خبر دادن khabar dâdan: to Inform | Farsi Grammar

خبر دادن means “to inform, notify, tell, or let someone know.” Its central meaning is a transfer of information: an agent gives someone news about an event. Persian can overtly mark both roles—recipient with به and event with از—as in از تغییر برنامه به ما خبر دادند, “they informed us of the schedule change.”

This predicate is not simply the noun خبر plus an interchangeable generic verb. دادن provides the paradigm, and the whole compound determines its argument pattern. It contrasts especially with خبر داشتن, “to know/be aware”: the subject of خبر دادن transmits information, whereas the subject of خبر داشتن already possesses it.

Principal parts

Form	Persian	Romanization	Use
infinitive	خبر دادن	khabar dâdan	to inform/notify
past base	خبر داد	khabar dâd	خبر دادم
present base	خبر ده	khabar dah	خبر می‌دهم
past participle	خبر داده	khabar dâde	خبر داده‌اند
imperative	خبر بده / خبر بدهید	khabar bede / khabar bedahid	let someone know
negative imperative	خبر نده / خبر ندهید	khabar nade / khabar nadahid	do not tell/notify

These are current (neutral standard) forms. Present-stem ده is dah- before endings; command بده is bede. The compound is written as two words. In a finite form, aspect and agreement never attach to خبر.

هر وقت رسیدی، به من خبر بده.

har vaqt residi, be man khabar bede.

Let me know whenever you arrive. (familiar singular; neutral standard)

تا نتیجه قطعی نشده است، به رسانه‌ها خبر ندهید.

tâ natije qat'i nashode ast, be resâne-hâ khabar nadahid.

Do not inform the media until the result is final. (formal/polite plural)

Core paradigm

Person	Present	Simple past	Present perfect	Present subjunctive
I	خبر می‌دهم	خبر دادم	خبر داده‌ام	خبر بدهم
you (sg.)	خبر می‌دهی	خبر دادی	خبر داده‌ای	خبر بدهی
he/she/it	خبر می‌دهد	خبر داد	خبر داده است	خبر بدهد
we	خبر می‌دهیم	خبر دادیم	خبر داده‌ایم	خبر بدهیم
you (pl./polite)	خبر می‌دهید	خبر دادید	خبر داده‌اید	خبر بدهید
they	خبر می‌دهند	خبر دادند	خبر داده‌اند	خبر بدهند

Negatives are خبر نمی‌دهم، خبر ندادم، خبر نداده‌ام، خبر ندهم. The affirmative imperative and subjunctive carry بـ on دادن: خبر بده، خبر بدهم. See دادن dâdan: to Give for the light verb's complete independent paradigm.

قرار شد اگر زمان پرواز عوض شد، شرکت به ما خبر بدهد.

qarâr shod agar zamân-e parvâz avaz shod, sherkat be mâ khabar bedahad.

It was agreed that the company would notify us if the flight time changed. (neutral standard; subjunctive)

هنوز به همه‌ی شرکت‌کنندگان خبر نداده‌ایم.

hanuz be hame-ye sherkat-konandegân khabar nadâde-im.

We have not informed all the participants yet. (formal-neutral)

Recipient with به

The person or organization receiving the information normally follows به: به مریم خبر دادم، به اداره خبر دادند. English inform Mary has a direct object, but Persian does not ordinarily reproduce that frame with را and خبر دادن. When the information itself is understood, the به phrase can stand alone.

مسئول پذیرش صبح زود به مسافرها خبر داد.

mas'ul-e pazirosh sobh-e zud be mosâfer-hâ khabar dâd.

The receptionist notified the passengers early in the morning. (neutral standard)

اگر جلسه عقب افتاد، به بخش فنی هم خبر بدهید.

agar jalse aqab oftâd, be bakhsh-e fanni ham khabar bedahid.

If the meeting is delayed, notify the technical department too. (polite standard)

The recipient can be an enclitic. Two patterns are current: بهش خبر دادم puts the clitic on the preposition, while خبرش کردم belongs to the related compound خبر کردن. With خبر دادن, speech also permits the recipient clitic on خبر. خبرم بده is a very common formula; forms such as خبرش دادم need a supporting context because خبرش can otherwise mean “his/her news.”

وقتی جواب آزمایش آمد، همان روز خبرش دادم.

vaqti javâb-e âzmâyesh âmad, hamân ruz khabar-ash dâdam.

When the test result arrived, I informed him or her that same day. (neutral conversation; recipient clitic on خبر)

بهشان خبر دادیم که در ورودی دیگری باز است.

beh-eshân khabar dâdim ke dar-e vorudi-ye digari bâz ast.

We let them know that another entrance was open. (careful spoken standard; clitic on به)

💡

With a full recipient noun or independent pronoun, default to به کسی خبر دادن. Recognize خبرم بده as a very common clitic alternative, but do not generalize it into a full را-marked recipient.

Event with از and content with که

The event, result, or change that counts as “the news” can follow از: از تصمیم خبر داد, “announced/informed [people] of the decision.” A که clause states the content as a whole proposition: خبر داد که قطار دیر می‌رسد. Both patterns are especially frequent when the recipient is obvious or unimportant.

دانشگاه از تغییر تاریخ امتحان به دانشجوها خبر داد.

dâneshgâh az taghyir-e târikh-e emtehân be dâneshju-hâ khabar dâd.

