles English “call X Y,” but its register does not. It is productive in formal evaluation—این کار را ضروری خواندند—not as a general replacement for telephone “call.”

Tehran speech

Everyday Tehran regularly has می‌خونم، می‌خونی، می‌خونه، می‌خونیم، می‌خونین، می‌خونن (informal, regional: Tehran). The simple past likewise has خوندم، خوندی، خوند. These are systematic spoken forms; they should not be mixed into a formal report.

این پیامو هنوز نخوندم؛ دوباره برام بفرستش.

in payâm-o hanuz na-khundam; dubâre barâm be-ferest-esh.

I haven’t read this message yet; send it to me again. (informal, regional: Tehran; را realized as ـو)

For standard tense formation behind these forms, see Simple Past Formation.

Common Mistakes

1. Pronouncing the written و

❌ خواندن

khvândan

Incorrect — the واو in this verb is silent; the standard pronunciation is khândan.

✅ خواندن این متن بیشتر از ده دقیقه طول نمی‌کشد.

khândan-e in matn bishtar az dah daqiqe tul nemi-keshad.

Reading this text does not take more than ten minutes.

2. Dropping the historical letter from standard spelling

❌ من هر شب برای بچه‌ها داستان می‌خانم.

Incorrect standard spelling — pronunciation khân does not license deleting و from forms of خواندن.

✅ من آخر هفته‌ها برای بچه‌ها داستان کوتاه می‌خوانم.

man âkhar-e hafte-hâ barâ-ye bachche-hâ dâstân-e kutâh mi-khânam.

On weekends I read short stories to the children.

3. Using خواندن for a telephone call

❌ امشب مدیر را با تلفن می‌خوانم.

Incorrect for ‘I’ll phone the manager’ — telephone contact uses تماس گرفتن or زنگ زدن.

✅ امشب برای هماهنگی جلسه با مدیر تماس می‌گیرم.

emshab barâ-ye hamâhangi-ye jalase bâ modir tamâs mi-giram.

Tonight I’ll contact the manager to coordinate the meeting.

4. Separating می‌ in standard orthography

❌ دانشجوها متن را با دقت می خوانند.

Incorrect standard orthography — می‌ requires a ZWNJ before خوانند.

✅ دانشجوها متن قرارداد را با دقت می‌خوانند.

dâneshju-hâ matn-e qarârdâd râ bâ deqqat mi-khânand.

The students read the contract carefully.

Key Takeaways

Memorize خواندن — خواند — خوان — خوانده and pronounce the written و silently.
Specific texts normally take را; درس خواندن is the lexical compound “study.”
آواز خواندن means “sing,” while “call/name” with خواندن is chiefly formal or literary.
Use تماس گرفتن/زنگ زدن, not خواندن, for an ordinary phone call.
Keep Tehran می‌خونم/خوندم separate from standard می‌خوانم/خواندم.

Now practice Farsi

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

Start learning Farsi →