باید

باید

Persian

Etymology

Originally the third-person singular present of the verb بایستن‎ (bâyestan, “to be necessary”), hence etymologically "it is necessary". The original verb is now obsolete except in a few conjugations, of which باید (bâyad, “should; must; have to”) is the most common and important.

The Middle Persian ancestor of this verb form was Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (ʾp̄ʾyt' /abāyēd/, “it is necessary, fitting; must”).[1]

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑːjað/

• (Dari Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑːjad/

• (Iranian Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈbɒːjæd/

• (Tajik) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔjad/

Verb

Dari	باید
Iranian Persian
Tajik	бояд (boyad)

بایَد • (bâyad)

1. (defective) Expresses an obligation or confident conjecture, equivalent to English must, have to, should, ought, etc.

   ‏باید برود‎ ― bâyad beravad ― he/she must go

   ‏آن باید علی باشد‎ ― ân bâyad ali bâšad ― that must be Ali

   ‏باید رفت‎ ― bâyad raft ― one must go [impersonal]

   ‏باید رفته باشد‎ ― bâyad rafte bâšad ― he/she should have gone [but it is not clear if he/she did]; or, he/she must have gone [a conjecture about a past event]

   ‏باید می‌رفت‎ ― bâyad mi-raft ― he/she had to go [and did go]; or, he/she should have gone [but did not go]

   • c. 1010, Abū’l-Qāsim Firdawsī, Shāhnāma:

     ‏از آغاز باید که دانی درست
     سر مایهٔ گوهران از نخست
     که یزدان ز ناچیز چیز آفرید‎

     az āğāz bāyad ki dānī durust
     sar māya-yi gawharān az naxust
     ki yazdān zi nāčīz čīz āfarīd

     From the start, you ought to know well
     The source of the essences from the beginning
     That God created a something from nothing.

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

   • 2009, شادمهر عقیلی (lyrics and music), “تقدیر”:

     ‏باید تورو پیدا کنم‎

     bâyad to ro peydâ konam

     I have to find you

Usage notes

• The negated نباید (na-bâyad) means “must not” as a prohibition, and not “to not have to” as a lack of an obligation. نباید بروی (na-bâyad beravi) thus means “you must not go,” not “you don’t have to go.” To express “to not have to,” use expressions such as مجبور نبودن (majbur na-budan, “to not be obliged”), لازم نیست (lâzem nist, “it’s not necessary”).

Conjugation

• See بایستن‎ (bâyestan).

References

1. MacKenzie, D. N. (1971) A concise Pahlavi dictionary, London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, page 2