گشتن gashtan: to Turn, Roam, or Become | Farsi Grammar

گشتن has past stem گشتـ and present stem گردـ, an alternation that must be memorized. Its concrete meanings “go around,” “roam,” and “look around for” remain current in neutral and informal Persian. Its copular “become” and passive-like use, however, belong mainly to (literary) or elevated (formal) prose; ordinary conversation normally uses شدن.

English encourages a learner to look for one stable translation. That fails here: بازار را گشتم describes movement through the bazaar, دنبال خانه می‌گردم describes a search, and هوا تیره گشت means “the sky grew dark.” The construction and register, not the dictionary headword alone, determine the reading.

Principal parts and full paradigm

Form	Persian	Reading	Register/use
infinitive	گشتن	gashtan	to roam; to turn/become
past stem	گشتـ	gasht-	گشتم
present stem	گردـ	gard-	می‌گردم
participle	گشته	gashte	perfects; literary result
imperative	بگرد / بگردید	begard / begardid	current in motion/search senses

Person	Present	Simple past	Present perfect	Subjunctive
I	می‌گردم	گشتم	گشته‌ام	بگردم
you (sg.)	می‌گردی	گشتی	گشته‌ای	بگردی
he/she/it	می‌گردد	گشت	گشته است	بگردد
we	می‌گردیم	گشتیم	گشته‌ایم	بگردیم
you (pl./polite)	می‌گردید	گشتید	گشته‌اید	بگردید
they	می‌گردند	گشتند	گشته‌اند	بگردند

The negative series is نمی‌گردم، نگشتم، نگشته‌ام، نگردم. In everyday Tehran speech (informal, regional: Tehran), third-person forms are می‌گرده / می‌گردن and the plural/polite command is بگردین. The stem change is preserved: there is no present stem گشتـ.

این کوچه را دو بار گشتم، اما شماره‌ی ساختمان را پیدا نکردم.

in kuche râ do bâr gashtam, ammâ shomâre-ye sâkhtemân râ peydâ nakardam.

I went through this alley twice, but I did not find the building number. (neutral standard)

اگه اون پوشه روی میز نیست، تو کشوها بگرد.

age un pushe ru-ye miz nist, tu keshu-hâ begard.

If that folder is not on the desk, look through the drawers. (informal, regional: Tehran)

Motion and search: the living core

With a place as a definite route or area, گشتن can take that place as a direct object: شهر را گشتیم “we toured/went around the city.” With the thing sought, current Persian normally uses دنبالِ X گشتن: دنبال کلید می‌گردم. This difference is semantic. The marked direct object is the space traversed; the دنبال phrase is the goal of the search.

صبح همه‌ی نمایشگاه را گشتیم و آخر سر همان صندلی اول را خریدیم.

sobh hame-ye namâyeshgâh râ gashtim va âkhar-e sar hamân sandali-ye avval râ kharidim.

We walked around the whole exhibition in the morning and finally bought the very first chair. (neutral standard)

چند ماه است دنبال خانه‌ای نزدیک مترو می‌گردیم.

chand mâh ast donbâl-e khâne-i nazdik-e metro mi-gardim.

We have been looking for a home near the metro for several months. (neutral standard)

In colloquial Persian, گشتن دنبالِ X may occur with the order reversed, but دنبالِ X گشتن is the safest neutral model. For a quick physical inspection, گشتن may overlap with گشتن تویِ چیزی “rummage/search in something.” It is not interchangeable in every context with جست‌وجو کردن, which sounds more deliberate and can be (formal) or technical.

💡

Learn two frames separately: جایی را گشتن “go through/tour a place” and دنبال چیزی گشتن “look for something.” Adding را to the sought item is a common English-transfer error.

Literary “become” and passive-like گشتن

As a change-of-state copula, گشتن links a subject to a result: خاموش گشت، آشکار گشت، تیره گشت. This construction is productive in older and literary prose, but it is stylistically marked in contemporary Iranian Persian. Neutral خاموش شد or آشکار شد normally communicates the same event without an elevated voice.

