# Persian/Lesson 6

| | فارسی (‹fârsi›, “Persian”) Learn the Persian language Contents • Introduction Persian Alphabet lessons: 1 ( ۱ ) • 2 ( ۲ ) • 3 ( ۳ ) • 4 ( ۴ ) Elementary grammar: 5 ( ۵ ) • 6 ( ۶ ) • 7 ( ۷ ) • 8 ( ۸ ) • 9 ( ۹ ) 10 ( ۱۰ ) • 11 ( ۱۱ ) • 12 ( ۱۲ ) • 13 ( ۱۳ ) • 14 ( ۱۴ ) • 15 ( ۱۵ ) Intermediate: 16 ( ۱۶ ) • 17 ( ۱۷ ) • 18 ( ۱۸ ) • 19 ( ۱۹ ) • 20 ( ۲۰ ) 21 ( ۲۱ ) • 22 ( ۲۲ ) • 23 ( ۲۳ ) • 24 ( ۲۴ ) • 25 ( ۲۵ ) • 26 ( ۲۶ ) Advanced: Appendix: Alphabet • Glossary • Handwriting |
| To continue, your computer must display Persian. The box below should show these Persian letters on the far right: ا ب پ ت ث ج چ ح خ د ذ ر ز ژ س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ک گ ل م ن و ه ی If they are different or in the wrong order, see Persian Computing. |||
In this lesson, you will learn how to build noun phrases with اضافه ‹ezâfe› and with demonstrative adjectives.

## Dialogue: اسم شما چی است؟ ‹esm-e šomâ ci-st?›

... and... are talking....
| X: | ‹âqâ-ye Šahidi ostâd-e man e.› “Mr. Shahidi is my professor.” | آقای شهیدی استاد من است. Missing audio. If you are fluent in Persian, record and upload your voice. | ...: |
| Y: | ‹...âgar ostâd-e man âqâ-ye anwâr-e bâsd-e.› “If my professor Enver” | اگر استاد من آقای انور باشد Missing audio. If you are fluent in Persian, record and upload your voice. | ...: |
| X: | ‹esm-e somâ ci-st?› “What is your name?” | اسم شما چی است؟ Missing audio. If you are fluent in Persian, record and upload your voice. | ...: |
| Y: | ‹Esm-e mane pari aste› “My name is Pari” | اسم من پاری است Missing audio. If you are fluent in Persian, record and upload your voice. | ...: |
Explanation
    Shahidi and Enver
Vocabulary
* آقا ‹âqâ› IPA: /ɒːˈɣɒː/ — “Mr.”
* استاذ ‹ostâd› /oˈstɒːd/ — “professor”
* ی ‹ye, e› — “of” (see explanation of ezâfe below)
* اسم ‹esm› — “name”

