سعی کردن means “to try, attempt, or make an effort.” It presents an action as intended and effortful without asserting success: سعی کردم در را باز کنم can be true even if the door never opened. سعی carries the lexical idea of effort, while کردن carries tense, person, aspect, mood, and negation.
The ordinary complement is a finite subjunctive: سعی میکنم زود برسم “I'll try to arrive early.” A برای phrase can establish a broader goal or context, but it is not an infinitive marker or the core complement of سعی کردن. Current Persian normally says سعی کردیم مشکل را حل کنیم for “we tried to solve the problem”; with the nominalized goal برای حل مشکل, تلاش کردیم is more idiomatic.
Principal parts and high-value paradigm
| Form | Persian | Romanization | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | سعی کردن | sa'y kardan | to try/make an effort |
| past base | سعی کرد | sa'y kard | سعی کردم |
| present base | سعی کن | sa'y kon | سعی میکنم |
| past participle | سعی کرده | sa'y karde | سعی کردهایم |
| imperative | سعی کن / سعی کنید | sa'y kon / sa'y konid | try; neutral encouragement |
| negative imperative | سعی نکن / سعی نکنید | sa'y nakon / sa'y nakonid | do not try |
| Person | Present | Simple past | Present perfect | Present subjunctive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | سعی میکنم | سعی کردم | سعی کردهام | سعی کنم |
| you (sg.) | سعی میکنی | سعی کردی | سعی کردهای | سعی کنی |
| he/she/it | سعی میکند | سعی کرد | سعی کرده است | سعی کند |
| we | سعی میکنیم | سعی کردیم | سعی کردهایم | سعی کنیم |
| you (pl./polite) | سعی میکنید | سعی کردید | سعی کردهاید | سعی کنید |
| they | سعی میکنند | سعی کردند | سعی کردهاند | سعی کنند |
Negatives are سعی نمیکنم، سعی نکردم، سعی نکردهام، سعی نکنم. The current neutral subjunctive is سعی کنم and the command سعی کن. An emphatic conversational سعی بکن occurs, but it is not the default citation form. The two components remain separate words. The complement mood is developed on Present Subjunctive Formation.
سعی میکنم تا ظهر جواب قطعی بدهم.
sa'y mi-konam tâ zohr javâb-e qat'i be-daham.
I'll try to give a definite answer by noon. (neutral standard)
این بار سعی کن بدون عجله توضیح بدهی.
in bâr sa'y kon bedun-e ajale towzih be-dahi.
This time, try to explain without rushing. (familiar singular; neutral)
The attempted action: a finite subjunctive
When the same person tries and performs the attempted action, Persian normally uses a subjunctive with the matching person ending: سعی کردم بخوابم “I tried to sleep,” سعی کنید آرام بمانید “try to remain calm.” Unlike English, Persian does not use an infinitive merely because the subjects are the same.
چند بار سعی کردم با او تماس بگیرم، اما جواب نداد.
chand bâr sa'y kardam bâ u tamâs be-giram, ammâ javâb na-dâd.
I tried several times to contact her, but she didn't answer. (neutral standard; unsuccessful attempt)
پرستار سعی کرد کودک را آرام کند.
parastâr sa'y kard kudak râ ârâm konad.
The nurse tried to calm the child. (neutral standard)
Optional که is possible, especially before a longer clause, but direct juxtaposition is common: سعی کردیم که همه را خبر کنیم / سعی کردیم همه را خبر کنیم. If the actor of the attempted event differs, name the mediation explicitly with a causative, request, or persuasion construction: سعی کردم راضیاش کنم بیاید “I tried to persuade him or her to come.” Bare سعی کردم او بیاید lacks the transparent control relation of سعی کردم بیایم and sounds awkward to many speakers without supporting context.
برای phrases: an external frame, not English “to”
برای + noun/verbal noun can set the occasion or broader purpose around an effort, but it is not automatically the complement selected by سعی کردن. For a concrete attempted action, natural current Persian strongly favors سعی کردن + subjunctive. A heavier nominalized goal is more at home with تلاش کردن.
برای بار دوم سعی کردیم نشانی درست را پیدا کنیم.
barâ-ye bâr-e dovvom sa'y kardim neshâni-ye dorost râ peydâ konim.
For the second time, we tried to find the correct address. (neutral; برای sets the occasion, while the attempted action is finite)
همه برای حفظ آرامش جلسه تلاش کردند، ولی بحث بالا گرفت.
hame barâ-ye hefz-e ârâmesh-e jalse talâsh kardand, vali bahs bâlâ gereft.
Everyone made an effort to preserve calm in the meeting, but the argument intensified. (formal-neutral; تلاش کردن with a nominalized goal)
Do not interpret برای as English infinitival to. The clause سعی کردم برای رفتن is incomplete unless a wider context supplies what “for leaving” modifies. To say “I tried to leave,” use سعی کردم بروم.
