Breakdown of آیا شما خسته هستید؟
شما
you (plural)
خسته
tired
بودنbudan
to be
آیاâyâ
whether (question particle)
Questions & Answers about آیا شما خسته هستید؟
What does آیا do in this sentence, and is it always required?
آیا (âyâ) is a question word placed at the beginning of a statement to turn it into a Yes/No question. In everyday spoken Farsi, people usually drop it and just use a rising tone of voice at the end of the sentence (like asking 'You are tired?'). However, it is very common in written or formal Farsi.
Why is the verb هستید at the end instead of at the beginning like in English?
In Farsi, the verb almost always goes at the very end of the sentence. Unlike English, which swaps the subject and verb to make a question ('Are you...'), Farsi keeps the regular statement order (شما خسته هستید meaning 'You are tired') and simply adds آیا at the start or raises the pitch of the voice at the end.
Since شما means 'you' (plural), can I use this sentence to ask just one person if they are tired?
Yes, absolutely! While شما (shomâ) is the plural 'you', it is also used as a polite, formal way to address a single person, such as a colleague or a stranger. If you were asking a close friend or family member, you would use the informal singular تو (to) and change the verb ending to match: آیا تو خسته هستی؟
Do I always have to say the pronoun شما in this question?
No, you can drop it! The verb هستید (hastid) has the ending -ید (-id), which always matches شما. Because the verb ending already tells us who you are talking to, asking آیا خسته هستید؟ is perfectly correct and natural.