نشستن neshastan: to Sit | Farsi Grammar

نشستن neshastan means “sit down, sit, be seated.” Its past stem is نشست, while its present stem is نشین: می‌نشینم، بنشین. The verb is intransitive; the person who takes or holds the posture is the subject, and the seat or location is expressed with روی، کنار، پشت, or another locative phrase.

Persian aspect separates the transition from the resulting posture. Simple past نشست foregrounds sitting down, present می‌نشیند often describes a habit, and perfect نشسته است commonly means “is sitting.” This current-state perfect is central to the verb, not an exceptional translation trick.

Principal parts

Form	Persian	Reading	Use
infinitive	نشستن	neshastan	sit down; sit
past stem	نشست	neshast-	نشستم، می‌نشستم
present stem	نشین	neshin-	می‌نشینم، بنشیند
past participle	نشسته	neshaste	نشسته‌ام
imperative	بنشین؛ بنشینید	beneshin; beneshinid	singular; plural/polite
negative imperative	ننشین؛ ننشینید	naneshin; naneshinid	singular; plural/polite

The repeated ن in ننشین is real: negative نـ attaches to present stem نشین. In careful pronunciation both morphological pieces remain recoverable, even though rapid speech can compress the sequence.

High-value paradigm

Person	Present indicative	Simple past	Present perfect	Present subjunctive
I	می‌نشینم	نشستم	نشسته‌ام	بنشینم
you (sg.)	می‌نشینی	نشستی	نشسته‌ای	بنشینی
he/she/it	می‌نشیند	نشست	نشسته است	بنشیند
we	می‌نشینیم	نشستیم	نشسته‌ایم	بنشینیم
you (pl./polite)	می‌نشینید	نشستید	نشسته‌اید	بنشینید
they	می‌نشینند	نشستند	نشسته‌اند	بنشینند

Negation is نمی‌نشینم، ننشستم، ننشسته‌ام، ننشینم. The negative past also begins with two written ن sounds across the prefix and stem: ننشستم.

من معمولا کنار پنجره می‌نشینم.

man ma'mulan kenâr-e panjare mi-neshinam.

I usually sit by the window. (neutral standard; habitual posture)

لطفا بنشینید؛ دکتر تا چند دقیقه‌ی دیگر می‌آید.

lotfan beneshinid; doktor tâ chand daqiqe-ye digar mi-âyad.

Please sit down; the doctor will come in a few minutes. (polite standard command)

Location and change into posture

نشستن does not take the chair as its ordinary direct object. Say روی صندلی نشستم “I sat on the chair,” پشت میز نشستیم “we sat at the table/desk,” or کنار او نشستم “I sat beside him/her.”

مهمان‌ها دور میز نشستند و شام شروع شد.

mehmân-hâ dowr-e miz neshastand va shâm shoru' shod.

The guests sat around the table, and dinner began. (neutral; bounded change into posture)

در مترو کنار مردی نشستم که روزنامه می‌خواند.

dar metro kenâr-e mardi neshastam ke ruznâme mi-khând.

On the metro I sat beside a man who was reading a newspaper. (neutral narrative)

English sit can describe either the action or the posture without a tense change. Persian often lets aspect make the distinction clearer.

نشسته است: present posture

The past participle plus present copula commonly profiles the current result of sitting down. نشسته است therefore usually translates as “is sitting/is seated.”

مدیر انتهای سالن نشسته است و با مهمان‌ها صحبت می‌کند.

modir entehâ-ye sâlon neshaste ast va bâ mehmân-hâ sohbat mi-konad.

The manager is sitting at the end of the hall and talking with the guests. (neutral standard; current posture)

سه ساعت است پشت این میز نشسته‌ایم و هنوز نوبتمان نشده است.

se sâ'at ast posht-e in miz neshaste-im va hanuz nowbat-emân na-shode ast.

We have been sitting at this desk for three hours, and it still is not our turn. (careful standard; continuing posture)

Do not replace this automatically with progressive داریم می‌نشینیم, which normally foregrounds the act of taking a seat or a temporary unfolding arrangement. See Stative Perfects for Present Posture.

💡

Use نشست for the boundary “sat down,” می‌نشیند for a habit or act viewed imperfectively, and نشسته است for the resulting seated posture.

Causative نشاندن

To seat a person or set something into a position, Persian uses نشاندن neshândan, with past stem نشاند and present stem نشان. This present stem is written like noun نشان “sign,” so the surrounding predicate matters.