## Ezâfe

| | | “the door of the house” | “the door of the house” | “the door of the house” | “the door of the house” | “the door of the house” | “the door of the house” | “the door of the house” | “the door of the house” | “the door of the house” |
| | در (دروازه) خانه | در (دروازه) خانه | در (دروازه) خانه | در (دروازه) خانه | در (دروازه) خانه | در (دروازه) خانه | در (دروازه) خانه | در (دروازه) خانه | در (دروازه) خانه | در (دروازه) خانه |
| | در | | خانه | | | | | | | |
| ← | ‹door› | ‹of› | ‹house› | | | | | | | |
| ← | “ ” در (دروازه) | خانه | | | | | | | | |
An important part of Persian grammar is the handy little linking element called اضافه ‹ezâfe› (“addition”). It is used to extend a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase by adding an unstressed particle similar English “of”, followed by other words like adjectives, nouns, pronouns, and full phrases.
After a consonant, the ezâfe particle is pronounced as an unstressed ‹e› in standard Persian and is not usually written. On the right, در ‹dar› (“door”) is extended by the ezâfe particle and the noun خانه ‹xune› (“house”), making the Persian phrase در خانه ‹dar-e xune› (“the door of the house”). در ‹dar› ends in a consonant, so the ezâfe particle is pronounced ‹e› and is not written.
| | | “my house” | “my house” | “my house” | “my house” | “my house” | “my house” | “my house” | “my house” | “my house” |
| | خانه (خانهٔ) من | خانه (خانهٔ) من | خانه (خانهٔ) من | خانه (خانهٔ) من | خانه (خانهٔ) من | خانه (خانهٔ) من | خانه (خانهٔ) من | خانه (خانهٔ) من | خانه (خانهٔ) من | خانه (خانهٔ) من |
| | خانه | | من | | | | | | | |
| ← | ‹xune› | ‹ye› | ‹man› | | | | | | | |
| ← | “house” | “of” | “me” | | | | | | | |
After a vowel, the ezâfe particle is pronounced as unstressed ‹ye› and may be written as ی or, after a silent ه, it may be written as a miniature superscript ی that looks like a hamze diacritic, i.e. as هٔ. Usually, though, it is only written after a vowel when extra clarity is wanted; otherwise it is often left unwritten.
| Older texts | صندلئ راحتی ‹sandaliye rāhati› (“easy chair”) |
| Modern texts | صندلی راحتی |
| | | “the woman’s scarf” | “the woman’s scarf” | “the woman’s scarf” | “the woman’s scarf” | “the woman’s scarf” | “the woman’s scarf” | “the woman’s scarf” | “the woman’s scarf” | “the woman’s scarf” |
| | روسری زن | روسری زن | روسری زن | روسری زن | روسری زن | روسری زن | روسری زن | روسری زن | روسری زن | روسری زن |
| | روسری | ی | زن | | | | | | | |
| ← | ‹rusari› | ‹ye› | ‹zan› | | | | | | | |
| ← | “scarf” | “of” | “woman” | | | | | | | |
When ezâfe extends one noun by adding another, it often indicates that the first noun's referent belongs to the second one's, as shown on the right in the Persian phrase روسری (چادر) زن ‹rusari-ye zan› (“the woman’s scarf”). In older texts, ezâfe after ی is often represented by a small superscripted ی that resembles hamze ( ء ), so you may see words like روسرئ (چادر) زن , but today, یی (and thus روسری (چادر) زن ) is more common.
Colloquially, short forms are used even after vowels.
Adding a noun with ezâfe is not only used for ownership. It may indicate a family relationship:
* ناصر خسرو ‹nâser-e xosrow› (“Nasir, [son] of Khusraw”)
* پدر و مادر من و شما ‹pedar o mâdar e man o šomâ› (“mother and father of me and you”)
It may indicate composition or purpose:
* کاسه مسی ‹kâse-ye messey› (“the bowl [made] of copper, the copper bowl”)
* آب زندگی ‹âb-e zendegi› (“the water of life”)
It may also used for apposition:
* آقای پیمان ‹âqâ-ye peymân› (“the gentleman Peyman, Mr. Peyman”)
* روز جمعه ‹ruz-e jom’e› (“the day Friday”)
* شهر تهران ‹šahr-e tehrân› (“the city of Tehran”)
| | | “the big door” | “the big door” | “the big door” | “the big door” | “the big door” | “the big door” | “the big door” | “the big door” | “the big door” |
| | در (دروازه) بزرک | در (دروازه) بزرک | در (دروازه) بزرک | در (دروازه) بزرک | در (دروازه) بزرک | در (دروازه) بزرک | در (دروازه) بزرک | در (دروازه) بزرک | در (دروازه) بزرک | در (دروازه) بزرک |
| | در | | بزرک | | | | | | | |
| ← | ‹dar› | ‹e› | ‹bozorg› | | | | | | | |
| ← | “door” | “[that is]” | “big” | | | | | | | |
Ezâfe is also used to add an adjective, as in the phrase در (دروازه) بزرک ‹dar e bozorg› (“the big door”), shown on the right. The particle in such constructions is not usually translated into English as a separate word, but it may be thought of as “that is”.
* آب گرم ‹âb-e garm› (“water [that is] warm, warm water”)
| | | “on (the face of) the wall” | “on (the face of) the wall” | “on (the face of) the wall” | “on (the face of) the wall” | “on (the face of) the wall” | “on (the face of) the wall” | “on (the face of) the wall” | “on (the face of) the wall” | “on (the face of) the wall” |
| | بر روی دیوار | بر روی دیوار | بر روی دیوار | بر روی دیوار | بر روی دیوار | بر روی دیوار | بر روی دیوار | بر روی دیوار | بر روی دیوار | بر روی دیوار |
| | بر | روی | | دیوار | | | | | | |
| ← | ‹bar› | ‹ruy› | ‹e› | ‹divâr› | | | | | | |
| ← | “on” | “face” | “of” | “wall” | | | | | | |
Ezâfe is also used with certain nouns that have preposition-like meaning. In the example on the right and the one below, the nouns روی ‹ruy› (“face”) and زیر ‹zir› (“underside”) are used like prepositions with the help of ezâfe:
* از زیر میز ‹az zir-e miz› (“from the underside of the table”)
Ezâfe is also used to add prepositional phrases, e.g. بعد از ‹ba’d az ...› (“after ...”):
* روز بعد از آن اتفاق ‹ruz-e ba’d az un ettefâq› (“the day after that accident”)
| | | “the big door of my house” | “the big door of my house” | “the big door of my house” | “the big door of my house” | “the big door of my house” | “the big door of my house” | “the big door of my house” | “the big door of my house” | “the big door of my house” |
| | در بزرک خانه من | در بزرک خانه من | در بزرک خانه من | در بزرک خانه من | در بزرک خانه من | در بزرک خانه من | در بزرک خانه من | در بزرک خانه من | در بزرک خانه من | در بزرک خانه من |
| | در | | بزرک | | خانه | | من | | | |
| ← | ‹dar› | ‹e› | ‹bozorg› | ‹e› | ‹xune› | ‹ye› | ‹man› | | | |
| ← | “door” | “[that is]” | “big” | “of” | “house” | “of” | “me” | | | |
A noun phrase created with ezâfe may be extended with ezâfe again, as shown on the right.

