Near and far
Persian has two demonstratives: این (in) for something near, آن (ān) for something farther away. They stand before the noun, with no ezafe.
| Near | Far | |
|---|---|---|
| before a noun | این کتاب (in ketāb) — this book | آن کتاب (ān ketāb) — that book |
| before a plural noun | این کتابها — these books | آن کتابها — those books |
| alone, singular | این — this (one) | آن — that (one) |
| alone, plural | اینها (inhā) — these | آنها (ānhā) — those |
| place | اینجا (injā) — here | آنجا (ānjā) — there |
Before a noun: never plural
The demonstrative does not change when the noun is plural. Only the noun gets ـها:
- این کتابها گران هستند. — These books are expensive.
- آن بچهها در پارک بازی میکنند. — Those children play in the park.
Only when این or آن stands alone as a pronoun does it take ـها:
- اینها مالِ شماست؟ — Are these yours?
Note that آنها also means "they" (lesson 1).
"This is ..." or "this ..."
The same words can make a phrase or a sentence. The position of the verb tells you which:
- این کتاب است. — This is a book.
- این کتاب خوب است. — This book is good.
- این کتابِ خوب — this good book (phrase, adjective with ezafe)
Time words with ام- instead of این
A few very common time expressions use an old form ام- instead of این:
| English | Persian | Not |
|---|---|---|
| today | امروز (emruz) | این روز |
| tonight | امشب (emshab) | این شب |
| this year | امسال (emsāl) | این سال |
Other time words use این normally: این هفته (this week), این ماه (this month), آن روز (that day).
همین and همان
همین (hamin) and همان (hamān) mean "this very / that same": همین کتاب را میخواهم. — I want this very book.
Colloquial forms
In speech آن is pronounced اون (un), آنها اونا (unā), اینها اینا (inā), آنجا اونجا (unjā).
Watch out as an English speaker
- "These/those" before a noun is not اینها/آنها: ✗ اینها کتابها / ✓ این کتابها.
- No ezafe between demonstrative and noun: ✗ اینِ کتاب / ✓ این کتاب.
- "This year", "today", "tonight" are single words: ✗ این سال / ✓ امسال.
- "This is" keeps the verb last: ✗ این است کتاب. / ✓ این کتاب است.
Example dialogue
این چیست؟ — What is this?
این چای ایرانی است. — This is Iranian tea.
آن کیکها هم برای ماست؟ — Are those cakes for us too?
بله، امروز همه برای شماست. — Yes, today they are all for you.