رد کردن rad kardan: to Reject or Pass | Farsi Grammar

رد کردن is a highly polysemous compound verb. With a proposal, application, claim, invitation, or call, it means “reject/decline.” With a landmark, thread, cable, or ball, it can mean “cross,” “make pass through,” or “deflect.” With a student, an examiner can use it for “fail.” The object type and surrounding path expression select the meaning.

The predicate is transitive: someone causes the object to be refused or to pass. Intransitive رد شدن instead means “pass/go by,” “be rejected,” or “fail an exam.” English pass therefore creates a famous trap: passing an exam is قبول شدن, while رد شدن means failing it.

Principal parts and pronunciation

Form	Persian	Romanization	Use
infinitive	رد کردن	rad kardan	reject; pass/cause to pass
past base	رد کرد	rad kard	رد کردم
present base	رد کن	rad kon	رد می‌کنم
past participle	رد کرده	rad karde	رد کرده است
imperative	رد کن / رد کنید	rad kon / rad konid	reject; pass along/cross
negative imperative	رد نکن / رد نکنید	rad nakon / rad nakonid	do not reject/pass

Unvowelled رد is read rad with short a, not like English red. Some dictionaries represent its Arabic-origin final consonant as rad(d), especially in careful citation; the course romanization writes current Iranian rad. In a neutral compound predicate, the nonverbal element normally carries the main lexical prominence; contrastive focus can override that pattern. The nonverbal element remains unchanged while کردن inflects; its base paradigm appears on کردن kardan: to Do and Make.

این درخواست را بدون خواندن جزئیات رد نکن.

in darkhâst râ bedun-e khândan-e joz'iyyât rad nakon.

Don't reject this request without reading the details. (familiar singular; neutral standard)

این کابل را از پشت قفسه رد کنید.

in kâbel râ az posht-e qafase rad konid.

Run this cable behind the shelf. (polite/plural workplace register)

Core paradigm

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

Negatives are رد نمی‌کنم، رد نکردم، رد نکرده‌ام، رد نکنم. Object clitics attach readily to رد: ردش کردم can mean “I rejected it” or “I passed/crossed it,” depending on the established referent.

بعید است کمیته چنین پیشنهاد دقیقی را رد کند.

ba'id ast komite chonin pishnehâd-e daqiqi râ rad konad.

It is unlikely that the committee will reject such a detailed proposal. (formal; subjunctive)

تا امروز هیچ درخواست کاملی را رد نکرده‌ایم.

tâ emruz hich darkhâst-e kâmeli râ rad nakarde-im.

Up to today, we have not rejected any complete application. (formal/neutral)

Rejecting or declining

Offers, requests, applications, claims, hypotheses, invitations, calls, and payments can all be رد کردن objects. Specific ones normally take را. The verb itself does not specify whether the refusal is polite, justified, or hostile; adverbs and context do that work.

او پیشنهاد شغلی را به‌دلیل ساعت کاری نامناسب رد کرد.

u pishnehâd-e shoghli râ be-dalil-e sâ'at-e kâri-ye nâmonâseb rad kard.

She turned down the job offer because of the unsuitable hours. (neutral standard)

دادگاه ادعای دوم وکیل را رد کرده است.

dâdgâh edde'â-ye dovvom-e vakil râ rad karde ast.

The court has rejected the lawyer's second claim. (formal/legal)

جلسه داشتم و تماسش را رد کردم.

jalse dâshtam va tamâs-ash râ rad kardam.

I was in a meeting, so I declined the call. (everyday neutral)

In an institutional passive or result, رد شدن is more natural than a heavy syntactic passive: درخواست رد شد “the application was rejected.” The rejecting institution can instead remain active when relevant.

💡

For the “reject” reading, look for an object whose acceptance was possible: an offer, request, claim, call, payment, or candidate. The same morphology does not itself encode refusal.

Passing, crossing, and deflecting

With a path or landmark as object, رد کردن means go past or cross it: خیابان را رد کردن، پل را رد کردن. The moving person remains the subject, but transitive کردن presents the landmark as traversed. Intransitive از خیابان رد شدن packages the path with از instead.

بعد از اینکه پل را رد کردی، سمت چپ بپیچ.

ba'd az in-ke pol râ rad kardi, samt-e chap bepich.

