Intermediate course · Intermediate lesson 1
You already know dozens of Persian nouns: nun, châi, mâshin, khiâbân. This lesson shows you how to make Persian plurals, how to say “a” or “an”, and how to talk about “some”, “a few” and “a little”. These small words come up in every shop, bakery and taxi in Tehran.
The good news: Persian plurals are regular, and there are no articles to agree with. You will mostly need one ending, one little word and one counting word.
Plurals with -hâ
The everyday plural ending is ها -hâ. It works for almost any noun: people, things, places and ideas. In standard spelling it is written separately from the noun, joined only by an invisible non-joining space: کتاب‌ها ketâbhâ (books).
In Tehrani speech the h usually drops after a consonant, so ketâbhâ becomes ketâbâ. After a vowel the h stays: bachehâ. Remember also the spoken change from Lesson 18, where ân becomes un: khiâbânhâ is said khiâbunâ.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| کتاب‌ها | ketâbâ (written: ketâbhâ) | books |
| ماشین‌ها | mâshinâ (written: mâshinhâ) | cars |
| خیابان‌ها | khiâbunâ (written: khiâbânhâ) | streets |
| دوست‌ها | dustâ (written: dusthâ) | friends |
| بچه‌ها | bachehâ | children; also “guys” when addressing friends |
| خانه‌ها | khunehâ (written: khânehâ) | houses |
| مغازه‌ها | maghâzehâ | shops |
| ایستگاه‌ها | istgâhâ (written: istgâhhâ) | stations |
Plurals also tend to be specific. سیب‌ها کجاست؟ Sibâ kojâst? means “Where are the apples?”, the ones you have in mind. To talk about apples in general, Persian simply uses the singular: سیب دارید؟ sib dârid? “Do you have (any) apples?”
The -ân plural
Written Persian has a second plural ending, ان -ân, used mainly for people and living things. You will see it on signs, in the news and in announcements, and in a few fixed phrases. In conversation, Tehranis normally use -hâ instead.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| مردان | mardân | men (spoken: mardâ) |
| زنان | zanân | women (spoken: zanâ) |
| دوستان | dustân | friends (formal: “dear friends”) |
| ایرانیان | Irâniân | Iranians (written) |
| خانم‌ها و آقایان | khânomhâ va âghâyân | ladies and gentlemen |
Numbers: no plural after them
Grammar note: After a number, the noun stays singular. Persian usually adds the counting word تا tâ between the number and the noun: دو تا چای do tâ châi (two teas), سه تا بلیت se tâ belit (three tickets). For people you can use نفر nafar instead, as in Lesson 15’s ye miz barâye do nafar. Never say do tâ châihâ. The same goes for چند تا chand tâ (a few; how many?): chand tâ sib, a few apples.
“A” and “an”: ye and -i
In speech, “a” or “an” is simply یه ye, a shortened یک yek (one): ye châi (a tea), ye ketâb (a book). You have already used it in ye miz and ye rob’.
Written Persian marks “a” with the ending ی -i: کتابی ketâbi (a book). After a word ending in -e, it is written -ei: خانه‌ای khâne-i (a house); after u or â it becomes -yi: دانشجویی dâneshjuyi (a student). Often both appear: یک روزی yek ruzi (one day). When there is an adjective, the -i goes on the adjective: خانه‌ی بزرگی khâne-ye bozorgi (a big house).
In conversation, the -i survives in a handful of very common phrases that are worth learning whole:
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| یه چیزی | ye chizi | something |
| یه جایی | ye jâyi | somewhere |
| یه نفر | ye nafar | someone; one person |
| چیز دیگه‌ای؟ | chiz-e dige-i? | anything else? |
| یکی | yeki | one (of them); someone |
“Some”, “a few” and “a little”
Persian separates things you can count from things you cannot, a little like English “a few” and “a little”.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| چند تا سیب | chand tâ sib | a few apples |
| یه کم شکر | ye kam shekar | a little sugar |
| یه خرده نون | ye khorde nun | a bit of bread (very spoken) |
| بعضی‌ها | ba’zihâ | some people |
| بعضی وقتا | ba’zi vaghtâ (written: ba’zi vaghthâ) | sometimes |
| هیچی | hichi | nothing |
Dialogue: at the corner shop
Tom is buying breakfast at a small supermarket near his flat.