## Demonstrative Adjectives

| | | “this book” | “this book” | “this book” | “this book” | “this book” | “this book” | “this book” | “this book” | “this book” |
| | این کتاب | این کتاب | این کتاب | این کتاب | این کتاب | این کتاب | این کتاب | این کتاب | این کتاب | این کتاب |
| | این | کتاب | | | | | | | | |
| ← | ‹in› | ‹ketâb› | | | | | | | | |
| ← | “this” | “book” | | | | | | | | |
| | | “that boy” | “that boy” | “that boy” | “that boy” | “that boy” | “that boy” | “that boy” | “that boy” | “that boy” |
| | آن پسر | آن پسر | آن پسر | آن پسر | آن پسر | آن پسر | آن پسر | آن پسر | آن پسر | آن پسر |
| | آن | پسر | | | | | | | | |
| ← | ‹un› | ‹pesar› | | | | | | | | |
| ← | “that” | “boy” | | | | | | | | |
As the dialogues in the previous lessons have shown, Persian does not have a word that corresponds to the English definite article “the”. To say, “the book”, for example, the noun کتاب ‹ketâb› (“book”) is normally used alone. Persian does, however, have the demonstrative adjectives این ‹in› (“this”) and آن ‹un› (“that”). These two words, unlike typical adjectives, are used before the noun with no intervening particle, as shown in the examples on the right.
Demonstrative contractions:
* اینجا ‹injâ› (“here”)
* آنجا ‹ânjâ› (“there”), colloquially pronounced ‹unjâ›
* چنین ‹conin› (“like this”), colloquially pronounced ‹cenin›
* چنین ‹conân› (“like that”), colloquially pronounced ‹cenun›
* همین ‹hamin› (“this [very] same”)
* همان ‹hamân› (“that [very] same”), colloquially ‹hamun›
* کجا ‹kojâ› (“where”)
Demonstrative pronouns:
* آنها ‹unhâ› (“those there”) or just "those", special case where ها is always joined
* اینها ‹inhâ› (“these here”), second special case where ها ‹hâ› is always joined