After you cross the bridge, turn left. (neutral directions)

یک آمبولانس با سرعت از کنارمان رد شد.

yek âmbulâns bâ sor'at az kenâr-emân rad shod.

An ambulance sped past us. (neutral; intransitive رد شدن)

An object can also be made to pass through a channel or be deflected: نخ را از سوزن رد کردن means “thread the needle,” while sports توپ را رد کردن commonly means “deflect/clear the ball.” The ordinary verb for passing a ball to a teammate is پاس دادن. Phone calls pattern with rejection instead: تماس را رد کردن means “decline a call,” not “forward it”; use وصل کردن or انتقال دادن for forwarding.

نخ را از سوراخ سوزن رد کردم.

nakh râ az surâkh-e suzan rad kardam.

I passed the thread through the eye of the needle. (neutral standard)

مدافع توپ را به بیرون رد کرد.

modâfe' tup râ be birun rad kard.

The defender knocked the ball out. (sports register; deflection/clearance)

💡

Transitive رد کردن makes something pass or treats a landmark as crossed. Intransitive رد شدن makes the mover the sole core argument and normally adds از for the path.

Failing a student versus failing an exam

An examiner or institution can دانشجو را رد کند “fail the student.” From the examinee's viewpoint, the ordinary construction is در امتحان رد شدن “fail the exam.” This is the opposite of English “pass.”

ممتحن دو داوطلب را به‌خاطر خطاهای جدی رد کرد.

momtahen do dâvtalab râ be-khâter-e khatâ-hâ-ye jeddi rad kard.

The examiner failed two candidates because of serious errors. (institutional neutral)

بار اول در آزمون رانندگی رد شدم.

bâr-e avval dar âzmun-e rânandegi rad shodam.

I failed the driving test the first time. (everyday neutral)

To say “pass an exam,” use در آزمون قبول شدن. امتحان را رد کردن does not mean that the examinee passed it.

Tehran conversational use

Everyday Tehran (informal, regional: Tehran) reduces the light-verb endings: رد می‌کنه، رد می‌کنن. Object clitics are frequent, and ازش رد شدن can mean go past it or move beyond a topic/phase.

قیمتش خیلی پایین بود، واسه همین ردش کردم.

qeymat-esh kheyli pâyin bud, vâse hamin rad-esh kardam.

The price was too low, so I turned it down. (informal, regional: Tehran)

از چراغ که رد شدی، نگه دار.

az cherâgh ke rad shodi, negah dâr.

Once you've passed the traffic light, stop. (informal directions, regional: Tehran)

Common Mistakes

1. Putting the tense prefix on رد

❌ کمیته پیشنهاد را می‌رد کند.

Incorrect — می‌ belongs on the light verb کردن.

✅ کمیته پیشنهاد پرهزینه را رد می‌کند.

komite pishnehâd-e por-hazine râ rad mi-konad.

The committee rejects the expensive proposal.

2. Translating English “pass an exam” literally

❌ من امتحان نهایی را رد کردم.

Incorrect for ‘I passed the final exam’ — رد expresses failure/rejection here.

✅ من در امتحان نهایی قبول شدم.

man dar emtehân-e nehâyi qabul shodam.

I passed the final exam.

3. Mixing transitive and intransitive path frames

❌ ماشین خیابان را رد شد.

Incorrect — را requires transitive رد کردن; رد شدن takes a path with از.

✅ ماشین از تقاطع شلوغ رد شد.

mâshin az taqâto'-e sholugh rad shod.

The car passed through the busy intersection.

4. Joining the compound

❌ تماس دوم را رد‌کردم.

Incorrect standard spacing — رد and کردن are separate words.

✅ تماس دوم را اشتباهی رد کردم.

tamâs-e dovvom râ eshtebâhi rad kardam.

I declined the second call by mistake.

Key Takeaways

رد کردن is transitive; its object selects rejection, crossing, caused passage or deflection, or causing failure.
Pronounce رد as rad with short a; only کردن inflects.
Compare transitive پل را رد کردم with intransitive از پل رد شدم.
An examiner can داوطلب را رد کند; an examinee در امتحان رد می‌شود.
Object clitic ردش کردم needs discourse context because several meanings remain possible.

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