Tom: سلام آقا. نون دارید؟
Salâm âghâ. Nun dârid?
Hello. Do you have any bread?
Shopkeeper: سلام. نون سنگک تموم شد، ولی نون لواش داریم.
Salâm. Nun-e sangak tamum shod, vali nun-e lavâsh dârim.
Hello. The sangak has run out, but we’ve got lavash.
Tom: باشه، یه بسته لواش لطفاً.
Bâshe, ye baste lavâsh lotfan.
OK, a packet of lavash, please.
Shopkeeper: چیز دیگه‌ای هم می‌خواید؟
Chiz-e dige-i ham mikhâid?
Do you want anything else?
Tom: بله، چند تا تخم‌مرغ و یه کم پنیر.
Bale, chand tâ tokhm-e morgh va ye kam panir.
Yes, a few eggs and a bit of cheese.
Shopkeeper: چند تا تخم‌مرغ؟
Chand tâ tokhm-e morgh?
How many eggs?
Tom: شش تا. سیب‌ها کیلویی چنده؟
Shish tâ. Sibâ kiloyi chande?
Six. How much are the apples a kilo?
Shopkeeper: کیلویی پنجاه. خیلی تازه‌ان.
Kiloyi panjâh. Kheyli tâze-an.
Fifty a kilo. They’re very fresh.
Tom: پس یه کیلو سیب هم می‌خوام.
Pas ye kilo sib ham mikhâm.
Then I’ll have a kilo of apples too.
New words: تموم شد tamum shod (it has run out, it’s finished), بسته baste (a packet; the same word as “closed” on a shop door), تخم‌مرغ tokhm-e morgh (egg), پنیر panir (cheese), کیلویی kiloyi (per kilo), تازه tâze (fresh) and پس pas (then, so). Notice shish tâ with no noun: once the item is clear, the number and tâ are enough. As Lesson 8 warned, panjâh means 50,000 tomans.
Tehran tip: Tehran’s bakeries, نونوایی nunvâyi (written: nânvâyi), each bake one or two kinds of flatbread, such as sangak, barbari, lavâsh or taftun, several times a day. If you hear nun tamum shod, the batch has sold out: ask نون کی آماده می‌شه؟ nun key âmâde mishe? (when will the bread be ready?) and come back later.
Practise
- Make these plural, in spoken form: ketâb, mâshin, bache, dust.
- Say “three tickets” and “two teas”.
- What is wrong with panj tâ sibâ?
- Ask for a little sugar, then a few apples.
- You see خانم‌ها و آقایان on a notice. What does it mean?
- Turn the written کتابی ketâbi into everyday speech.
- As the shopkeeper, ask whether the customer wants anything else, then answer “no, nothing” as the customer.
Show answers
- ketâbâ, mâshinâ, bachehâ, dustâ.
- سه تا بلیت se tâ belit; دو تا چای do tâ châi.
- Nouns stay singular after a number: panj tâ sib.
- Ye kam shekar, lotfan. Chand tâ sib, lotfan.
- “Ladies and gentlemen”: khânomhâ va âghâyân.
- یه کتاب ye ketâb, a book.
- Chiz-e dige-i mikhâid? Na, hichi, mersi.
Flashcards
Test yourself
Summary
- The plural ending -hâ works for almost every noun; in speech it is often just -â.
- -ân is a written plural for people, heard in announcements and fixed phrases.
- After numbers the noun stays singular, usually with tâ: do tâ châi.
- “A” is ye in speech and the ending -i in writing; ye chizi and ye jâyi combine both.
- chand tâ (a few) is for things you can count, ye kam (a little) for things you cannot.