فکر کردن fekr kardan: to Think | Farsi Grammar

فکر کردن covers both the activity “think about, consider” and the stance “think, believe.” It is a two-word compound verb. فکر carries the lexical meaning, while کردن supplies tense, agreement, negation, and mood: فکر می‌کنم، فکر کردم، فکر نکن.

The complement reveals which meaning is active. A topic commonly follows به or درباره‌ی: به آینده فکر می‌کنم “I think about the future.” An opinion is normally a finite clause: فکر می‌کنم حق با اوست “I think she is right.” English uses the same verb and preposition “about” for many of these relationships; Persian requires the learner to choose the frame.

Principal parts of the compound

Form	Persian	Romanization	Use
infinitive	فکر کردن	fekr kardan	to think
past base	فکر کرد	fekr kard	فکر کردم
present base	فکر کن	fekr kon	فکر می‌کنم
past participle	فکر کرده	fekr karde	فکر کرده‌اند
imperative	فکر کن / فکر کنید	fekr kon / fekr konid	think, consider
negative imperative	فکر نکن / فکر نکنید	fekr nakon / fekr nakonid	do not think, do not assume

Modern neutral Persian normally has فکر کنم and فکر کن, without affirmative بـ on the light verb. فکر بکن occurs (informal, emphatic) when a speaker strongly urges someone to think, but it is not the basic citation form. Negation attaches to the light verb: فکر نمی‌کنم، فکر نکردم، فکر نکنم.

Core paradigm

Person	Present indicative	Simple past	Present perfect	Present subjunctive
I	فکر می‌کنم	فکر کردم	فکر کرده‌ام	فکر کنم
you (sg.)	فکر می‌کنی	فکر کردی	فکر کرده‌ای	فکر کنی
he/she/it	فکر می‌کند	فکر کرد	فکر کرده است	فکر کند
we	فکر می‌کنیم	فکر کردیم	فکر کرده‌ایم	فکر کنیم
you (pl./polite)	فکر می‌کنید	فکر کردید	فکر کرده‌اید	فکر کنید
they	فکر می‌کنند	فکر کردند	فکر کرده‌اند	فکر کنند

این روزها زیاد به تغییر شغل فکر می‌کنم.

in ruz-hâ ziyâd be taghyir-e shoghl fekr mi-konam.

These days I think a lot about changing jobs. (neutral standard)

قبل از پاسخ دادن کمی فکر کن.

qabl az pâsokh dâdan kami fekr kon.

Think for a moment before answering. (neutral singular command)

هنوز درباره‌ی پیامدهای این تصمیم فکر نکرده‌ایم.

hanuz darbâre-ye payâmad-hâ-ye in tasmim fekr na-karde-im.

We have not yet thought about the consequences of this decision. (neutral careful standard)

Thinking about a topic: به and درباره‌ی

به + noun phrase identifies what occupies someone’s thoughts. It is the most compact and generally useful frame: به خانواده فکر کردن، به راه‌حل فکر کردن. درباره‌ی + noun phrase explicitly marks a subject matter and is especially useful for extended consideration or discussion. The two overlap, and there is no absolute English translation that separates them.

تمام راه به حرفی که زدی فکر می‌کردم.

tamâm-e râh be harfi ke zadi fekr mi-kardam.

I kept thinking about what you said the whole way. (neutral standard; به complement)

کارشناسان درباره‌ی اثرهای بلندمدت طرح فکر کردند.

kârshenâsân darbâre-ye asar-hâ-ye boland-moddat-e tarh fekr kardand.

The experts considered the plan’s long-term effects. (formal/academic context)

A pronoun remains inside the prepositional phrase: به او فکر کردم، درباره‌اش فکر کردیم. In informal speech, بهش فکر کردم is ordinary. A full noun does not become a را-marked object merely because English says “think it over.”

بهش فکر کردم، ولی هنوز مطمئن نیستم.

beh-esh fekr kardam, vali hanuz motma'en nistam.

I thought about it, but I’m still not sure. (informal Iranian Persian; preposition plus clitic)

💡

Learn the whole frame به چیزی فکر کردن. The topic is a prepositional complement, so the pronominal forms are به آن / بهش, not a mechanically created direct object.

Thinking that something is true

For an opinion, expectation, or conclusion, فکر کردن introduces a finite clause. Careful prose often retains که; everyday speech commonly omits it. An affirmative belief normally takes an indicative clause because the speaker is presenting the proposition as their belief, not as a desired action.

فکر می‌کنم که این راه کوتاه‌تر است.

fekr mi-konam ke in râh kutâh-tar ast.

I think this route is shorter. (neutral careful standard)

فکر کردم جلسه ساعت پنج شروع می‌شود، اما اشتباه می‌کردم.

fekr kardam jalse sâ'at-e panj shoru' mi-shavad, ammâ eshtebâh mi-kardam.