## Exercises

Ezâfe:(To check your answers, click “[show ▼]”.) :
1. Translate the following sentences into English: :
| | | “the boy's hair” | “the boy's hair” | “the boy's hair” | “the boy's hair” | “the boy's hair” | “the boy's hair” | “the boy's hair” | “the boy's hair” | “the boy's hair” |
| | موی پسر | موی پسر | موی پسر | موی پسر | موی پسر | موی پسر | موی پسر | موی پسر | موی پسر | موی پسر |
| ← | ‹mu› | ‹-ye› | ‹pesar› | | | | | | | |
| ← | “hair” | “of” | “boy” | | | | | | | |
| | | “the garden gate” | “the garden gate” | “the garden gate” | “the garden gate” | “the garden gate” | “the garden gate” | “the garden gate” | “the garden gate” | “the garden gate” |
| | در باغ ‎ | در باغ ‎ | در باغ ‎ | در باغ ‎ | در باغ ‎ | در باغ ‎ | در باغ ‎ | در باغ ‎ | در باغ ‎ | در باغ ‎ |
| | در | | باغ | | | | | | | |
| ← | ‹dar› | ‹-e› | ‹bâq› | | | | | | | |
| ← | “gate” | “of” ‎ | “garden” | | | | | | | |
| | | “the Arabic woman” | “the Arabic woman” | “the Arabic woman” | “the Arabic woman” | “the Arabic woman” | “the Arabic woman” | “the Arabic woman” | “the Arabic woman” | “the Arabic woman” |
| | زن عربی ‎ | زن عربی ‎ | زن عربی ‎ | زن عربی ‎ | زن عربی ‎ | زن عربی ‎ | زن عربی ‎ | زن عربی ‎ | زن عربی ‎ | زن عربی ‎ |
| | زن | | عربی | | | | | | | |
| ← | ‹zan› | ‹e› | ‹arabi› | | | | | | | |
| ← | “woman” | “[who is]” ‎ | “Arabic” | | | | | | | |
Create Persian sentences with this formula:
[...] دوست من است. ‹[...] dust-e man e.› (“[...] is a friend of mine.”) :
Introduce yourself by your first name by replacing “[...]” in one of the sentences below with your first name.
If your name ends in a consonant, use this:
اسم من [...] است. اسم شما چی است؟ ‹esm-e man [...] e. esm-e šomâ ci-st?› (“My name is [...]. What is your name?”)
If your name ends in a vowel, use this (note, the final ‹e› above becomes ‹s›):
اسم من [...] است. اسم شما چی است؟ ‹esm-e man [...] s. esm-e šomâ ci-st?› (“My name is [...]. What is your name?”)
Introduce yourself by your full name using the same formula. :
Translate the following sentences into Persian:
Hassan's house
حسن حسن ‹Hassan-e xune› :
2. Using the vocabulary below make 5 simple sentences using ezâfe: :
{{Persian/vocab-list
‎|نمک|namak||salt|
‎|نمكدان|||zoutvat|Fa-نمكدان.ogg

## Next: Lesson 7 ( ۷ ), Simple past tense

Continue to Lesson 7 ( ۷ ), Simple past tense >>
* Contents • Introduction
* Persian Alphabet lessons: 1 ( ۱ ) • 2 ( ۲ ) • 3 ( ۳ ) • 4 ( ۴ )
* Elementary grammar: 5 ( ۵ ) • 6 ( ۶ ) • 7 ( ۷ ) • 8 ( ۸ ) • 9 ( ۹ )
* 10 ( ۱۰ ) • 11 ( ۱۱ ) • 12 ( ۱۲ ) • 13 ( ۱۳ ) • 14 ( ۱۴ ) • 15 ( ۱۵ )
* Intermediate: 16 ( ۱۶ ) • 17 ( ۱۷ ) • 18 ( ۱۸ ) • 19 ( ۱۹ ) • 20 ( ۲۰ )
* 21 ( ۲۱ ) • 22 ( ۲۲ ) • 23 ( ۲۳ ) • 24 ( ۲۴ ) • 25 ( ۲۵ ) • 26 ( ۲۶ )
* Advanced:
* Appendix: Alphabet • Glossary • Handwriting
This section of the Persian Language Wikibook is a stub. You can help Wikibooks by expanding it. (See the Persian course Planning page.)
This section of the Persian Language Wikibook is a stub. You can help Wikibooks by expanding it. (See the Persian course Planning page.)