یاد گرفتن yâd gereftan: to Learn | Farsi Grammar

یاد گرفتن is the ordinary neutral Persian verb for “to learn”: acquire a fact, skill, language, procedure, or habit. It is a lexical compound, not literal “take a memory.” یاد supplies the learning meaning, while گرفتن carries tense, agreement, aspect, mood, and negation: یاد می‌گیرم، یاد گرفت، یاد نگرفته‌ایم.

The compound inherits the irregular stem pair of گرفتن: past گرفتـ, present گیرـ. Its content is normally a direct object, while a teacher, experience, book, or other source takes از. Compare این روش را از مادرم یاد گرفتم “I learned this method from my mother.”

Principal parts of the compound

Form	Persian	Romanization	Use
infinitive	یاد گرفتن	yâd gereftan	to learn
past base	یاد گرفت	yâd gereft	یاد گرفتم
present base	یاد گیر	yâd gir	یاد می‌گیرم
past participle	یاد گرفته	yâd gerefte	یاد گرفته‌اند
imperative	یاد بگیر / یاد بگیرید	yâd be-gir / yâd be-girid	learn
negative imperative	یاد نگیر / یاد نگیرید	yâd na-gir / yâd na-girid	do not learn; contextually restricted

The bare command یاد بگیر! can sound admonitory, like “Learn!” More often the command specifies a useful content: شماره‌ها را یاد بگیر. The negative is grammatical but pragmatically unusual unless the skill or behavior is undesirable: این عادت را یاد نگیر “Don't pick up this habit.”

اول کار با دستگاه را یاد بگیر، بعد خودت امتحان کن.

avval kâr bâ dastgâh râ yâd be-gir, ba'd khod-at emtehân kon.

First learn how to use the machine; then try it yourself. (familiar singular; neutral)

امیدوارم در این دوره چیزهای تازه‌ای یاد بگیرید.

omidvâram dar in dowre chiz-hâ-ye tâze-i yâd be-girid.

I hope you learn some new things in this course. (polite/plural; subjunctive)

High-value paradigm

Person	Present	Simple past	Present perfect	Present subjunctive
I	یاد می‌گیرم	یاد گرفتم	یاد گرفته‌ام	یاد بگیرم
you (sg.)	یاد می‌گیری	یاد گرفتی	یاد گرفته‌ای	یاد بگیری
he/she/it	یاد می‌گیرد	یاد گرفت	یاد گرفته است	یاد بگیرد
we	یاد می‌گیریم	یاد گرفتیم	یاد گرفته‌ایم	یاد بگیریم
you (pl./polite)	یاد می‌گیرید	یاد گرفتید	یاد گرفته‌اید	یاد بگیرید
they	یاد می‌گیرند	یاد گرفتند	یاد گرفته‌اند	یاد بگیرند

Negatives are یاد نمی‌گیرم، یاد نگرفتم، یاد نگرفته‌ام، یاد نگیرم. Affirmative subjunctive and imperative take بـ on گرفتن. The compound remains two words, and می‌ attaches to the light verb with a ZWNJ. The underlying stem contrast is reviewed on گرفتن gereftan: to Take.

هنوز یاد نگرفته‌ام چطور از این برنامه استفاده کنم.

hanuz yâd nagerefte-am chetowr az in barnâme estefâde konam.

I still haven't learned how to use this application. (neutral standard)

What is learned: bare or را-marked objects

The acquired content is the direct object of the whole compound. General fields and nonspecific skills often remain bare: فارسی یاد گرفتن، رانندگی یاد گرفتن، آشپزی یاد گرفتن. A specific lesson, method, rule, or previously identified item normally takes را: این قاعده را یاد گرفتم.

در سربازی آشپزی یاد گرفت و حالا غذای خیلی خوبی می‌پزد.

dar sarbâzi âshpazi yâd gereft va hâlâ ghazâ-ye kheyli khubi mi-pazad.

He learned to cook during military service and now cooks very well. (neutral; general skill)

بالاخره مسیر کوتاه‌تر را یاد گرفتم و دیگر گم نمی‌شوم.

bâlâkhare masir-e kutâh-tar râ yâd gereftam va digar gom nemi-shavam.

I finally learned the shorter route, so I don't get lost anymore. (neutral standard; specific object)

With procedural knowledge, Persian often makes the content a finite question clause: یاد گرفتم چطور... کنم “I learned how to...” The subjunctive in the embedded procedure presents the action as a method rather than reporting one completed event. A proposition learned as fact can follow که with the indicative: یاد گرفتم که آب در این دما می‌جوشد.

در کارگاه یاد گرفتیم چگونه فایل‌ها را رمزگذاری کنیم.

dar kârgâh yâd gereftim chegune fâyl-hâ râ ramzgozâri konim.

In the workshop we learned how to encrypt the files. (formal-neutral procedure)

English allows learn to drive with an infinitive. Persian commonly packages the activity as the object noun رانندگی, or uses a finite procedural clause. Do not force the long infinitive into every English infinitival frame.

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Use را when the learned item is identifiable: این فرمول را یاد گرفتم. General subjects and skills are commonly bare: ریاضی / شنا / رانندگی یاد گرفتم.