با فرارسیدن شب، کوچه آرام گشت و چراغ‌ها کم‌نور گشتند.

bâ farâ-residan-e shab, kuche ârâm gasht va cherâgh-hâ kam-nur gashtand.

As night arrived, the alley grew quiet and the lights dim. (constructed literary-style example)

پس از سال‌ها انتظار، حقیقت بر همگان آشکار گشت.

pas az sâl-hâ entezâr, haqiqat bar hamegân âshkâr gasht.

After years of waiting, the truth became clear to everyone. (constructed literary-style example)

Formal administrative prose also uses a nonverbal element plus گشتن in passive-like expressions such as اعلام گشت “was announced.” It suppresses the agent much as a passive with شدن does, but it sounds markedly bureaucratic or old-fashioned today. See the broader comparison of formal passive choices.

نتیجه‌ی بررسی در پایان نشست اعلام گشت.

natije-ye barrasi dar pâyân-e neshasht e'lâm gasht.

The result of the review was announced at the end of the meeting. (constructed formal/administrative example)

نتیجه‌ی بررسی در پایان جلسه اعلام شد.

natije-ye barrasi dar pâyân-e jalase e'lâm shod.

The result of the review was announced at the end of the meeting. (neutral modern alternative)

💡

Do not infer register from the verb alone. Motion/search گشتن is current; copular گشتن and اعلام گشت are literary or administrative. Replace only the marked senses with شدن, not every instance of گشتن.

گشتن, گردیدن, and compounds

گردیدن shares the present stem گردـ and can express rotation, movement around, or—especially in (formal) prose—“become.” Its infinitive is morphologically distinct, so its past is گردید, not گشت. Both verbs can be elevated as change copulas, but modern administrative writing favors گردیدن more readily, while current گشتن remains especially natural for roaming and searching.

Prefixes create separate lexical verbs. برگشتن and بازگشتن mean “return”; their spelling keeps the prefix attached. Compare بازگشتم “I returned” with باز گشتم “I roamed again.” The spoken forms may be close, but orthography and context distinguish the lexical prefix from free adverb باز.

بعد از نیم ساعت پیاده‌روی به اقامتگاه برگشتیم.

ba'd az nim sâ'at piyâde-ravi be eqâmatgâh bargashtim.

After half an hour of walking, we returned to the lodging. (neutral standard; prefixed lexical verb)

Common Mistakes

1. Marking the sought object with را

❌ من دنبال عینکم را می‌گردم.

Incorrect — the sought item is the complement of دنبال, not a را-marked object.

✅ من دنبال عینک مطالعه‌ام می‌گردم.

man donbâl-e eynak-e motâle'e-am mi-gardam.

I am looking for my reading glasses.

2. Carrying the past stem into the present

❌ نگهبان هر ساعت دور حیاط می‌گشتد.

Incorrect — the present stem is گردـ, not گشتـ.

✅ نگهبان هر ساعت دور حیاط می‌گردد.

negahbân har sâ'at dur-e hayât mi-gardad.

The guard walks around the courtyard every hour.

3. Splitting a lexical prefix

❌ دیشب زود به خانه باز گشتم.

Incorrect for ‘I returned’ — بازگشتن is one prefixed verb.

✅ دیشب پیش از تاریک شدن به خانه بازگشتم.

dishab pish az târik shodan be khâne bâzgashtam.

Last night I returned home before it got dark.

4. Using the past stem as the participle

❌ مسافر شهر را گشت بود.

Incorrect — perfect constructions require participle گشته, not bare past stem گشت.

✅ مسافر شهر را گشته بود.

mosâfer shahr râ gashte bud.

The traveler had toured the city. (literary-neutral narrative)

Key Takeaways

Memorize گشتن — گشت — گرد — گشته; the present stem is irregular from an English learner's perspective.
Current گشتن expresses roaming, touring, or searching; a sought item normally follows دنبال.
Copular or passive-like گشتن is (literary), (formal), or administrative; neutral speech normally uses شدن.
Keep lexical prefixes attached: برگشتن، بازگشتن.

Now practice Farsi

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

Start learning Farsi →