Intermediate course · Intermediate lesson 9
Where is the metro station? Is your phone in your bag or on the table? Is the pharmacy behind the bank or opposite it? This lesson teaches the Persian prepositions you need to say where things are, and the small ezafe that links most of them to the noun that follows. You will use them constantly in Tehran, where directions are given by landmarks rather than street numbers.
The place words
Most Persian place words work like nouns: “under” is really “the underneath of”. That is why they take the ezafe you learned in beginner Lesson 11: زیر میز zir-e miz, under the table, is literally “the underneath of the table”.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| تو | tu | in, inside (spoken; written: dar or dâkhel-e) |
| رو / روی | ru / ru-ye | on (written: ruy-e) |
| زیر | zir-e | under, beneath |
| پشت | posht-e | behind |
| جلوی | jelo-ye | in front of |
| کنار | kenâr-e | next to, beside |
| بین | beyn-e | between |
| بالای | bâlâ-ye | above, at the top of |
| پایین | pâyin-e | below, at the bottom of |
| وسط | vasat-e | in the middle of |
| روبه‌روی | ruberu-ye | opposite |
| نزدیک | nazdik-e | near |
| نبش | nabsh-e | on the corner of |
Remember the ezafe rule: after a consonant it is -e (posht-e, kenâr-e); after a vowel it becomes -ye (ru-ye, bâlâ-ye, jelo-ye). The -ye is often written with a final ی, which is why some of these words end in ی in the table.
Grammar note: Persian has two kinds of preposition. The simple ones, از az (from), به be (to), با bâ (with), تا tâ (until, as far as) and برای barâye (for; spoken barâ), go straight before a noun with no ezafe: az Tehrân, bâ dustam. The place words above behave like nouns and need the ezafe: zir-e miz, kenâr-e bânk.
In fast speech Tehranis often shorten ru-ye to ru (ru miz), and tu often drops the ezafe too: tu kif (also tu-ye kif), in the bag. In formal writing you will see در dar for “in” instead, so dar kif; note that در dar is also the word for “door”.
Things around the house
Put the place words together with some everyday objects and the short form of “to be” (-e, or -st after a vowel) and you can answer the eternal question: where did I leave it?
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| کلید | kelid | key |
| گوشی | gushi | mobile phone |
| کیف | kif | bag |
| عینک | eynak | glasses |
| میز | miz | table, desk |
| صندلی | sandali | chair |
| یخچال | yakhchâl | fridge |
| کمد | komod | wardrobe, cupboard |
| قفسه | ghafase | shelf |
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| کلیدم کجاست؟ | kelidam kojâst? | where’s my key? |
| رو میزه | ru mize | it’s on the table |
| گوشی تو کیفه | gushi tu kife | the phone is in the bag |
| عینکت زیر روزنامه‌ست | eynaket zir-e ruznâmast | your glasses are under the newspaper |
| کیف پشت دره | kif posht-e dare | the bag is behind the door |
| شیر بالای یخچاله | shir bâlâ-ye yakhchâle | the milk is on top of the fridge |
Notice ruznâmast: after a word ending in a vowel, “is” becomes -st rather than -e, just as in kojâst? (where is it?).
Places in the city
The same words describe the city. Tehranis navigate by landmarks: a bank, a bakery, a mosque, a square. Learn to recognise these phrases and you will understand most of the directions people give you.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| بانک کنار داروخونه‌ست | bânk kenâr-e dârukhunast | the bank is next to the pharmacy |
| ایستگاه مترو روبه‌روی پارکه | istgâh-e metro ruberu-ye pârke | the metro station is opposite the park |
| نونوایی بین بانک و مسجده | nunvâyi beyn-e bânk o masjede | the bakery is between the bank and the mosque |
| پارکینگ پشت ساختمونه | pârking posht-e sâkhtemune | the car park is behind the building |
| دفتر ما طبقه بالاست | daftar-e mâ tabaghe-ye bâlâst | our office is on the floor above |
| دست چپ / دست راست | dast-e chap / dast-e râst | on the left / on the right |
You can also attach a pronoun ending straight to a place word: روش rush (on it), زیرش ziresh (under it), کنارش kenâresh (next to it). You will meet these endings properly in Intermediate Lesson 12.