I thought the meeting started at five, but I was mistaken. (neutral standard; که omitted)

Persian generally retains the tense required by the embedded time reference; it does not apply English-style automatic backshift after a past reporting verb. The contrast is developed in Reported Speech and Tense Retention.

Negated فکر نکردن often licenses a subjunctive embedded verb because the speaker withholds commitment to the proposition. Compare affirmative فکر می‌کنم می‌آید “I think he is coming” with فکر نمی‌کنم بیاید “I don’t think he will come.” The subjunctive is motivated by non-assertion, not by که itself.

فکر نمی‌کنم این قطعه تا فردا برسد.

fekr nemi-konam in qet'e tâ fardâ be-resad.

I don’t think this part will arrive by tomorrow. (neutral standard; non-assertive subjunctive)

💡

Do not memorize “فکر کردن takes indicative” as an exceptionless rule. Affirmative belief favors the indicative; negation, doubt, and deliberately weakened commitment commonly favor the subjunctive.

Activity, conclusion, and noun-like فکر

Progressive دارم فکر می‌کنم portrays ongoing mental activity. Simple فکر کردم can instead report a conclusion or an assumption at a particular moment. Context determines whether the emphasis is on deliberation or on the belief reached.

دارم فکر می‌کنم چطور این خبر را به او بگویم.

dâram fekr mi-konam chetor in khabar râ be u be-guyam.

I’m thinking about how to tell him or her this news. (neutral spoken standard; deliberation)

اول فکر کردم صدای زنگ تلفن است.

avval fekr kardam sedâ-ye zang-e telefon ast.

At first I thought it was the phone ringing. (neutral standard; momentary conclusion)

فکر also functions as an ordinary noun: فکر خوبی “a good idea/thought,” فکر این کار “the thought of this,” به فکرم رسید “it occurred to me.” In فکرش را کرده‌ام “I have thought it through,” فکرش را is a noun phrase selected by کردن. This fixed expression is useful, but it does not license arbitrary direct objects with فکر کردن.

پیش از قبول پیشنهاد، فکر همه‌چیز را کرده بودیم.

pish az qabul-e pishnehâd, fekr-e hame-chiz râ karde budim.

Before accepting the offer, we had thought everything through. (neutral standard; idiomatic noun phrase)

Tehran conversational use

Everyday Tehran uses می‌کنه، می‌کنین، می‌کنن (informal, regional: Tehran) on the light verb. The parenthetical فکر کنم is especially common and means “I think, probably”; it is historically the subjunctive form but functions pragmatically as a softened assessment. Relaxed pronunciation may drop the final /r/ of فکر, although edited dialogue often keeps the standard spelling.

فکر کنم فردا کمی دیر برسه.

fekr konam fardâ kami dir be-rese.

I think it may arrive a little late tomorrow. (informal, regional: Tehran; softened opinion)

هر بار بهش می‌گیم عجله نکنه، بیشتر فکر می‌کنه.

har bâr beh-esh mi-gim ajale na-kone, bishtar fekr mi-kone.

Every time we tell him not to rush, he thinks about it more. (informal, regional: Tehran)

Common Mistakes

1. Treating the topic as a direct object

❌ این مشکل را تمام شب فکر کردم.

Incorrect — the topic of thought normally follows به or درباره‌ی.

✅ تمام شب به این مشکل فنی فکر کردم.

tamâm-e shab be in moshkel-e fanni fekr kardam.

I thought about this technical problem all night.

2. Making the person believed a را-object

❌ او را فکر می‌کنم فردا می‌آید.

Incorrect — an opinion is a finite clause whose subject remains inside that clause.

✅ فکر می‌کنم او فردا با قطار می‌آید.

fekr mi-konam u fardâ bâ qatâr mi-âyad.

I think he or she is coming by train tomorrow.

3. Putting می‌ on the nonverbal element

❌ درباره‌ی پیشنهاد می‌فکر کنم.

Incorrect — imperfective می‌ attaches to کردن.

✅ هنوز درباره‌ی پیشنهاد تازه فکر می‌کنم.

hanuz darbâre-ye pishnehâd-e tâze fekr mi-konam.

I am still thinking about the new proposal.

4. Joining فکر and کردن

❌ باید بیشتر فکر‌کنی.

Incorrect standard spelling — the nonverbal element and light verb are separate words.

✅ باید پیش از تصمیم نهایی بیشتر فکر کنی.

bâyad pish az tasmim-e nehâyi bishtar fekr koni.

You should think more before the final decision.

Key Takeaways

Inflect کردن, not فکر: فکر می‌کنم، فکر کردم، فکر کرده‌ام، فکر کنم.
Use به for the object occupying the mind and درباره‌ی for an explicitly framed subject matter.
A belief takes a finite clause; affirmative commitment favors indicative mood, while negated or weakened belief commonly favors the subjunctive.
فکر کنم is also a highly frequent conversational parenthetical meaning “I think, probably.”

Now practice Farsi

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

Start learning Farsi →