Source and teacher with از

The source of knowledge takes از: a person, book, course, mistake, or experience. This frame presents the learner as subject. The reverse transfer, with the instructor as subject and learner as recipient, uses یاد دادن.

این دستور غذا را از مادربزرگم یاد گرفته‌ام.

in dastur-e ghazâ râ az mâdarbozorg-am yâd gerefte-am.

I learned this recipe from my grandmother. (neutral standard)

از اشتباه قبلی یاد گرفتیم که بدون نسخه‌ی پشتیبان شروع نکنیم.

az eshtebâh-e qabli yâd gereftim ke bedun-e noskhe-ye poshtibân shoru' nakonim.

We learned from the previous mistake not to start without a backup. (neutral standard)

از کسی یاد گرفتن does not mean merely hearing information from that person; it presents the person as the model or instructional source. For secondhand reported information, Persian may instead use شنیدن or فهمیدن, depending on meaning.

Learning, understanding, and memorizing

فهمیدن means “understand, find out,” and can happen at one moment; یاد گرفتن presents acquisition that becomes usable knowledge. حفظ کردن means memorize, often through deliberate repetition. One can مطلب را بفهمد without having fully یادش گرفته باشد, or memorize words without understanding them.

قاعده را فهمیدم، ولی هنوز کاربردش را کامل یاد نگرفته‌ام.

qâ'ede râ fahmidam, vali hanuz kârbord-ash râ kâmel yâd nagerefte-am.

I understand the rule, but I still haven't fully learned how to apply it. (neutral standard)

Present perfect is especially natural for a skill now possessed: یاد گرفته‌ام focuses the resulting knowledge. Simple past یاد گرفتم locates acquisition in a completed time. Present یاد می‌گیرم may describe an ongoing course or general ability to learn.

Literal یاد outside the compound

Outside this verb, یاد is a noun meaning “memory, remembrance, recollection.” It occurs in یاد کسی “the memory of someone,” به یاد کسی بودن “remember someone,” and یادگاری “memento.” In یاد گرفتن, however, it does not name a separate object being “taken”; the compound as a whole means “learn.”

یاد آن سفر هنوز برایم زنده است.

yâd-e ân safar hanuz barâ-yam zende ast.

The memory of that trip is still vivid for me. (literary-neutral noun use)

This lexical independence explains potential ambiguity around یادش: it can mean “his/her memory” as a noun phrase, whereas in a suitable compound-verb context it may host a clitic. Expanded forms such as آن را یاد گرفتم are clearest in formal prose.

Tehran conversational forms

Tehran speech (informal, regional: Tehran) reduces endings to یاد می‌گیره، یاد می‌گیرین، یاد می‌گیرن. Past یاد گرفتم remains close to the standard form. Specific را becomes رو / ـو.

این ترفند رو از همکارم یاد گرفتم؛ خیلی به درد می‌خوره.

in tarfand ro az hamkâr-am yâd gereftam; kheyli be dard mi-khore.

I learned this trick from my colleague; it's really useful. (informal, regional: Tehran)

بچه‌ها خیلی زود کار با گوشی رو یاد می‌گیرن.

bachche-hâ kheyli zud kâr bâ gushi ro yâd mi-giran.

Children learn how to use a phone very quickly. (informal, regional: Tehran)

Common Mistakes

1. Using the past stem in the present

❌ او زبان‌ها را خیلی زود یاد می‌گرفتد.

Incorrect — a present form requires stem گیر; گرفت belongs to the past system.

✅ او واژه‌های تازه را خیلی زود یاد می‌گیرد.

u vâzhe-hâ-ye tâze râ kheyli zud yâd mi-girad.

She learns new words very quickly.

2. Marking the instructional source with به

❌ این کار را به پدرم یاد گرفتم.

Incorrect — the source or teacher takes از when the learner is the subject.

✅ تعمیر دوچرخه را از پدرم یاد گرفتم.

ta'mir-e docharkhe râ az pedar-am yâd gereftam.

I learned bicycle repair from my father.

3. Reversing learn and teach

❌ معلم این روش را به ما یاد گرفت.

Incorrect — the instructor teaches with یاد دادن; the learner learns with یاد گرفتن.

✅ معلم این روش را به ما نشان داد و ما زود یاد گرفتیم.

mo'allem in ravesh râ be mâ neshân dâd va mâ zud yâd gereftim.

The teacher showed us this method, and we learned it quickly.

4. Separating the imperfective prefix

❌ هر روز چیز تازه‌ای یاد می گیرم.

Incorrect standard orthography — می‌ attaches to the light verb with a ZWNJ.

✅ از هر پروژه چیز تازه‌ای یاد می‌گیرم.

az har poruzhe chiz-e tâze-i yâd mi-giram.

I learn something new from every project.

Key Takeaways

Memorize یاد گرفتن — یاد گرفت — یاد گیر, with یاد بگیر and یاد نگیر.
Learned content is a direct object; a specific item takes را, while general skills are often bare.
The instructional source takes از: این کار را از او یاد گرفتم.
یاد گرفتن is acquiring knowledge; فهمیدن is understanding, and حفظ کردن is memorizing.
Literal noun یاد means memory or remembrance, but the compound is not compositionally “take a memory.”

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