نشستن

From Middle Persian nšstn' (nišastan, “sit on”), seems to be a compound. If so, the elements are from Proto-Indo-European *ni- or *na- and *šastan- from Proto-Indo-European *sed-, meaning sit down. Cognates with Russian сидеть (sidetʹ), Armenian նիստ (nist), English nest).

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

• (Dari): IPA^(key): /nɪʃastan/

• (Iranian Persian): IPA^(key): /neʃæstæn/
• (Tajik): IPA^(key): /niʃastan/

نشستن • (nešastan), present stem نشین‎ (nešin)

1. to sit down, to sit, to take a seat

   ‏پسر روی صندلی نشسته است.‎‎ (more literary)

   pesar ru-ye sandali nešaste ast.

   ‏پسر روی صندلی نشسته.‎‎ (more colloquial)

   pesar ru-ye sandali nešaste.

   The boy is sitting on the chair.

   (literally, “The boy has sat down on the chair.”)

2. to settle, to subside, to be deposited
3. to be settled, to be suppressed
4. to reside

Though this verb is often somewhat erroneously translated as English "to sit", نشستن (nešastan) really refers to the action of sitting down, not the state of being sat. Hence the Persian equivalent for the English "to be sitting" is the present perfect of نشستن (nešastan), i.e. "to have sat down", and the Persian present progressive is equivalent to English "to be sitting down".

• نشاندن‎ (nešândan)