Effort, attempt, and success
سعی کردن can present either a bounded attempt or deliberate effort over time. Context supplies the profile: سه بار سعی کردم counts attempts; خیلی سعی کردم measures effort. Neither entails success. To assert success, add the result: سعی کردم و بالاخره توانستم “I tried and finally managed to.”
خیلی سعی کردیم، اما نتوانستیم پنجره را باز کنیم.
kheyli sa'y kardim, ammâ na-tavânestim panjare râ bâz konim.
We tried hard, but we couldn't open the window. (neutral; effort without success)
یک بار دیگر سعی کردم و این دفعه رمز درست بود.
yek bâr-e digar sa'y kardam va in daf'e ramz dorost bud.
I tried one more time, and this time the password was correct. (neutral; countable attempt)
Negation has two different scopes. سعی نکردم بروم means “I did not try to go.” سعی کردم نروم means “I tried not to go.” The position of نـ therefore changes the asserted effort, not merely the surface word order.
سعی کردم خبر را جلوی بچهها نگویم.
sa'y kardam khabar râ jelow-e bachche-hâ na-guyam.
I tried not to mention the news in front of the children. (neutral; negation inside the attempted action)
Contrast with تلاش کردن, امتحان کردن, and کوشیدن
تلاش کردن also means “make an effort” and often sounds weightier, more sustained, or somewhat more formal than سعی کردن, though both are standard and overlap greatly. کوشیدن is a simple verb used in formal, literary, and elevated prose; its ordinary conversational frequency is lower.
امتحان کردن means “try out/test” an object or option: این غذا را امتحان کن “try this food,” یک راه دیگر را امتحان کنیم “let's try another method.” It takes a direct object. سعی کردن instead introduces an attempted action. English uses try for both, which creates a persistent transfer error.
قبل از خرید، هر دو صندلی را امتحان کن.
qabl az kharid, har do sandali râ emtehân kon.
Before buying, try both chairs. (neutral; test an object, not سعی کردن)
پژوهشگران کوشیدند علت این تغییر را توضیح دهند.
pazhuheshgarân kushidand ellat-e in taghyir râ towzih dahand.
The researchers sought to explain the cause of this change. (academic/formal; کوشیدن)
Tehran conversational forms
Tehran speech (informal, regional: Tehran) reduces endings in سعی میکنه، سعی میکنین، سعی میکنن. In very rapid speech, the glottal quality represented by ع may be weak, but standard spelling remains سعی. Do not respell it phonetically.
سعی میکنم امشب زودتر بیام، ولی قول نمیدم.
sa'y mi-konam emshab zud-tar biyâm, vali qowl nemi-dam.
I'll try to come earlier tonight, but I can't promise. (informal, regional: Tehran)
سعی نکنین همهچی رو یهروزه تموم کنین.
sa'y nakonin hame-chi ro ye-ruze tamum konin.
Don't try to finish everything in one day. (informal, regional: Tehran; polite/plural)
Common Mistakes
1. Using an infinitive for the attempted event
❌ سعی کردم زود رسیدن.
Incorrect — the attempted event must be finite and person-marked.
✅ سعی کردم پیش از شروع جلسه برسم.
sa'y kardam pish az shoru'-e jalse be-rasam.
I tried to arrive before the meeting began.
2. Using an indicative after سعی کردن
❌ سعی کردم آرام صحبت میکنم.
Incorrect — the unrealized attempted action takes the subjunctive, not میکردم/میکنم.
✅ سعی کردم آرام و روشن صحبت کنم.
sa'y kardam ârâm va rowshan sohbat konam.
I tried to speak calmly and clearly.
3. Using سعی کردن for trying an object
❌ این چای را سعی کن؛ عطر خوبی دارد.
Incorrect — testing or sampling an object requires امتحان کردن.
✅ این چای تازه را امتحان کن؛ عطر خوبی دارد.
in chây-e tâze râ emtehân kon; atr-e khubi dârad.
Try this fresh tea; it has a lovely aroma.
4. Moving the negative to the wrong clause
⚠️ سعی نکردم دیر برسم.
sa'y nakardam dir be-rasam.
This means ‘I did not try to arrive late,’ not ‘I tried not to be late.’
✅ سعی کردم دیر نرسم.
sa'y kardam dir na-resam.
I tried not to arrive late.
Key Takeaways
- Inflect کردن: سعی میکنم، سعی کردم، سعی کردهام، سعی کنم.
- The attempted action is normally a finite subjunctive, not an infinitive.
- برای packages a goal or context as a noun phrase; it is not an infinitive marker.
- سعی کردن does not assert success, and negation placement distinguishes “not try” from “try not to.”
- Use امتحان کردن to try out an object; تلاش کردن emphasizes effort; کوشیدن is formal or literary.
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