What the ezafe does
When a noun is followed by a word that describes or owns it, Persian links the two with a short unstressed vowel -e, called the اضافه (ezāfe). The describing word always comes after the noun. In textbooks the ezafe is shown with a kasra (ِ); in normal text it is usually not written at all, but it is always pronounced.
- کتابِ خوب (ketāb-e khub) — a good book / the good book
- کتابِ علی (ketāb-e ali) — Ali's book
- کتابِ من (ketāb-e man) — my book
Four uses
| Use | Example | Say | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| noun + adjective | خانهٔ بزرگ | khāne-ye bozorg | big house |
| noun + owner | ماشینِ پدر | māshin-e pedar | father's car |
| noun + pronoun | دوستِ ما | dust-e mā | our friend |
| noun + name | شهرِ تهران | shahr-e tehrān | the city of Tehran |
How it is written
The spelling depends on how the first word ends:
| First word ends in | Ezafe | Example | Say |
|---|---|---|---|
| a consonant | ِ (usually unwritten) | گلِ سرخ | gol-e sorkh |
| silent ه (vowel e) | ـهٔ or ـهی | خانهٔ من / خانهی من | khāne-ye man |
| ا or و | ی | دریای آبی، موی سیاه | daryā-ye ābi, mu-ye siyāh |
| ی (vowel i) | ِ (usually unwritten) | صندلیِ نو | sandali-ye no |
After a vowel the ezafe is pronounced -ye. After ا and و the ی must be written, otherwise the word reads wrong. After silent ه many writers leave it out (خانه من), but خانهٔ or خانهی is clearer.
Chains
Several words can be linked. Every word gets the ezafe except the last one, and adjectives come before the owner:
- کتابِ بزرگِ من (ketāb-e bozorg-e man) — my big book
- خانهٔ کوچکِ دوستِ من — my friend's small house
- اتاقِ بزرگ و روشنِ ما — our big, bright room
No ezafe with "is"
The ezafe builds a phrase, not a sentence. When the adjective is what you say about the noun, there is no ezafe:
- کتابِ خوب — the good book (phrase)
- کتاب خوب است. — The book is good. (sentence)
Watch out as an English speaker
- English puts the adjective first. In Persian it follows the noun, the superlative being the one exception (بزرگترین شهر): ✗ خوب کتاب / ✓ کتابِ خوب.
- The owner follows the thing owned, like "the book of Ali": ✗ علی کتاب / ✓ کتابِ علی.
- Leaving the ezafe out in speech makes it sound like two separate words: ✗ (ketāb man) / ✓ کتابِ من (ketāb-e man).
- After ا, write the ی: ✗ دریا آبی / ✓ دریای آبی (the blue sea).
Example dialogue
این کتابِ کیست؟ — Whose book is this?
کتابِ مریم است. — It is Maryam's book.
آن ماشینِ قرمز هم مالِ مریم است؟ — Is that red car Maryam's too?
نه، ماشینِ برادرِ من است. — No, it is my brother's car.