پرستار بیمار را آرام روی صندلی نشاند.

parastâr bimâr râ ârâm ru-ye sandali neshând.

The nurse gently seated the patient on the chair. (neutral; transitive causative)

باغبان نهال‌ها را با فاصله‌ی یکسان می‌نشاند.

bâghbân nehâl-hâ râ bâ fâsele-ye yeksân mi-neshânad.

The gardener plants the saplings at equal intervals. (formal-neutral; extended causative نشاندن)

نشان دادن “show” is a different two-word compound: نشان می‌دهد, whereas simple نشاندن “seat/plant” is one word: می‌نشاند.

Extended and prefixed uses

Vehicles can به زمین نشستن “land,” dust can فرونشستن “settle/subside,” and an image or remark can به دل نشستن “appeal, feel right.” These are lexical frames, not merely human posture.

هواپیما با بیست دقیقه تأخیر در فرودگاه اصفهان به زمین نشست.

havâpeymâ bâ bist daqiqe ta'khir dar forudgâh-e esfahân be zamin neshast.

The plane landed at Isfahan airport twenty minutes late. (formal-neutral; به زمین نشستن)

بعد از باران گرد و خاک فرونشست و کوه‌ها پیدا شدند.

ba'd az bârân gard-o khâk foru-neshast va kuh-hâ peydâ shodand.

After the rain, the dust settled and the mountains became visible. (formal-neutral; prefixed فرونشستن)

Tehran speech

Everyday Tehran normally drops the first ن of the present stem: می‌شینم، می‌شینی، می‌شینه، می‌شینیم، می‌شینین، می‌شینن (informal: Tehran). Commands are بشین، بشینین and negatives نشین، نشینین. Past نشستم remains close to standard.

— این صندلی خالیه؟ — آره، بشین؛ دوستم دیرتر میاد.

— in sandali khâliye? — âre, beshin; dust-am dir-tar miyâd.

— Is this chair free? — Yeah, sit down; my friend is coming later. (informal: Tehran)

ما معمولا تابستونا توی حیاط می‌شینیم.

mâ ma'mulan tâbestunâ tu-ye hayât mi-shinim.

In summer we usually sit in the courtyard. (informal: Tehran)

Common Mistakes

1. Carrying نشست into the present

❌ او همیشه ردیف اول می‌نشستد.

Incorrect — present forms use نشین; نشست belongs to the past system.

✅ او در جلسه‌های هفتگی همیشه ردیف اول می‌نشیند.

u dar jalase-hâ-ye haftegi hamishe radif-e avval mi-neshinad.

At the weekly meetings, he or she always sits in the first row.

2. Making the seat a direct object

❌ من صندلی را نشستم.

Incorrect — intransitive نشستن takes a locative phrase, not the seat as a direct object.

✅ من روی صندلی کنار بخاری نشستم.

man ru-ye sandali-ye kenâr-e bokhâri neshastam.

I sat on the chair beside the heater.

3. Using نشستن transitively

❌ پرستار بیمار را روی تخت نشست.

Incorrect — seating another person requires causative نشاندن.

✅ پرستار بیمار را روی لبه‌ی تخت نشاند.

parastâr bimâr râ ru-ye labe-ye takht neshând.

The nurse seated the patient on the edge of the bed.

4. Attaching است to the past stem

❌ سارا الان کنار در نشست است.

Incorrect — current posture requires participle نشسته before است.

✅ سارا کنار در نشسته است و منتظر تاکسی است.

sârâ kenâr-e dar neshaste ast va montazer-e tâksi ast.

Sara is sitting by the door and waiting for a taxi.

5. Mixing colloquial stem and standard ending

❌ آن‌ها کنار پنجره می‌شینه‌اند.

Incorrect — finite می‌شینه cannot take an added standard perfect ending.

✅ آن‌ها کنار پنجره می‌نشینند.

ân-hâ kenâr-e panjare mi-neshinand.

They sit by the window. (standard)

Key Takeaways

Memorize نشستن — نشست — نشین — نشسته, with command بنشین and negative ننشین.
Seats and locations appear in locative phrases; simple نشستن is intransitive.
نشسته است normally presents a current seated posture, while نشست presents sitting down.
Causative نشاندن means seat or plant; it is distinct from compound نشان دادن “show.”
Tehran می‌شینم، می‌شینه، بشین belongs to informal speech; standard prose retains نشین.

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