Tehran tip: Addresses in Tehran run from the big to the small: main street, then side street, then alley, then building number (پلاک pelâk), floor (طبقه tabaghe) and flat (واحد vâhed). Landmarks fill the gaps, so expect directions like nabsh-e kuche, ruberu-ye nunvâyi: on the corner of the alley, opposite the bakery.
Dialogue: Finding a pharmacy in Tajrish
Emma: ببخشید آقا، داروخونه این نزدیکیا کجاست؟
Bebakhshid âghâ, dârukhune in nazdikiyâ kojâst?
Excuse me, where’s the pharmacy around here?
Kiosk owner: داروخونه؟ پشت همین ساختمونه.
Dârukhune? Posht-e hamin sâkhtemune.
The pharmacy? It’s behind this very building.
Emma: پشت بانک؟
Posht-e bânk?
Behind the bank?
Kiosk owner: نه، بانک روبه‌روی ماست. داروخونه بین نونوایی و یه کافه‌ست.
Na, bânk ruberu-ye mâst. Dârukhune beyn-e nunvâyi o ye kâfast.
No, the bank’s opposite us. The pharmacy is between the bakery and a café.
Emma: نزدیکه؟
Nazdike?
Is it close?
Kiosk owner: آره بابا، دو دقیقه راهه. از اون کوچه برید، ته کوچه دست چپ.
Âre bâbâ, do daghighe râhe. Az un kuche berid, tah-e kuche dast-e chap.
Oh yes, it’s two minutes away. Go down that alley, and at the end of it, on the left.
Emma: خیلی ممنون!
Kheyli mamnun!
Thank you very much!
New here: in nazdikiyâ (around here) is a handy add-on to any “where is” question; do daghighe râhe means “it’s two minutes’ walk”; and âre bâbâ is a relaxed, emphatic “yes, of course” (bâbâ literally means dad, but here it just adds friendly emphasis). Ruberu-ye mâst is ruberu-ye mâ (opposite us) plus -st.
Practise
- Add the correct ezafe: ru___ miz, posht___ dar, bâlâ___ yakhchâl, kenâr___ bânk.
- Which two of these take no ezafe: az, zir, be, posht?
- Say “the key is under the bag”.
- Say “the metro station is opposite the park”.
- Turn this written sentence into everyday spoken Persian: کتاب در کیف است ketâb dar kif ast.
- Ask where the bakery is around here.
- What does nunvâyi beyn-e bânk o masjede mean?
Show answers
- ru-ye miz, posht-e dar, bâlâ-ye yakhchâl, kenâr-e bânk.
- az and be (simple prepositions).
- کلید زیر کیفه kelid zir-e kife.
- ایستگاه مترو روبه‌روی پارکه istgâh-e metro ruberu-ye pârke.
- کتاب تو کیفه ketâb tu kife.
- نونوایی این نزدیکیا کجاست؟ nunvâyi in nazdikiyâ kojâst?
- The bakery is between the bank and the mosque.
Flashcards
Test yourself
Summary
- Place words such as zir, ru, posht, jelo, kenâr, beyn, bâlâ and pâyin behave like nouns and take the ezafe: zir-e miz, ru-ye miz.
- Simple prepositions (az, be, bâ, tâ, barâye) take no ezafe.
- In speech, tu means “in” and often drops the ezafe; written Persian uses dar.
- Combine place words with -e / -st (“is”) to say where things are: ru mize, kenâr-e dârukhunast.
- Tehran directions rely on landmarks and phrases like nabsh-e kuche, ruberu-ye and dast-e chap.