The university informed the students of the change in the exam date. (formal-neutral; event and recipient both explicit)

سخنگو خبر داد که مذاکرات هفته‌ی آینده ادامه پیدا می‌کند.

sokhangu khabar dâd ke mozâkerât hafte-ye âyande edâme peydâ mi-konad.

The spokesperson announced that the talks would continue next week. (formal/news register)

In news writing (formal), از ... خبر دادن may be translated “announce” or “report,” with no overt recipient. In personal conversation, به کسی خبر دادن که... is more often “let someone know that....” The grammar is the same, but the discourse roles and English translation differ.

پزشک به خانواده خبر داد که حال بیمار بهتر شده است.

pezeshk be khânevâde khabar dâd ke hâl-e bimâr behtar shode ast.

The doctor informed the family that the patient's condition had improved. (neutral standard)

خبر دادن versus خبر داشتن

خبر دادن describes communication and normally has an intentional informer. خبر داشتن describes a state of knowledge: از موضوع خبر دارم, “I know about the matter.” Its experiencer is the subject, and the known topic takes از. English I was informed may describe how knowledge arose, but Persian خبر دارم simply describes the resulting awareness.

Meaning	Persian frame	Role of subject
inform someone	به کسی از چیزی خبر دادن	source of information
know about something	از چیزی خبر داشتن	person who knows
be unaware	از چیزی خبر نداشتن	person lacking knowledge

از این تغییر خبر داشتم، ولی هنوز به همکارم خبر نداده بودم.

az in taghyir khabar dâshtam, vali hanuz be hamkâr-am khabar nadâde budam.

I knew about this change, but I had not yet informed my colleague. (neutral standard; state versus transfer)

هیچ‌کس از تصمیم ناگهانی او خبر نداشت.

hich-kas az tasmim-e nâgahâni-ye u khabar nadâsht.

No one knew about his or her sudden decision. (neutral standard; خبر داشتن)

The base verb is covered on داشتن dâshtan: to Have.

💡

Ask whether the subject sends information or already knows it. Sending selects خبر دادن; knowing selects خبر داشتن. The shared noun does not make the two argument structures interchangeable.

Alternatives and register

اطلاع دادن (formal/neutral) is common in notices, administration, and customer service: نتیجه را به شما اطلاع می‌دهیم. باخبر کردن (neutral) explicitly causes someone to become informed. خبر کردن is common in conversation for notifying or summoning someone: پزشک را خبر کنید “call/alert the doctor.” That last predicate licenses a direct person object and must not be used as evidence that خبر دادن does too.

در صورت تأخیر، مسافران را از طریق پیامک مطلع می‌کنیم.

dar surat-e ta'khir, mosâferân râ az tariq-e payâmak mottale' mi-konim.

In case of delay, we will inform passengers by text message. (formal; مطلع کردن alternative)

Tehran conversational forms

Everyday Tehran (informal, regional: Tehran) has خبر میدم، میدی، میده، میدیم، میدین، میدن. It also favors بهم for به من, رو for را, and colloquial finite forms. Standard prose keeps می‌دهم، به من، را.

جواب که اومد، بهم خبر میدی؟

javâb ke umad, beh-am khabar midi?

Will you let me know when the answer comes? (informal, regional: Tehran)

قرارمون عوض شد، ولی یادم رفت خبرت کنم.

qarâr-emun avaz shod, vali yâd-am raft khabar-at konam.

Our plan changed, but I forgot to let you know. (informal, regional: Tehran; خبر کردن variant)

Common Mistakes

1. Marking a full recipient with را

❌ مدیر کارمندها را خبر داد.

Incorrect for خبر دادن — a full recipient normally takes به. With را, use the distinct compound خبر کردن.

✅ مدیر به همه‌ی کارمندها خبر داد.

modir be hame-ye kârmand-hâ khabar dâd.

The manager informed all the employees.

2. Using به for the event

❌ اداره به تغییر ساعت به ما خبر داد.

Incorrect — the recipient takes به, but the event being reported takes از.

✅ اداره از تغییر ساعت به ما خبر داد.

edâre az taghyir-e sâ'at be mâ khabar dâd.

The office informed us of the time change.

3. Putting می‌ on خبر

❌ شرکت فردا به مشتری‌ها می‌خبر دهد.

Incorrect — aspect and agreement belong on دادن.

✅ شرکت فردا به مشتری‌ها خبر می‌دهد.

sherkat fardâ be moshtari-hâ khabar mi-dahad.

The company will notify the customers tomorrow.

4. Confusing information transfer with awareness

❌ من از لغو جلسه خبر می‌دارم.

Incorrect — the stative predicate خبر داشتن does not take imperfective می‌ in this present meaning.

✅ من از لغو جلسه خبر دارم.

man az laghv-e jalse khabar dâram.

I know that the meeting has been canceled.

5. Joining the compound

❌ نتیجه را دیر خبر‌دادند.

Incorrect standard spacing — خبر and دادن remain separate words.

✅ از نتیجه‌ی نهایی خیلی دیر خبر دادند.

az natije-ye nehâyi kheyli dir khabar dâdand.

They announced the final result very late.

Key Takeaways

خبر دادن is information transfer; دادن carries every tense, person, mood, and negative marker.
The recipient takes به, while the event or topic reported takes از; a complete proposition follows که.
Recipient clitics occur in بهش خبر دادم, the common formula خبرم بده, and context-supported خبرش دادم; a full recipient is not normally marked with را.
خبر داشتن means “to know/be aware” and describes a state rather than an act of informing.
Formal اطلاع دادن and conversational خبر کردن overlap in meaning but have their own valency and register.

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